Low pay/minimum wages, Privatisation, Local government
Agreement, conciliation and dispute in municipal sector
Trade unions in the municipal sector have been negotiating with the SKR and Sobona employer organisations in local and regional government with differing outcomes so far. The Vision trade union, representing mainly white-collar workers has settled on the basis of a 3.3% general pay rise and commitments to a review of working hours and joint initiatives to deliver healthier workplaces. The Vårdförbundet health professionals’ union has gone to mediation mainly because it has major concerns over the employers’ proposals on working time and the work environment which it believes will mean worse
Industrial action secures lump sum payments
Health workers around the country, many of them employed by private contractors and among the lowest paid, have had to resort to strike action to ensure they get a £1600+ (€1870) lump sum payment that was paid to most directly employed staff last year. Action has just paid off for members of UNISON and Unite in Dudley in the West Midlands where until recently their employer, Mitie, had refused the payment. UNISON members were also successful following their action in the South West against the contractor Sodexo and Wiltshire Health and Care, a company jointly owned by three NHS trusts. UNISON
Public sector workers back new collective agreement
Members of public sector unions have voted by a large majority to accept the pay agreement negotiated earlier this year. The agreement runs from 1 January 2024 to 30 June 2026 and provides for pay improvements worth 9.25% but because of flat-rate elements this rises to 17.3% for lower paid workers. This agreement also provides specific provisions for local bargaining, which will give trade unions the scope to negotiate up to an additional 3% of pay costs, inclusive of allowances, for particular grades, groups or categories of employee. The agreement also sees the full and final unwinding of
ETUC says cost-of-living crisis is not over for millions of workers
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has highlighted that the combination of inflation and pay trends means that the living standards of European workers have still not recovered from the cost-of-living crisis. Data from the European Trade Union Institute’s Benchmarking Working Europe 2024 shows that pay, after inflation is taken into account, fell by 0.7% in 2023. Workers in Hungary (-3.8%), Czechia (-3.8%), and Italy (-2.6%) faced the biggest falls in purchasing power last year. Germany (-0.9%) and France (-0.6%) were also among the 10 member states where wages failed to catch up
ILO adopts agreement on living wages
On 13 March, the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) governing body endorsed an agreement on living wages. This acknowledges that decent wages are central to economic and social development and to advance social justice. The document also says that living wages play an essential role in reducing poverty and inequality and ensuring a decent and dignified life. For the ILO, a living wage is the wage level necessary to afford a decent standard of living for workers and their families, taking into account the country circumstances and calculated for the work performed during the normal hours
Study investigates factors influencing low pay
New research from the European Trade Union Institute looks at the role that institutional and economic factors play in shaping wage floors and protecting workers at the low end of the wage distribution. Using data for the period 2007 to 2021, it shows that wage inequality has on average declined across the EU, primarily due to convergence between countries. In line with expectations, strong institutional support, such as statutory minimum wages with greater bite and a higher collective bargaining coverage rate, are associated with lower inequality and a better position for vulnerable workers
Provincial government agreement out for consultation and vote
The FNV and other trade unions have negotiated a new collective agreement in provincial government which will now be subject to a ballot of members. If approved it will run for 18 months from 1 January 2024 to 30 June 2025. Employees will see an average increase in pay of more than 7.5% in two steps: an increase of €25 or 4.25% from 1 January 2024 and 2.5% from 1 September 2024. As of 1 January 2024, the minimum wage will be €16 gross per hour. There is a range of other changes, including a new internship allowance, changes to pensions and retirement, new procedure relating so social safety
Pressure from unions delivers in health and social care
Trade unions, including Sanitas and Columna, have managed to secure pay increases for workers in health and social services. According to Sanitas, increases in the health sector vary according to occupation but range up to 26.8% with 20% in social assistance. The union has also been able to resolve discrepancies in salaries affecting a number of specific occupations. Meanwhile Columna has also been active in local government where it organised strike action on 19 March involving nearly 19000 workers as it tries to ensure that the pay increases that apply to health, education and social care
Switzerland: union warns against impact of new health financing system
The vpod/ssp public services has launched a campaign and petition – “Nein zu EFAs” – to try to block changes to the healthcare financing system in Switzerland that will have seriously negative consequences for staff and patients.
Pay increases average 13.5% as new public sector pay system implemented
After lengthy negotiations a new public sector pay structure is in place that means significant increases to the coefficients used to calculate salaries for different occupations. Overall public sector workers are set to benefit on average by 13.5% in comparison to pay levels in 2023. Most unions are generally happy with the new system, including the HSSMS-MT nurses’ and health workers’ union which is one of 11 to sign the public sector collective agreement. However, other unions, including teaching unions, are unhappy with the outcome and argue that the new system fails to deliver appropriate