Staffing levels, Work-life balance
Union negotiates another workload and staffing agreement
Ver.di, the main trade union in the health sector, is close to securing an agreement on staffing and workloads with Augsburg hospital in Bavaria. As the institution is set to become a university hospital from 1 January next year, the agreement has to be confirmed by the state health minister. Ver.di members at the hospital have voted 93% in favour of industrial action and so the union says it is ready to take action if the agreement is rejected. Similar to other agreements negotiated recently in hospitals in North Rhine Westphalia and Saarland, the Augsburg deal will mean additional jobs - 100
Strike action delivers positive result on flexi-leave
Four days of strike action by workers at Roscommon council in the West of Ireland have lead to the restoration of the right to flexi-leave that had been removed by the council's management. The workers, organised by the Fórsa and SIPTU trade unions, had carried out a series of four one-day strikes and further action was planned in order to secure rights which are enjoyed across the rest of the local government sector and which are important in ensuring a good work-life balance, particularly for working parents. EPSU had sent a solidarity message.
Better pay and working conditions for maternity workers
A new collective agreement covering 9000 maternity nurses has been agreed by the FNV and NU'91 unions with a 5.75% pay rise over two years along with 10% increases for those in their first and second years in order to make the sector more attractive to young workers. Pay will be increased in four stages: 1% (backdated to April 2018); 1.5% (October 2018); 1.5% (January 2019) and 1.75% (May 2019). There will also be an end to 24-hour on-call shifts and other measures are foreseen to reduce workloads and improve work-life balance. A committee will be set up to monitor compliance with the
Overview shows wide variations in paternity and parental leave
The European Commission has produced a short overview of paternity and parental leave provisions across EU countries revealing that, for example, paternity leave is available in nearly all member states but the length and level of compensation vary considerably. The draft directive on work-life balance proposes two weeks' paternity leave paid at the level of sick pay. While 17 member states already have the two-week minimum only 13 offer it on the basis of at least 66% of previous earnings.
Health unions call for urgent action on medical staffing
The three main unions representing health workers - FP-CGIL, CISL-FP and UIL-FPL - have issued a joint call demanding urgent action to tackle doctor shortages across the health service. The three federations are particularly concerned about precarious employment, the need for more specialists and for a recruitment plan for doctors to be put in place as soon as possible. They made their case at a meeting with the Ministry of Health on 30 August where they highlighted the impact of austerity and recruitment freezes which have impacted emergency services above all. The unions have warned for many
Union calls for urgent talks over staffing, safety and workloads
The FNV trade union for prison staff has called for an urgent meeting with prison service management to discuss the implications of a new report on staffing, safety and treatment of inmates. The union believes that the report, "Out of Balance", by the Justice and Security Inspectorate provides further evidence of its concerns over excessive workloads and inadequately trained staff. The union now wants the prison service to discuss permanent measures to tackle these problems building on the temporary arrangements that were agreed last year by the justice department and central works council.
Red Cross workers take action to support negotiations
In advance of the third round of pay negotiations, a series of warning strikes by employees of the Red Cross have been taking place across the country to show the level of support for a decent pay rise. Public services union ver.di is calling for a pay rise of 7.5% with a minimum increase of EUR 200 a month. So far the employers have only offered a EUR 220 lump sum payment and a 2.4% increase this year with a further rise of 2.2% in July 2019. Ver.di says that the agreement should reflect current pay bargaining trends and should also include provisions on work-life balance and health that