Information & consultation, Quality employment
EPSU waits for European Commission response to legal challenge
EPSU has launched a legal case against the European Commission and is now waiting for the first formal response. EPSU has taken the case because the Commission refused to submit to the European Council the information and consultation agreement signed in the Central Government Administrations social dialogue in December 2015. Despite signing the European Pillar of Social Rights and making positive statements about social dialogue, the Commission has failed to act to provide important rights to 9.8 million central government workers that are already enjoyed in the private sector. The complaint
Unions protest over attacks on civil service status
Public service trade unions mobilised on 15 May for a demonstration outside the ministry for public service in protest at the spread of contractual employment and the erosion of civil service status. With over a million contractual workers making up a fifth of total civil service employment, the unions are concerned that the government's current plans, which include the prospect of increased use of contracts for public service workers, will further undermine civil service status. The unions argue that the poorer employment conditions of contractual workers are leading to increased inequality
Public Service Unions to take European Commission to court for social dialogue U-turn
The European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) is to take the European Commission to the European Union General Court on 15 May 2018 for failing to implement a Social Partners’ agreement by legislation.
Conference to focus on pay trends, digitalisation and quality employment
EPSU is organising a conference on 6-7 June in Brussels that will explore a number of collective bargaining issues. Part of the conference will focus on quality employment and will discuss in particular research on quality employment in two sectors - prisons and childcare. Other sessions will debate new research commissioned by EPSU. This includes an updated analysis comparing pay trends in the public and private sectors; union action to tackle low pay in sectors dominated by women and the impact of digitalisation in home care and public employment services. There will also be a panel debating
Central administration workers debate the European Commission's block on the information and consultation agreement
The main issue on the agenda of the Standing Committee on National and European Administration was the European Commission’s refusal to implement by a legislative proposal to Council the social partner agreement on Information on Consultation rights.