Union Rights, Culture, Recruitment & organising

The SAK trade union confederation has decided to suspend the industrial action taken by a number of its member organisations in order to engage with the government over its programme of welfare cuts and anti-union measures. The actions began on 11 March and were suspended on 8 April. The unions involved were in both public and private sectors – the industrial union, the AKT transport workers' union, service union PAM, the construction union, the JHL public and welfare sector union and the electricity union. SAK wants the government to make clear that it won’t bring forward measures to restrict

The JHL public service unions, AKT transport union and other members of the SAK trade unio confederation are involved in two weeks of strike action against the government programme of welfare cuts and attacks on workers’ and trade union rights. The unions are frustrated that the government is not responding to their calls to negotiate. Alongside JHL and AKT, the strikes involve unions in industry, electricity, construction and services. The measures target exports and imports in ports and on rails. Large industrial plants and distribution terminals are also involved. Around 7,000 workers are

Labour movement lobbying helped secure a platform work directive that should provide new rights for millions of workers across Europe. The ETUC and EPSU welcomed the outcome of lengthy negotiations and in particular the inclusion of the presumption of employment in the legislation. This means that Instead of individuals going through lengthy court action to prove they are workers, it will be up to the platforms to prove they are not employees. The directive also recognises the role of trade unions in all aspects of the platform economy, including on issues such as algorithm management. Workers

The JHL trade union and others in the SAK confederation organised a week of strike action between 12 and 16 February in their continuing campaign to oppose the government’s attacks on the welfare state and trade union and workers’ rights. The actions follow the major national protest organised by the SAK and STTK confederations on 1 February. A range of JHL’s membership will be involved in the week of action including workers in early childhood education and care, municipalities, local public transport, energy and rail services.

Support from her union, the Marburger Bund (MB) representing doctors, helped a union activist win a legal case against her employer, the Helios hospital group. Franziska Schlosser was an anaesthesiologist at the ENDO clinic in Hamburg, part of the Helios Group. She was active on the union’s bargaining committee and had been a strike leader. She was sacked on 8 June last year following accusations of a working time fraud of 28 minutes which she strongly denied and contested. The MB supported her legal challenge and notes that Schlosser stood her ground over several months despite intimidation

The SAK and STTK trade union confederations are continuing their campaign against government proposals that attack the welfare state, employment and trade union rights. The next step will be a national demonstration in Helsinki on 1 February. They are also calling for support from civil society organisations. The confederations have been participating in tripartite working groups, discussions set up by the government and in parliamentary hearings, emphasising how badly workers will be affected by the government’s policies. The first reductions affecting the unemployed have already entered into

The ETUCLEX newsletter, produced by the ETUC’s legal team, provides a regular update on key legal developments across Europe and in the latest issue includes reports on the right to strike. In a long-running case involving the right to strike of civil servants in Germany, the European Court of Human Rights recently ruled that disciplinary action taken against teachers who took industrial action in 2009 and 2010 did not involve a breach of their human right to freedom of association. The Court found that the particular circumstances of civil servants in Germany in relation to their pay and