Equality, Remunicipalisation
Bringing services back in-house
EPSU has consistently argued in favour of direct provision of public services to guarantee the quality of services and the quality of employment for workers delivering those services. Under the heading of remunicipalisation EPSU supports and promotes any initiatives to bring services back in-house where they have been privatised along with moves to have new services run by municipalities and other public authorities. EPSU is part of a network, coordinated by the Transnational Institute that has published research highlighting recent trends in remunicipalisation and insourcing.
Research exposes how performance pay widens pay gap
A new research briefing from the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) shows not only that performance-related pay (PRP) is becoming increasingly prevalent across the EU but that it contributes to pay inequalities between men and women. Men are more likely to get PRP, and in higher amounts, because it tends to be available in larger firms, at the higher end of the wage distribution, for full-time rather than part-time work, and in certain sectors and occupations. The ETUI argues that the current EU equal pay legal framework and proposed Directive on pay transparency, may only be of limited
Unions highlights impact of rising prices in promoting its equality campaign
The FOA trade union has raised its concerns about the impact of rising inflation on workers’ incomes and particularly those on low pay. The union says it will take action to try to protect workers’ purchasing power but that it wants to do more than this with its campaign on equality – “More equality lifts us all”. While pay is important, FOA wants to ensure broader issues of equality are also addressed in terms, for example, of consumption opportunities and recognition of traditional women's professions. The union also underlines the importance of reducing inequality by increased access to
Unions agree equality plan with Red Cross
Public service federations from the CCOO and UGT confederations have signed an equality action plan with the Red Cross that will cover its 10500 female and 4000 male employees. The plan will come into effect from 1 January 2022 and be valid for four years. It covers 12 major objectives that include 107 measures on issues such as staff selection and promotion, training in equality and the prevention and response to gender violence, including extraordinary aid to support those Red Cross workers who may suffer from it. The plan includes a protocol for the prevention of and action against sexual
ETUC highlights data showing increase in wage gap
In its continuing campaign to underline the importance of implementing a strong and effective directive on minimum wages, the ETUC has release figures showing that the gap in earnings between the richest and poorest Europeans grew in a majority of EU countries over the last decade. The ‘unequal Europe’ report produced by the ETUC and its ETUI research institute shows wage inequality increased in 14 member states between 2010 and 2019, most notably in Hungary, Spain and Belgium. The analysis suggests that trend is the result of a decrease in the share of workers covered by collective bargaining
Nurses’ union steps up strike action
The DSR nurses’ union has given notice that it will extend its strike action over pay to more health institutions around the country and it also organised a national demonstration in Copenhagen on 14 August. Members of the union voted to reject the national public sector collective agreement earlier this year because it failed to tackle the longstanding issue of the undervaluing of nursing occupations. The strike began on 14 June and the union has announced five extensions in advance with the latest one planned for 7 September involving a further 281 nurses.
Norwegian and Polish shop stewards: common experience of taking services back into public hands
Poor treatment of employees, outdated equipment and low quality of services – outsourcing and privatisation of municipal services has similar negative effects whether it takes place in Poland or Norway.
Nurses take action to win higher pay
The DSR nurses’ union organised industrial action on Saturday 19 June following a two to one membership vote to reject a conciliator's mediation proposal for a new agreement. Earlier this year the DSR membership rejected the main municipal and regional government collective agreement, calling for a higher pay rise for nurses. The conciliation process failed to deliver a result that the membership could endorse and so action involving around 5000 nurses went ahead. The union argues that the health services have been starved of investment and nurses have faced increasing work pressure and
Union welcomes decision to set up committee on equal pay
The FOA trade union has welcomed the government decision to set up a committee to examine the problem of pay inequality. FOA has been part of a large group of trade unions that have been pushing for new measures to achieve pay equality. While collective bargaining has been able to deliver some improvements public service unions argue that the problem requires a broader political approach. The committee will analyse the pay gap across all sectors and is due to report in May 2022.
Unions call for tripartite negotiations to tackle gender pay gap
Fifty-one public service unions are backing a further call on the government to engage in tripartite negotiations to tackle the gender pay gap. The recently concluded three-year public sector agreements include specific amounts to reduce the gap, as did the previous agreements in 2018. However, the unions argue that this is simply not enough to properly address the problem and that the economic constraints on the normal collective bargaining process prevent action on the scale necessary to make real progress. The 51 trade unions that represent well over half a million employees in