Equality, Central government
State sector unions negotiate 7.4% pay increase over two years
Negotiations on a new agreement covering the state sector were concluded on Sunday 11 February with employees set to get a 7.4% pay increase over two years that should deliver a real increase of 2.5%. The first increase will be for 5.9% on 1 April 2024 with a further 1.3% due on 1 April 2025 and 0.2% on 1 November 2025. Additional funds have been allocated for the development of wages and other conditions in the individual collective agreements with the overall package worth 8.8%. There will be an extraordinary salary negotiation at the end of 2025 which will focus on the comparative
Union signs three-year agreement with federal government
The SUFBIH civil servants’ union has signed a three-year agreement with the federal government that runs to the end of 2026. The union was pleased with the outcome after three months of negotiations and said the agreement showed how social dialogue could deliver. The agreement stipulates that the lowest salary in administrative bodies is 70% of the average salary in the Federation of Bosnia & Hercegovina and severance pay for retirement is the equivalent of five average salaries for civil servants. There are improvements to various allowances and supplements, including for on-call periods, and
Unions welcome pay increase but call for urgent meeting on framework agreement
Public sector federations in the CCOO confederation and the UGT-SP federation have welcomed confirmation that a 0.5% pay increase (backdated to January 2023) will be implemented in line with the last three-year pay agreement. The 0.5% figure was linked to growth in the Spanish economy. They now also want action on the 2% promised for 2024 and an end to the limit on replacing employees who leave. In the meantime, the federations are calling for an urgent convening of the monitoring committee on the framework agreement that addresses important issues such as partial retirement, annual leave
State union calls for hearing on public sector pay
The head of OSSOO, the Trade Union of State Bodies and Organizations, has written to the Prime Minister requesting a hearing on salaries in public services and administration. The union argues that a very large proportion of people working in the public sector who are ensuring the good functioning of services to the population, are no longer able to provide for themselves and their families. They are forced either to look for other jobs or to apply for social benefits. OSSOO warns that the public sector is becoming increasingly uncompetitive in the labour market and that the higher average
Right to disconnect: implement the EU social partners agreement in Central Government Administrations
Speaking at an event on the Right to Disconnect hosted by the S&D Group in the European Parliament, EPSU General Secretary Jan Willem Goudriaan reiterated the urgent need to make the right to disconnect a reality.
Joint mobilisation by public service unions on 19 March
Eight public service trade unions – CFDT, CFE-CGC, CGT, FA, FO, FSU, Solidaires and UNSA – met on 24 January and issued a joint communique condemning the absence of any measures to increase public service pay, particularly in context of sustained inflation. The unions are calling for immediate negotiations to address issues around careers and salaries and have rejected President Emmanual Macron’s talk of better recognizing "merit" as a tactic to avoid the urgent need to improve pay and conditions. The unions have set 19 March as a national day of action, including strikes and other protests
Unions ballot members over public sector pay offer
Fórsa, SIPTU, INMO, AHCPS and other public service unions are consulting their members over the latest pay offer from the government which would provide for a series of pay increases over a 30-month period from 1 January 2024 to 30 June 2026. The unions have until 25 March to complete the ballots. If an aggregate of the members of all the unions vote in favour then the agreement would provide the following pay increases: in 2024 – 2.25% or €1,125, whichever is greater, from 1 January; 1% on 1 June; 1% or €500, whichever is greater, on 1 October; in 2025 – 2% or €1,000, whichever is greater, on
Public administration workers take further action over pay
The ZSSS trade union confederation reports that, following its industrial action last November, the Trade Union of State Authorities of Slovenia (SDOS) organised further strike action from 29-31 January. The union says there has been no progress with the negotiations, particularly in regard to measures for the lowest paid and in contrast with other parts of the public sector. The SDOS has also rejected the proposal from the government to wait and resolve the main issues in the framework of negotiations on the public sector wage system is not acceptable to the union. The union says that workers
Ministry of Justice negotiations begin with working groups
After lengthy strike action by Ministry of Justice staff through 2023, trade unions, including the FSC-CCOO and UGT-SP, are now sitting down with ministry officials to try to resolve some of the main areas of dispute. The FSC-CCOO was disappointed at an early stage when its proposals for the remit of two working groups were rejected. The federation wanted one to discuss a general pay increase and other issues and the working group on the efficiency law to discuss working conditions and not just job functions. The FSC-CCOO also raised a number of other issues it wants to see on the negotiating
Unions seeking changes to government proposals on public sector pay
A proposed new system of public sector pay has been criticised by unions for failing to provide salary coefficients for different occupations that would be a fair reflection their skills, workloads and responsibilities. The HSSMS-MT health workers’ union has called for proper recognition of nurses’ level of education and have made clear that it feels its members have been less fairly treated than doctors who are taken action against the proposals. The SDLSN union has also expressed concern, particularly on behalf of its members in the Ministry of Justice who took strike action last year over
Massive public service strike in Northern Ireland
Public service unions have organised one of the biggest strikes and mobilisations in Northern Ireland for many years as they try to put pressure on the UK government to stop delaying a pay offer for public service workers. The government claims that its hands are tied by the political stalemate in the province and the lack of a functioning Assembly. The unions argue that this is an excuse and that the money is available to make a pay offer immediately. EPSU affiliates UNISON, Unite, GMB and RCN are involved in the action, along with NIPSA, RCM, CSP, SoR, BDA as well as the teaching unions
Public sector pay offer falls well short of union expectations
Public services unions, including Fórsa, SIPTU and INMO, were very disappointed with the government’s initial pay offer as part of the negotiations for a new, multi-year public sector collective agreement. The unions say that the offer revealed the lack of preparedness of the government to negotiate a sustainable deal. The unions argue that the offer of 7% with 1.5% payable in March this year, fails to meet the basic test of dealing with the cumulative gap between wages and inflation – amounting to almost 19% over the last three years. The unions are concerned about the painfully slow process
Public service unions unite in demands over pay
Eight public service federations – CFDT, CFE-CGC, CGT, FA, FO, FSU, Solidaires and UNSA – have issued a joint statement on the need for urgent action to improve pay for civil servants and public sector employees. The unions argue that the five index-point increase for public sector workers implemented this year was already foreseen in 2023 and that no further increase is planned for 2024. The government has given no indication that any negotiations will take place to cover 2024 and in the light of this the unions were due to meet this month to consider what action to take, with the prospect of