Electricity, Restructuring, Demographic change, Work-life balance

Following the article on Iceland, the latest in the series of articles on working time commissioned by EPSU from the Labour Research Department focuses on developments in the other Nordic countries. While several unions in Sweden have put shorter working time on the bargaining agenda (see also article on Sweden in this newsletter), there are only a few cases in social care where a shorter working week has been implemented. In Norway and Denmark the priority has been more to ensure that workers in health and care and other services have the right to full-time working although there are some

EPSU and PSI have sent solidarity greetings to the three union federations – Filctem-Cgil, Flaei- Cisl and Uiltec – in their dispute with the ENEL energy company. The three unions are planning national strike action on 8 March and began a month-long period of industrial action affecting overtime, travel and changes to working hours on 24 February. The unions are angry about the company’s unilateral plans to change working hours arrangements, to outsource operations on the electricity grid, and its refusal to renew the remote work agreement. The three federations argue that the measures will

The FNV and other trade unions have suspended their industrial action and mobilisations in the youth care sector pending negotiations on the basis of an improved pay offer from the employers. This involves a pay increase of 8% on 1 January 2024 and 1.25% on 1 July 2024 with an additional lump sum of €400. There would then be a 3% increase for 2025 and inflation compensation to a maximum of 2.25%, if inflation is higher than 3%. The minimum wage will rise to €15 per hour and the working-from-home allowance to €3 per day. This compares to the previous offer of a 6.7% increase and additional 2%

In three separate disputes, members of the Fórsa and SIPTU trade unions have voted in favour of industrial action. In the ambulance service, SIPTU members voted with a 95% majority to back industrial action following the refusal of management to implement a restructuring plan that had been negotiated with and was fully supported by the union. Meanwhile, SIPTU members in the water sector will take strike action on 7 June unless there is a guarantee that their local authority pay and conditions will be protected when they transfer to a new employer, Uisce Éireann, a new standalone public utility

The vida trade union organised a warning strike in 25 facilities across the country in support of its demands for higher pay for the 10,000 workers employed in the private hospital sector. The union is demanding a pay rise above inflation and a monthly minimum salary of €2000 and argues strongly that it is crucial to improve the pay and conditions for workers to make the sector more attractive and tackle staff shortages and overwork. Meanwhile, the GPA trade union has negotiated a new collective agreement in the electricity sector which delivers pay rises of 8.6%-9.6% along with increases in