24 epsucob@NEWS 7 December 2006
Dec. 07, 2006
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Erosion of job security in public sector
The EIRO industrial relations observatory reports that major changes to legislation have meant that it will now be easier for the government to implement job cuts in the public sector. It will also mean that public service workers will lose severance pay if they obtain another job before the end of the notice period. Read more at > EIRO (EN)
Dec. 07, 2006
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Further progress on collective bargaining policy
Over 110 participants from 24 countries came together in Brussels to debate various aspects of collective bargaining policy within EPSU. Some of the key discussions covered policies on younger workers and migrant workers while there were also initial debates on new areas of policy covering older workers and work-life balance. Read more at > EPSU (EN)
Dec. 07, 2006
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Union demonstrates over waste collection contracts
The service union ver.di has organised a demonstration on 6 December outside the head offices of Duales System Deutschland (DSD) in protest at the threat of pay cuts and redundancies in the waste sector. DSD, owned by the private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, is a recycling company that awards contracts for the collection and recycling of waste. According to ver.di the latest round of tendering has meant that companies are winning contracts by undercutting the main collective agreement for the industry. The union believes January will see job cuts and reductions in pay of up to 50% and
Dec. 07, 2006
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Real pay increase for health and social care workers
The 70,000 workers covered by the health and social care collective agreement will get a 2.4% pay increase from January 2007, ahead of the current inflation rate of 1.1%. The agreement is extended to cover even those employers who are not part of the health and social care employers' organisation that negotiated the deal. The agreement is the biggest negotiated by the GPA-DJP (the private employees' union that has just merged with the print, journalists and paper union) and covers the disabled, elderly and child care sectors as well as youth welfare organisations. [Read more at > GPA-DJP (DE)-
Dec. 07, 2006
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Pension talks to resume after government intervention
After a major lobby of MPs at the end of November, planned talks between local government unions and employers were interrupted by the sudden announcement of planned changes to the local government pension scheme by the government. Both employers and unions attacked local government minister Phil Woolas for his untimely and unforeseen intervention. In the end the government decided to delay publishing its proposals for two weeks and confirmed that a full period of consultation would be [Read more at > UNISON (EN)->http://www.unison.org.uk/news/news_view.asp?did=2971] [And at > UNISON (EN)-
Dec. 07, 2006
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Minister refuses to meet unions
Public services minister Christian Jacob refused to meet union federations at the end of last month. They had requested a meeting to discuss pay in the public sector and their long-running demands for proper pay negotiations. The unions are looking for a minimum pay increase of 1.8% in 2007 to compensate for forecast inflation. The government has so far only said that salaries will increase by 0.5% from February next year. Read more at > CGT (FR) And at > (FR)
Dec. 07, 2006
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Government will support union at European Court hearing
The new centre-right government has said that it will support the Byggnads construction union at the Vaxholm case hearing in the European Court next month which is set to rule on the union's right to protect collective agreements in the construction sector. The Vaxholm case involved the union in a blockade of a school building project because the Latvian contractor on the site was paying its workers according to a Latvian collective agreement and not the agreement for the Swedish construction sector. Although the Labour court in Sweden ruled in favour of the union it referred the case to the
Dec. 07, 2006
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Social partners look to boost sectoral social dialogue
According to the EIRO industrial relations observatory, the two main social partners in Lithuania, the LSPK union federation and LPK employers' federation are working to extend sectoral social dialogue across the public and private sectors. It is hoped that this will also have an impact on collective bargaining and increase the extent to which collective agreements are signed across different sectors. Read more at > EIRO (EN)
Dec. 07, 2006
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Unions win back recognition at national museum
After more than 10 years without full union representation workers at the National Maritime Museum (NMM) in south London are now covered by a recognition agreement and their unions, Prospect and PCS, will be negotiating on their behalf. The NMM was the only national museum in the UK which didn't recognise a trade union. Read more at > Prospect (EN)
