Estonia
Energy and transport workers were among those demonstrating or striking on 16 June in protest at the government’s plans to weaken employee protection through changes to the law on employment contracts. Union demands also included improvements to redundancy compensation and unemployment benefit. Around 300 workers at the Eesti energy company took part in the action.
Read more at > Baltic Course news (EN)
And at > Baltic Course (EN)
The tragic death of 54-year-old Michele Lorusso, an employee of a private waste contractor near Bari in southern Italy, has prompted calls for urgent action on safety in the sector. The incident happened when Michele was on his own and attempting to fix a waste truck that had broken down. The FP-CGIL trade union says that this is just the latest in a long line of incidents with the sector registering a rise in accidents and occupational diseases in recent years. The union wants to see health and safety in the industry now given the highest priority.
Thousands of workers joined a demonstration in Sarajevo in opposition to a new labour code adopted by the parliament of the Bosnian Federation. The protestors were also joined by trade unionists from Repubika Srpska where the labour code will be debated in parliament later this year. Trade unions are concerned about the weakening of employment rights enshrined in the legislation which is being adopted by the government in response to pressures to agree labour reforms to meet lending conditions required by the International Monetary Fund. [Read more at > Balkan Insight news website (EN)->http:/
The Histradut trade union has negotiated a significant agreement with the Ministry of Finance whereby around 50000 workers currently employed by contractors will be taken on as direct public employees. The workers affected include cleaners, security staff, nurses, social workers and lawyers employed across different institutions such as schools, hospitals, employment services and immigration centres. This reflects further progress in Histradut's [campaign->http://www.epsu.org/r/607] to improve the rights of contract workers. [Read more at > Histradut (EN)->http://www.histadrut.org.il/index.php
