001 epsucob@NEWS January 2008
8% pay claim in local and central government
The collective bargaining committee of services union ver.di voted to submit an 8% pay claim in the forthcoming negotiations with employers in local and central government. The union argues that the pay of public sector workers has been eroded by inflation, particularly higher prices for energy, housing and food and this has hit lower paid workers above all. The union is also claiming a minimum €200 increase. Its campaigning material points out that local authorities are now in a much better financial position to afford a decent pay increase. Ver.di wants the pay agreement to run for 12 months
24 January is next strike date for public sector unions
A meeting with the public service minister in December failed to produce any response from the government on public sector pay that satisfied the majority of trade unions. Six of the seven public sector federations have decided to take further action to keep the pressure on the government to agree to proper collective negotiations and an inflation-plus pay increase for 2008. The six unions have called a national strike for 24 January. [Read more at > CGT (FR)->http://www.spterritoriaux.cgt.fr/spip.php?article2068] [Read more at > FO (FR)->http://www.fo-fonctionnaires.fr/] [Read more at > UNSA
EPSU affiliates join national demonstration over pay
At the end of November the three Lithuanian trade union confederations came together to organise a major demonstration over pay. The unions called for an significant increase in the national minimum wage (NMW) and for the government to adopt a target for the NMW to be increased to the equivalent of 60% of national average wages. Read more at > LDF (EN)
Public service unions co-ordinate pay campaign
The 26 public service unions in the TUC confederation have come together to oppose the government's demands to keep public sector pay below 2% in the coming year. The TUC has produced a report to counter some of the government's claims about public sector pay increases fuelling inflation and warning of the anger generated in 2007 when health service pay awards were staged rather than paid in full in April. Read more at > UNISON (EN)
Demonstration over special retirement schemes
The energy, rail and transport federations within the CGT confederation are planning a national demonstration on 22 January to maintain opposition to government plans to reform the special retirement schemes that cover these workers in the public sector. The CGT rejects plans to increase the number of years of contributions required to get a full pension and also opposes breaking the index link with salaries. Read more at > CGT (FR)
Real pay rise for federal government workers
Federal government workers in Switzerland will get a 1% real increase in pay this year, their first real pay increase since 1991. Since 2004 prices have risen by 3.1% and workers have been compensated by one-off payments. These will now be integrated into pay rates. According to a review of the latest pay round by the SGB confederation, pay increases in regional government, the Cantons, range between 2.2% and 3.2% with the increases mostly made up of general rises and other bonuses or performance-related and individual increases. [Read more at > VPOD-SSP (DE)->http://www.vpod.ch/aktuell
Thousands demonstrate over partial and early retirement
The three main public sector union federations - FSAP-CCOO, FSP-UGT and CSI-CSIF - organised a national demonstration on 19 December in Madrid to push the government to implement new rules on partial and early retirement. Over 7,000 braved the rain and cold weather to join the march. The unions argue that this is the best way for public services to renew their human resources while still retaining the skills and knowledge of experienced workers. [Read more at > FSAP-CCOO (ES)->http://www.fsap.ccoo.es/webfsap/menu.do?Actualidad:Sindical:Actualidad:12959] [And at > FSP-UGT (ES)->http://www
Union ballots members for strike action over job cuts
The PCS civil service union is balloting 70,000 members in the Revenue and Customs department over possible strike action in opposition to further cuts in jobs. The government's efficiency programme will mean the closure of 250 offices and cutting 25,000 jobs by 2011. With 13,000 jobs gone and a further 12,500 planned to go by 2011, PCS warns the department is in danger of serious service failure. Read more at > PCS (EN)
New agreement covering nursing homes and home care staff
The 360,000 workers in nursing homes and involved in home care will get a 3.25% pay increase from 1 January 2008 and a further increase of 3.0% from 1 March 2009 in a new collective agreement that runs until 1 March 2010. Read more at > ABVAKABO (NL)
ETUC defends need for wage rises across Europe
The ETUC has called on Jean-Claude Trichet, head of the European Central Bank, to what it calls his “crusade against fair wages”. Trichet has warned that increasing oil prices will lead to higher wage demands and so a wage-price spiral. The ETUC points to recent years of wage moderation and the need for increases in real wages to give a boost to the European economy. Read more at > ETUC (EN) And at > ETUC (FR)
Energy sector workshop on collective bargaining and social dialogue
EPSU is bringing together affiliates in the energy sector in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands to discuss the common challenges facing them in negotiating with employers. The workshop on 30 January will provide an opportunity to exchange information on social dialogue and collective bargaining issues and pay and conditions in the sector. It should enable EPSU to get a clearer picture of when and how collective bargaining takes place, including the relative importance of sectoral and local bargaining, for example. The workshop is part of a European Commission
European Court judgement over Laval case is a major blow for unions
The ETUC and its Swedish affiliates have expressed their concern and disappointment about aspects of the European Court's recent judgement on the Laval case. The case involved action by the Swedish construction union to blockade a building site where a Latvian company was paying Latvian construction workers less than the pay rates negotiated in the Swedish collective agreement. While the Court acknowledged the right of Swedish unions to take action to defend their collective agreements the ETUC believes that judgements poses a challenge to the Swedish system of collective bargaining and those
Positive opinion on protecting wages through procurement
The European Court's Advocate General's opinion on the Rueffert case supports the right of public bodies to specify that contractors should comply with the relevant collective agreements when paying their employees. The European Court does not necessarily follow the Advocate General's opinion when making a full ruling. Read more at > ETUC (EN)