012 epsucob@NEWS July 2008

Health workers in Bulgaria successfully negotiated a new collective agreement on 4 June that increases their salaries by 90 to 100 per cent. The signing of the agreement comes before the discussions on the 2009 Budget, and after the mass strikes of 2007 in the education and health care sectors. The increase will take effect on 1 July, and will cover hospitals in state and municipal ownership, as well as hospitals operating as joint stock-holdings. The agreement is the first in a series of steps aimed at bringing the salaries of Bulgarian workforce into line with those in the European Union in

Local government workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will take two days of strike action on 16 and 17 July in protest at the employers' below-inflation pay offer of 2.45% (3.3% for the lowest paid). Public services union UNISON has been campaigning among MPs and argues that local government workers are not just angry about this year's pay offer but are striking over a loss of a gradual loss of purchasing power over the last 10 years. [Read more at > UNISON (EN)->http://www.unison.org.uk/paymatters/index.asp] [And at > UNITE/TGWU(EN)->http://www.tgwu.org.uk/Templates/News.asp?NodeID

The ETUC has criticised the European Central Bank's (ECB) decision to raise interest rates because it fails to deal with the international pressures that are leading to inflation. The Confederation also argues that the ECB is wrong about pay developments across Europe and that the wage-price spiral that the Bank is warning of will not take place in the current economic climate and because of recent trends in collective bargaining. [Read more at > ETUC (EN)->http://www.etuc.org/a/5193] [And in French at > ETUC->http://www.etuc.org/a/5194] [Also more at > ETUC (EN)->http://www.etuc.org/a/5177]

On 26 June the three public sector federations - FSAP-CCOO, FSP-UGT and CSI-CSIF - organised a second day of demonstrations by workers in the general state administration. The demonstrations have underlined the unions' determination to secure a pay increase in 2009 that protects workers' purchasing power. Indications form the government so far are that it won't guarantee that level of increase and is also talking about reductions in employment. The unions are warning of cuts in services and more temporary jobs and want to see a change in government policy on outsourcing. [Read more at > FSAP

After waiting a long time for any substantial social initiatives from the European Commission trade unions have been disappointed by the “social package” announced in June. The ETUC's view is that there are some good intentions but it argues that a more ambitious approach is necessary, for example on European Works Councils, on the Posted Workers Directive and on the current decisions of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) which are elevating the Single Market above fundamental rights. The latest ECJ ruling condemned Luxembourg for the way it has implemented the Posted Workers Directive. Trade

The long-running conflict over collective bargaining in the public sector continues following the decision by public service trade union federations to leave a meeting with public service minister Eric Woerth. The Federations wanted to negotiate over pay and a range of other demands but Woerth simply insisted that the government would stick by its plans to raise pay across the public sector by 0.8% in 2008 and 2009 and 0.5% in 2010 and 2011. The unions demanded that the government agree to proper negotiations but received no immediate response following the abandoned meeting. [Read more at >

Public sector trade unions in Berlin are continuing their strike action and demonstrations in support of their pay demands. The regional government negotiates pay and conditions separately from the national regional government agreement. The latest round of negotiations on 1 July failed to produce an outcome and bargaining resumes on 14 July with ver.di hoping for a result before the holiday period begins. Ver.di and the other unions involved in the dispute have called on workers to continue their strike action up to the 14 July and to join a demonstration on the day of the negotiations. [Read

EPSU affiliates from 11 countries - Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, FYR Macedonia, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and Turkey - have been invited to send delegates to the third and final regional conference on social dialogue and collective bargaining. The conference will take place in Verona in Italy on 9-10 September and will discuss the ETUC's pay campaign and issues around public sector pay, the impact of recent European Court cases on collective bargaining across Europe, how to improve the sectoral social dialogue and the future of European industrial relations in the public