021 epsucob@NEWS November 2008
Employers yet to make a pay offer
The third round of bargaining in the public sector has ended without a clear pay offer from the employers. Trade unions are looking to ensure an increase that at least compensates for inflation on the basis of the 3.45% inflation rate recorded in the year to September. The employers have so far not even confirmed this as the basis of a possible offer. Read more at > GÖD (DE)
Union calls for minimum wage in waste sector
The service union ver.di has been negotiating with the VKA municipal employers’ organisation and BDE private employers’ association to agree a minimum wage for the waste sector. The union wants to use the Posted Workers legislation to ensure that minimum rates of pay apply across the industry and has initially called for a €8.02 minimum for workers who sort rubbish for recycling. It will propose specific rates for other workers such as refuse collectors and drivers. Ver.di argues that establishing minimum rates in this way is vital to tackle the trend among employers to operate outside
Study reveals some concerns over local bargaining in public sector
A study for the SAK trade union confederation shows that most local negotiators in the state and municipal sectors think that local bargaining on hours has been more positive than negative. On pay the results are less convincing. While 63% of local negotiators in the municipal sector are more positive than negative about local bargaining the figure in central government is only 46%. A substantial minority of around a fifth in both sectors believe local bargaining on pay has been negative for workers. In general 44% of municipal local negotiators and 54% of state sector bargainers think that
ETUC calls demonstration on working time
European trade unions are mobilising for a demonstration in Strasbourg on 16 December, the day before the European Parliament votes on revisions to the Working Time Directive. The ETUC and its affiliates are calling on the European Parliament to follow its employment committee and adopt the report of Spanish MEP Alejandro Cercas. The Cercas report proposes only a limited period for countries to opt out of the directive’s 48-hour week maximum and for on-call time at work to be counted as working time. This is in opposition to the European Council’s support in June this year for a revised
Union emphasises need for decent pay rise for women
The GDG local government union’s federal women’s committee has stressed the importance of ensuring that women get decent pay awards. The committee argues that many women are under threat from the current crisis as a result of the kinds of precarious jobs in which they are employed. Often on low pay and working part time, now many women are vulnerable to job cuts and outsourcing. Read more at > GDG (DE)
EPSU to negotiate framework agreement on sharps
EPSU and the HOSPEEM employers’ association are to negotiate a European framework agreement on how to prevent sharps/needlestick injuries in hospitals. The two organisations have written jointly to Employment Commissioner Vladimir Spidla to announce their decision, arguing that the social partners are best placed to negotiate an agreement on this issue. This will be the first major agreement negotiated in the sectoral social dialogue committee that was established in September 2006. Read more at > EPSU (EN)
Union votes to strike over pay
Member of the Unite union in the National Health Service have voted to reject the three-year pay deal and take industrial action. Other unions are also unhappy about the deal and UNISON, the biggest union in the health service has called on the NHS employers to re-open negotiations in view of the recent surge in inflation. Read more at > Unite (EN) And at > UNISON (EN)
Unions back call for right to strike
Energy sector unions met earlier this month to underline the importance of the fundamental right to strike in the face of recent European Court of Justice rulings that have given priority to internal market principles. The unions met in a conference convened jointly by the Hungarian VDSZSZ energy union and the European region of Public Service International. Information on the right to strike in the energy sector and across the public services is available in an EPSU-sponsored report by the ETUI-REHS research organisation. [Read more at > EPSU (EN)->http://www.epsu.org/a/4281] [Read more at >
Confederation plans week of action
The CGT trade union confederation is planning a week of action in the public and private sectors from 24 November with 26 November a key date. The confederation’s protest is over pay, employment and the latest government proposals to reform employment contracts and to raise the retirement age to 70. The CGT argues that an increase to salaries and boost to public services are important elements of a strategy to respond to the current crisis. Read more at > CGT (FR)
Federation organises demonstration over pay
The FNSFP public services federation organised a demonstration of public administration workers on 21 November in protest at the government’s proposed 2.9% pay increase for 2009. The federation has called for a 5% increase and said that 2.9% is inadequate as it does nothing to begin to recover the lost purchasing power suffered by public sector salaries in recent years. Read more at > FNSFP (PT)
Last chance to book for conference
EPSU’s annual conference on collective bargaining and social dialogue, with financial support from the European Commission, takes place in Brussels on 9 and 10 December. Over 145 delegates from 24 countries have registered as participants. The sessions will cover general debates on collective bargaining in the public services along with equal pay and Eurorpean Court of Justice cases. There will also be four simultaneous workshops on violence at work, demographic change, migrant workers and transnational agreements. Read more in 10 languages at > EPSU
Mixed outcome in Scottish council strike ballots
UNISON Scotland, the biggest union in local government with around 100,000 members, voted narrowly to accept a two-year pay deal that increases pay by 3% in 2008 and 2.5% in 2009. The union said that it was very disappointed by the pay deal and the narrowness of the vote reflected widespread discontent with the outcome. The pay offer was rejected by two other unions in the sector – the GMB with around 25,000 members and Unite with around 20,000. [Read more at > UNISON Scotland (EN)->http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/localgovt/pay2008/index.html] [Read more at > GMB (EN)->http://www.gmb.org.uk
Report exposes deterioration in health and safety
The latest annual report on the work environment from the LO trade union confederation reveals a deterioration for many workers. The report says that women are often worst affected working in jobs in the public sector where they have don’t have adequate breaks while public sector workers in general are more at risk from threats and violence. Read more at > LO (EN)
Local government unions demonstrate over jobs
The three union federations in local government in the Wallonia region organised a demonstration on 19 November in protest at the regional government’s failure to implement the 2005-2006 collective agreement. The unions are calling for the government to honour its promises on protecting workers’ purchasing power, recruitment and pensions and they are ready for a long campaign of protest if the government doesn’t respond. [Read more at > CSC (FR)->http://csc-services-publics.csc-en-ligne.be/Images/Communiqu%C3%A9%20%C3%A0%20la%20presse%20CGSP-CSC-SLFP%20-%20FINI%20DE%20RIRE%20-%2011-13_tcm90
Pay increase for gas and heating sector above inflation
Workers in the gas and heating sector will see their pay rise by at least 3.8% with lower paid workers getting a 3.9% increase. The agreement covers the 12-month period from 1 November 2008 and the pay rise is ahead of the current inflation rate of 3.1% in the year to October. There will also be a lump sum payment of between €100 and €250 that workers will receive in March 2009. Read more at > GPA-DJP (DE)
European Parliament calls for action on gender pay gap
MEPs have voted by a massive majority to call on the European Commission to review equal pay legislation and to come up with new proposals that will reduce the gap between the average pay of women and men. Despite 30 years of European legislation the gender pay gap is still around 15% averaged across Europe and more like 25% in the private sector. The Parliament backed the report from MEP Edit Bauer that proposed a range of measures including compulsory pay audits and the possibility of financial penalties for employers that failed to tackle the issue. [Read more at > European Parliament (EN)-
Further action in hospital sector
Thousands of hospitals workers joined lunchtime demonstrations on 18 November in protest at the financial crisis facing the sector and the inadequacy of the government’s funding package. Ver.di general secretary Frank Bsirske demanded in particular that salary increases should be fully funded. Read more at > ver.di (DE)
Unions protest over hospital funding
Workers at the hospital in the Zug canton took part in a demonstration earlier this month demanding proper funding and decent pay to maintain a good standard of care. The unions sent a letter to the canton government as it refused to meet representatives of the works council. The unions are worried that pressure from the health insurance companies to cut funding to hospitals will threaten their collective agreement and could lead to cuts in pay as labour costs make up 70% of overall hospital costs. [Read more at > (DE)->http://www.vpod.ch/aktuell/nachrichten/ansicht/article/zug-gute-pflege-zu