France
Unions in the gas and electricity industries have agreed increases on pay rates for 2006 and 2007. An increase of 1.8% will be implemented in three stages in 2006 - 0.6% on 1st February, 0.8% on 1st April and 0.4% on 1st July. The 1.5% increase for 2007 will be implemented in two stages - 0.9% on 1st January and 0.6% on 1st April. There is a reopening clause in the agreement in case inflation increases above expected levels.
Read more at >FNME-CGT
And at >FNEM-FO
After intensive negotiations the GPA-DJP trade union has agreed a pay deal for the private sector that will provide increases on basic pay of between 2.9% and 3.2% with the higher increases for the lower paid. Inflation was 2.8% in the year to December 2012, averaging 2.4% over the whole year. It was also agreed to examine the coverage of the sector agreement in relation to companies in the sector covered by other agreements, subsidiaries of companies covered by the agreement, cooperation with employers who are not covered by the agreement and other employers who are not part of the energy
Services union has recently agreed to two new two-year agreements in the energy sector. At Vattenfall workers get a 4% increase on pay rates this year and 2.6% in 2010. There will also be a €1200 lump sum in 2010 with apprentices getting €200. The two-year deal at RWE also runs from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2010 and also has a 4% pay increase this year with 2.2% next year There are lump sum payments in both years with €1200 this year (€600 for apprentices) and €800 next year (€400 for apprentices).
The four energy sector federations made a joint statement on 28 May setting out their main demands and attacking employers in the energy sector (IEG) for failing to re-open negotiations on the 2009 pay increase and for pulling out of talks about a new job classification system that started in 2007. The CGT, FO, CFDT and CFTC want to negotiate an overall salary increase for all workers in the sector but the employers have implemented an increase of only 0.3% this year. The unions are critical of the employers’ narrow focus on inflation and argue that a much more substantial increase should be
