13-2007 epsucob@NEWS 12 July 2007

The ÖGB trade union confederation has signed an agreement with the WKÖ employers' organisation establishing a €1,000 as the minimum monthly pay for full-time workers. There is no statutory minimum wage in Austria and the trade unions have not been calling for one because of the very high coverage of collective agreements. This new agreement will be implemented through collective bargaining mainly at sector level. Workers currently earning less than €1,000 but more than €900 should see their pay increase to €1,000 by 1 January 2008. Those currently earning between €800 and €900 will get €1,000

The FSAP-CCOO and FSP-UGT public service federations have signed a new collective agreement covering around 20,000 workers and 60 enterprises in the water industry. The previous agreement only provided for a minimum guaranteed salary level, whereas the new agreement introduces a pay structure based on occupations, length of service with basic salary and various additional payments and allowances. The agreement runs for four years and guarantees an increase of 4% on minimum salaries in 2007. The agreement also establishes a health and safety committee for the sector. [Read more at > FSAP-CCOO

Trade unions in local government organised a demonstration at the Houses of Parliament on 10 July, calling for action on equal pay in local government. In 1997 employers and trade unions in local government negotiated an agreement on harmonisation of pay and conditions for workers across the sector (single status). A central element of the agreement was the introduction of an equal pay job evaluation system and the commitment of local authorities to apply this. However, the problem has been that many local authorities have been arguing that they do not have the money to implement equal pay.

Following meetings at the end of May with Eric Woerth, the minister for the budget and public services, the various public service federations have had bilateral meetings with André Santini, the secretary of state for the public service in the new French government. The unions have a range of demands that they have been pressing over recent years. They want negotiations to start immediately over pay including an increase for 2008. They argue that public service workers have seen their real pay fall by 6% in recent years. The unions also expressed their opposition to continuing jobs cuts and

The LO trade union confederation has negotiated a new agreement with government that includes a number of provisions covering the training of public service workers. Workers will be entitled to free admission to and guaranteed places at social and health care colleges. There will also be more possibilities for elementary training and the possibility for 15,000 more employees to receive paid training as skilled workers. In addition, around DKK 450m (€60m) will be set aside for continuing training in the coming collective bargaining period. [Read more at > LO (EN)->http://www.lo.dk

The annual review of collectively agreed pay increases by the EIRO industrial relations observatory indicates that most EU countries saw the same or higher increases in 2006 when compared to 2005 both in nominal and real terms. The highest increases were in the Baltic states with all three recording double-digit increases in real terms. The survey also focuses on a number of specific sectors including local government. In both 2005 and 2006 local government pay increases in most countries lagged behind increases across all sectors. There were only seven countries in 2005 and six in 2006 where

Our collective bargaining contact at the DONG Energy company reports that shortly after a negotiated national settlement for the members of Denmark's largest union 3F was agreed, the local negotiations at DONG energy ran into difficulties. In a period with extremely low unemployment and with profits, director and board wages all rising to previously unseen levels, the largely unskilled members with 3F demanded their share of the cake. A three-day wildcat strike underlined the workers frustrations. Shortly afterwards a local agreement was reached, which was worth €177 euros a month to 3F's