Latvia
The EIRO industrial relations observatory reports that the economy is under pressure because of high and increasing emigration from the country. The report says that Latvian trade unions are arguing that social dialogue is the key to negotiating improved pay and better working conditions, particularly working time, in order to make jobs at home more attractive. This would include an increase in the national minimum wage.
Read more at > EIRO (EN)
On 12 May healthworkers in Sofia and Zagreb demonstrated over poor pay and working conditions and the crisis of understaffing. 5000 nurses, medical professionals, midwives and lab technicians joined a demonstration outside the Council of Ministers in Sofia demanding a 1500 Lev (EUR 765) minimum wage for health workers as a step towards stemming the flow of health workers out of the country. In Zagreb the call was also for improved pay and working conditions and in particular the respect for collective agreements in relation to overtime pay.
Municipal workers’ union Kommunal has published a new report that reveals a dramatic decline in the number of young people interested to work in elder care. It points out that the average salary for a nurse in the sector is several thousand less than that of an industrial worker, while working hours also make the job less attractive with frequent weekend service and split shifts. The sector has a high proportion of hourly-paid and temporary employment workers with 60% working part time. Kommunal wants legislation to provide a right to work full time. [Read more at > Kommunal (SE)->http://www
The vida public services trade union has called for better employment and working conditions in the care sector to tackle labour shortages. It highlights the problems of long hours, changing shift patterns and low pay that are making it difficult to recruit. The union has called for improved funding for the sector in contrast to employer organisations who have called for care professions to be included in the skilled worker regulations that control which categories of non-EU workers can enter the country. [Read more at > vida (DE)->http://www.vida.at/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=S03/Page
