2010 February epsucob@NEWS 04
ADEDY claims large turnout in public sector strike
The ADEDY civil service confederation said that support for the national public sector strike on 10 February was very high – overall at 75% with up to 90% backing in some areas. The unions were protesting at government plans to cut public sector pay as part of a strategy, supported by the European Commission, to deal with the governments budget deficit. Read more at > ADEDY (GR) And at > the Guardian news website (EN)
Ver.di calls for arbitration
After the third round of negotiations produced no further offer from the local and federal government employers, the ver.di public services union has called for arbitration to try to make progress. The union says that the 120,000 union members who took part in the recent sequence of warning strikes have made it clear that they want a reasonable offer from the employers in response to the union’s demand for a pay and conditions package worth around 5%. Strike action will be suspended during the period of arbitration. [Read more at > ver.di (DE)->http://presse.verdi.de/pressemitteilungen
Unions united in boycott of social dialogue meeting
The seven main public sector federations have issued a joint statement explaining their decision to stay away from the state civil service committee in protest at the government’s insistence that the meeting should discuss its new regulations on restructuring. The new decree will reduce civil servants’ rights in the case of a restructuring so that they will have to accept more or less any job rather than remain in the area in which they currently work. The unions argue that this is part of the wider measures introduced by the government which will lead to a reduction in public sector
New municipal agreement aims to close pay gap
The new two-year agreement covering municipal workers includes 0.8% increase this month for certain groups of workers such as those in catering, cleaning, social care and childcare and then 0.7% to be allocated at local level in September. Unions had wanted to make some progress on parental leave and to place limits on the use of fixed-term workers but these were not part of the agreement. The deal has still to be approved by union members. Read more at > JHL (EN)
Confederations announce joint campaign over pension age
The two main union confederations – CCOO and UGT – have announced a nationwide campaign against the government’s plans to raise the pension age from 65 to 67. Over 100 demonstrations have been planned in the provincial capitals and other major cities in the two weeks at the end of February and beginning of March. The unions argue that the public pensions system is in good financial health and doesn’t need the drastic reform being proposed. They also argue that the government should be doing more to increase the minimum wage and reduce precarious employment conditions as ways of boosting
Nurses' union anger at arbitration
The NSF nurses’ union is angry that the government has intervened in the union’s dispute with private sector health employers. The union had been trying to ensure that nurses employed by companies in the NHO employers’ federation in line with nurses in the public sector. The employers threatened to close a hospital in reaction to the union’s industrial action and the government stepped in to force the dispute to arbitration. The union has called on the government to abide by Convention 94 of the International Labour Organisation that calls for contracts issued by public authorities to maintain
Negotiations open with massive gap between government and unions
The SINTAP public service trade union reported on its first meeting with the government over the 2010 negotiations, saying that there is an enormous gap between union demands and what’s on offer from the government. The union rejects the idea of a pay freeze, arguing that more efficient management can deliver cost savings to finance a pay rise. It also rejects the planned reforms to the pension system . Read more at > SINTAP (PT)
Council workers win equal pay case
Supported by the UNISON public service union, women workers at Sheffield City Council in the North East of England have won an equal pay case that is likely to have an impact across local government. The union argued that predominantly women workers in jobs such as social care were losing out as the predominantly male workers in jobs like street cleansing and gardening benefited from bonuses that could boost their basic pay by 30% or more. Read more at > UNISON (EN)
Union defends hospital workers
The GDG-KMSfB public services union has attacked calls for new collective agreements in hospitals that would threaten the current earnings of health workers. The union made clear that it would defend hospital workers’ pay and conditions and call for improvements in view of their hard work and unsocial hours. The GDG also criticised the employers’ organisation (Wirtschaftskammer) for claiming that massive savings could be made through privatisation of health services. Read more at > GDG (DE)
Concern that subsidised jobs being used to cut costs
The FOA public services union is worried that local authorities are taking on unskilled workers as part of a subsidised employment scheme and then using them to replace existing, skilled and higher paid employees. The union reports one case where a nursing home sacked a number of workers but not before asking them to provide training to the subsidised employees who would replace them. The FOA says that the number of subsidised jobs in local government increased to 13,653 in 2009 up from 9128 in 2008 but could rise to 25,000 in 2010 and the union is concerned about the impact on quality of care
Local and provincial government dispute continues
Workers in local and provincial government are continuing their industrial action to win better pay offers from the employers. The action involves a range of short stoppages by different groups of workers across the country. A key demand of the unions is that municipal and provincial workers should be treated the same as other workers and get the increase in purchasing power negotiated as part of the national, cross-sectoral social accord. Unions argue that a pay freeze over the next two years will leave workers 6% worse off in terms of purchasing power. [Read more at > FNV Abvakabo (NL)->http
Survey finds over 200,000 part timers want to work more hours
A new survey by the LO trade union confederation estimates that nearly a third (27%) of part-time workers are willing and able to work longer hours but are not given that option by their employers. Of these 280,000 workers, 80% are women and 70% are blue-collar. LO unions have made longer hours for part-time workers one of their key demands in the current bargaining round, arguing that it is just providing flexibility on the employers’ terms, irrespective of what the workers want. Read more at > LO (SE)
Unions organise joint meeting over pay cuts
As public-sector wide industrial action continues, unions have organised a joint mass meeting in Galway on 23 February to discuss the progress of union campaigning against the pay cuts forced through by the government in its latest budget. These cuts, along with the pensions levy introduced last year, mean that take home pay for many public sector workers has been cut by 14%. Read more at > SIPTU (EN)
Delegates debate key energy collective bargaining issues
Around 300 delegates of the ver.di services union met in Hannover earlier this month to discuss collective bargaining priorities in the energy sector. They are facing a challenging bargaining environment with employers pushing for pay freezes. Other issues include the spread of outsourcing and poorer collective agreements, the growth of precarious employment and employer reluctance to guarantee jobs for apprentices. Read more at > EPSU (EN)
Senior officials contest 4% pay cut
Senior legal officials and other civil servants are facing a 4% cut in pay for 2010 as part of the government’s measures to reduce public spending. The government originally planned to cut the pay of all civil servants by 4% but this was rejected in a vote in parliament. Read more at > Czech news website (EN)
Red Cross workers reject pay freeze
A meeting of works council reps has called on the Red Cross in Vienna to stop delaying and make a pay offer and not try to freeze pay for 2010. The workers argue that their pay should rise in line with workers delivering similar services and point to the recent agreement in the BAGS private health negotiations that produced a 1.5% pay increase. Read more at > VIDA (DE)
Union launches petition to reduce number of contract workers in public sector
In response to a statement by President Sarkozy that contract workers in the public sector would gradually be given civil servant status, the CGT public services federation has launched a petition supporting this demand. The petition also calls for any contract worker to be reinstated if their contract has been terminated since 1 January. The CGT says that there are around 840,000 contract workers in the public sector with some 30% of workers in local and regional government working on contracts rather than civil service status. The union wants to see an end to the lower pay, poorer conditions
Government suspends talks over higher pension age
The government has said that discussions over increasing the pension age to 65 from 63 for men and from 60 for women have been suspended. The government says that the economic situation means that its priorities now are focused on the labour market and health reform. Read more at > Novinite news website (EN)