After difficult negotiations and a mediation process, unions in the state sector secured a 3.3% pay increase that protects their pay against rising prices (inflation in the year to April was 3.3%). However, the key element in the agreement and welcomed by the trade unions was the NOK 300m (€38m) made available to tackle the gender pay gap.
Read more at > LO Stat (NO)
State sector workers maintain purchasing power
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Unions mobilise over purchasing power
The three main trade union confederations, including their public sector affiliates, have been organising demonstrations across the country in protest at the erosion of purchasing power from the failure of pay indexation to keep up with rising prices and in some sectors - particularly local and regional government - the failure to implement regular indexation of salaries. Trade unions in Flanders have planned a demonstration for 24 June in Antwerp over the employers' failure to discuss seriously the problem of purchasing power, particularly in the light of higher increases for top civil
Latest figures on loss of purchasing power
The UGFF-CGT state sector federation has updated its figures on the loss of purchasing power faced by public sector workers since 2000. While inflation has risen by more than 21% over this period, the index point used to calculate public sector salaries has increased by only 9%. To show the impact of this, the UGFF-CGT gives examples of different salaries and what they would have been, had they kept up with inflation. The loss of purchasing power is anything from €181 to €538 per month, depending on the level of salary. [Read more at > UGFF-CGT (FR)->http://www.ugff.cgt.fr/spip.php?article1822
Bargaining focuses on purchasing power and jobs
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