2023 July EPSU Collective Bargaining Newsletter No. 15

FSC-CCOO, FeSP-UGT and the other unions involved in strike action at the Ministry of Justice made sure their claims were heard at EU level when they organised a demonstration in Logroño to coincide with a meeting of justice ministers from across Europe. The protest was the latest action in the long-running dispute where the unions are demanding pay increases for the majority of workers in the ministry in line with increases already awarded specifically to lawyers. They also want measures to establish a fair salary system and improve career development. The next steps will depend on who forms

The OSZSP health and care workers’ union has joined with the LOK-SČL doctors’ union in condemning government proposals to extend the limits on overtime for health workers. The government claims this is needed to ensure staffing levels in small facilities. The unions, however, criticise the government for failing to take any measures to tackle the staffing crisis and for increasing the risk of burnout and ill-health in a workforce that is already suffering from long working hours. The unions also fear that many health workers would be vulnerable to pressure to work the extra hours and they

The ver.di trade union is running two weeks of action as part of its campaign to secure equal rights for workers employed by church organisations. Between 25 September and 6 October, union members will be out promoting the campaign petition with the aim of securing 4000 signatures. Currently church-based employers like the Diakonie and Caritas, organisations that employ hundreds of thousands of health and care workers, have special treatment under the law in relation to co-determination, collective bargaining and the right to strike. Ver.di wants this changed so that all workers have the same

The FP-CGIL, CISL-FP and UIL-FPL public service federations have called a one-day strike on 27 September to put pressure on the AIOP employers’ organisation to return to negotiations over the sector agreement covering private residential and care homes. The three unions normally negotiate with AIOP and ARIS, the employer organisation representing religious providers. AIOP, however, is aiming to negotiate a different agreement with the UGL trade union – an organisation outside of the three main confederations and with links to the far right – and the unions argue that this flies in the face of

The strike by retained firefighters over pay and staffing was due to go ahead on 26 July after being suspended by the SIPTU union to allow for a Labour Court hearing. At the hearing the employers failed to produce an acceptable offer and the date for action was confirmed by the union. Meanwhile, the Fórsa trade union is balloting members in its health and welfare division over two disputes – one in relation to career development and the other in relation to the excessive use of agency staff and external consultants. Both unions, along with the INMO trade union are also continuing to campaign

The ADEDY public service workers’ confederation called a nationwide work stoppage from 11am on Wednesday 26 July and organised a protest outside the Ministry of Finance. This follows an earlier action on 19 July in protest at new legislation that ADEDY argues fails to address the long-term impact of austerity on public sector workers’ pay and conditions. The Confederation is demanding a range of measures to support workers, including re-establishing the value of the 13th and 14th month salaries, tax-free salaries up to €12000, an increase in the allowance for hazardous and unhealthy work and a

Members of the FNV trade union have voted by a large majority to endorse the new collective agreement covering 60000 social workers that provides for pay increases totalling 15% over the next two years. The agreement also includes measures to tackle excessive workloads with permanent employees having more control over their work schedule and having precedence over freelancers. Wages increased by 7% on 1 July and there will be two further increases – one of 7% on 1 January 2024 and then one of 4% on 1 July 2024. From 1 January 2024, every permanent employee will receive at least €14 gross per

The trade union-linked WSI research institute has published its annual overview of collective bargaining across Europe which it says “shows with alarming clarity that workers are the losers in the current wave of inflation: across Europe, the purchasing power of wages fell by 4.0% last year.” The report reveals that negotiated wages in the Eurozone rose by 2.8% in 2022, the second highest increase in over 20 years but the impact of inflation turned this into a 5.2% real terms decline, by far the largest fall over the same period. The report confirms that: “The long-term perspective makes it

The ZSSS trade union confederation has published a detailed article looking at the impact of outsourcing across many sectors and the initiatives taken by trade unions to prevent or end the process. The examples show the negative effects of outsourcing on pay and conditions, health and safety and union organisation and how agencies and outsourcing companies abuse employment law. Energy union, SDE, an EPSU affiliate, contributed to the overview highlighting how it was trying to reduce and restrict the impact of outsourcing in the sector. The union is particularly concerned about the increased

A new analysis by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and European Trade Union Institute reveals that families face the highest increase in the cost of holidays on record. The price of package holidays at home or abroad has increased by 12.4% across the EU and that follows an 11.5% increase last year. That is the highest increase in the cost of package holidays since records began. The research found that people in Estonia, France, Bulgaria, Sweden, and Czechia have been hit by the highest increases in the cost of a package holiday, with rises between 18% and 31%. According to the

Trade unions, including STAL and SINTAP, are calling on the government to make further changes to proposals on pay and career development for public sector IT workers. In response to earlier union demands the government make some improvements to elements of pay, particularly for IT workers coordinating projects. However, the unions say that these don’t go far enough nor is there adequate provision for IT workers to protect their pay when faced with career change. The unions underline that improvements are essential if the public sector is to recruit and retain IT staff and reduce the need for

Independent unions at the scandal-hit care multinational Orpea, have managed to make positive gains in annual negotiations. The CGT reports that the situation has now changed significantly since the position of the in-house union was challenged with the CGT, CFDT and FO winning their case against the company for rigging workplace elections. The CGT says that pay increases this year for non-management staff range from 3% to 7% depending on length of service while management staff get 1%-4% again depending on length of service and whether they benefited from salary adjustments in 2022 or 2023