Higher pay and shorter hours across public services

Israel

After seven years with no update to the main public sector framework agreement the Histradut trade union organisation reports that negotiations have delivered a salary increase of 11% over the next four years up to April 2027 along with a lump sum of NIS 6,000 (€1575) designed to help cope with the cost of living. Workers will get a two-hour cut in working week from 42 to 41 hours in June 2023 and from 41 to 40 hours in January 2025. There will also be special salary adjustments for a range of occupations, particularly in health and social care. Meanwhile, the union has negotiated an agreement covering paramedics at the Assuta Hospital which provides for pay increases of 22% and an improvement in a range of employment conditions in line with the public sector agreement.

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Apr. 03, 2017

Shorter weekly hours experiment in public services

Iceland

(April 2017) The BSRB public services union is promoting an pilot project on shorter weekly working time. Four workplaces, including police, revenue and immigration services have been selected to participate to examine whether shortening the work week will bring mutual benefit to employees and the employer. The pilot will last one year from 1 April and the hours worked by employees will be reduced from 40 to 36 per week without wage cuts to come. The project will examine the impact on quality and efficiency and staff morale and well being.

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Oct. 23, 2006

Union wants higher pay and shorter hours for nurses

Ireland

SIPTU is calling for higher pay and shorter hours nurses in evidence to the Benchmarking Body. As part of the long-running series of national agreements public sector workers' pay and conditions are compared to similar jobs in the private sector. SIPTU is arguing that nurses should be properly rewarded for their round-the-clock service and that recruitment and retention bonuses should be paid in response to the shortage of nurses. The union also notes that there have been many changes to the health service and to nurses' responsibilities since the last benchmarking study. [Read more at > SIPTU

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Feb. 17, 2023

Municipalities experiment with shorter hours in eldercare

Sweden

The Kommunal trade union reports that municipalities on the island of Öland are looking to reduce working time while maintaining pay to try to address the recruitment problem in eldercare. Mörbylånga in the south of the island was the first to offer 85% of working hours at full-time rates in response to indications that workers needed the full-time level of pay but couldn’t cope with the demands of a full-time job. This produced an increase in recruitment and the now arrangement is being tested for a year in Borgholm in the north of the island.

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