Tough negotiations in hospitals and mental health

The ST state sector union reports that in some parts of the civil service employers have taken a tough line on individual pay and are refusing to agree increases. There are no general pay increases in the state sector. The union says that some employers appear to be rejecting individual increases even when there is evidence of adequate performance that would normally warrant a pay rise. There is an auditing process to assess the fairness of pay awards and ST is continuing discussions with employers to resolve the disagreements. [Read more at > ST (SV)->http://www.st.org/om-st/organisation/sts

The ver.di services union has given notice of the end of the current agreement covering 2.3 million workers in federal and municipal government on 31 August. This confirms that negotiations will get underway and the union is looking for an appropriate pay increase to recognise the hard work done by its members particularly during the current crisis. At a meeting with employers earlier this month there had been a discussion about the possibility of postponing bargaining until next year and giving all workers a lump sum payment this year as an interim measure. However, the union says the