2015 September epsucob@NEWS 13

Over 30000 people in Helsinki and 300000 across the whole country joined protests on 18 September against government plans to unilaterally change a range of employment rights including holiday entitlement and sick leave. The demonstrations were organised jointly by the three Finnish confederations who are extremely angry not just about the attacks on pay and conditions but the the fact that the government is undermining the autonomy of collective bargaining between employers and trade unions. [Read more at > EPSU->http://www.epsu.org/a/11672] [And at > JHL (EN)->http://www.jhl.fi/portal/en/jhl

Members of the PCS civil service union have marked their 100th day of industrial action at the National Gallery in central London. Their long-running campaign is against the privatisation of visitor services at the Gallery as well as reinstatement of a leading shop steward who was sacked during the dispute. The strikers have received support from across the trade union movement. The new Gallery director has met the union for talks and further meetings are planned. [Read more at > PCS->http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/news_and_events/pcs_comment/pcs_comment.cfm/national-gallery-strike-great-support-for

Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot workers, members of FP SEK and TOURKSEN, took joint action earlier this month against British Government plans to slash wages of workers at the Sovereign British Base areas in Cyprus. All civilian workers in Limassol (Episkopi and Akrotiri) and in Larnaca (Dekelia) took five days of action from 7-11 September. The strike was decided after a deadlock in the negotiations between the two sides and after the employers side announced that cuts in wages will be applied by the end of September 2015, ignoring the advice of the Ministry of Labour of Cyprus not to make

Unions have launched a campaign against the Conservative government's Trade Union Bill which, if passed, will seriously undermine the right to strike. The provisions include allowing agency workers to replace strikers and strict new rules on picketing. The major worries for the public sector are thresholds for ballots in "important" public services and a threat to facility time for trade union representatives as well as an attack on the check-off system where employers collect union subscriptions. The ballot rules would require 50% of members to turn out to vote and 40% of the entire

The public services federation FSP-UGT has launched a campaign to re-establish the 35-hour week across the public sector and win back other rights lost a result of austerity policies. The union believes that in the context of economic and political changes it is a good time to try to win back lost rights and negotiate improvements for public sector workers who have seen four years of pay freezes and a loss of more than 9% in purchasing power. Meanwhile the FSC-CCOO federation has attacked the government for failing to begin a process of collective bargaining to negotiate over lost rights to

The vpod public services union is planning to mobilise against the plans by the Geneva regional authority to implement deep cuts in public spending. The union argues that these measures are an attack on public sector workers as well as citizens and will seriously undermined public services. Among the many proposed changes to workers' conditions are a two-hour increase in the working week and weaker job protection rules. [Read more at > vpod (FR)->http://www.ssp-vpod.ch/actualites/nouvelles/nouvelles/article/geneve-declaratio-de-guerre-du-conseil-detat.html?tx_ttnews=34&cHash

The FNV has set out a number of key priorities for its collective bargaining with job security one of the main demands. The confederation is also looking at a target of 3% increases in salaries and the abolition of youth wages. The FNV wants to ensure higher pay for lower paid workers as part of a strategy to tackle rising inequality. Getting flexible workers on permanent contracts and more jobs for people with disabilities also feature in the debate on collective agreements going on within the confederation. [Read more at > FNV (NL)->http://www.fnv.nl/over-fnv/nieuws/nieuwsarchief/2015

Social care workers in Galway and Roscommon in the west of Ireland have taken action to resolve a dispute over €7.5 million of unpaid premium payments to the 400 social care staff working in the Brothers of Charity and Ability West services in both counties. The payments involved supplements of time plus a sixth for working between 8pm and midnight. A new offer involving payments backdated over three years was being discussed by the workers. [Read more at > IMPACT->http://www.impact.ie/social-care-workers-take-industrial-action-over-twilight-arrears/] [And at > SIPTU->http://www.siptu.ie/media

Health workers are set to see their wages double over the next two years as a series of pay increases have been agreed with the government. The Sanitas trade union has been campaigning for pay increases for some time as one of the key measures to tackle the recruitment crisis in the sector. After lengthy negotiations the government has now agreed to increase health workers' pay by 25% from 1 October this year. This will be followed by further 25% increases over the next two years. Other measures to tackle the crisis in the sector include new statutes for doctors to differentiate them from

Members of the GMB trade union working for the Sodexo multinational at Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals have voted to accept the company's offer to put all permanent employees on contracts which mirror National Health Service terms and conditions of employment. The members are employed as porters, housekeepers, cleaners and on the patient feeding services and this outcome is the result of a long-running campaign. There will be pay rises of up to 6% plus enhanced shift pay, better sick pay and increased holidays. This happens just one month before Sodexo passes the contract back into the