2010 June epsucob@NEWS 12

Following the public sector strike on 8 June, the main confederations have called for a general strike on 29 September in protest at the government plans for public spending cuts and labour law reforms. This is the date of the ETUC’s European-wide mobilization with its key demands of “No cuts, more growth.” The Spanish unions have other action planned in the meantime with mobilizations in the regions on 30 June and then in Madrid on 9 September. [Read more at > FSC CCOO (ES)->http://www.fsc.ccoo.es/webfsc/menu.do?Inicio:90811] [And at > FSP UGT (ES)-> http://www.fspugt.es/UGT_y_CCOO_convocan

The FP CGIL public services federation has reacted to government plans to cut public spending by organizing a national demonstration on 12 June and this will be followed by a national public strike in most regions on 25 June (with action in some regions on 2 July). The cuts will have a direct impact on public sector workers’ pay. Previously agreed pay increases will be reduced and workers are also likely to lose the productivity-related elements of their salaries. [Read more at > FP CGIL (IT)->http://www.fpcgil.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/14342] [And at > FP CGIL (IT)->http:/

Over 40 participants from 10 countries met in Madrid on 16-17 June in the second of three regional collective bargaining conferences organized by EPSU this year with the financial assistance of the European Commission. The crisis was top of the agenda with participants able to share experiences of the way governments are trying to cut or freeze pay and jobs while unions are responding with various forms of protest and industrial action. With the pressure for cuts likely to lead to more outsourcing this was an important part of the discussion along with precarious employment. The extent of the

The public services unions in the ICTU confederation have voted to accept the so-called Croke Park deal. The agreement commits the government not to cut public service pay again, and to begin the process of reversing recent pay cuts as savings flow from the substantial reforms set out in the deal. It also contains a government commitment to avoid compulsory redundancies, plus important safeguards on pensions and outsourcing. Public service pay has been cut by an average of 14% over the last 16 months through the so-called ‘pension levy’ and reductions in pay scales introduced in the last

Following its earlier victory over the government, the PCS civil service union has won a second High Court ruling over the redundancy compensation scheme. After the first ruling the government was supposed to agree changes to the scheme with the union. However, the two sides didn’t agree and in this second ruling the court has said that most of the government-imposed changes (apart from those dealing with age discrimination) to the scheme are null and void. The new coalition government will now have to negotiate with the union if it wants to make any changes to the scheme. [Read more at > PCS

Five union organizations (CFDT, CGT, FSU, Solidaires and UNSA) are mobilizing for a demonstration on 24 June in protest at government plans to increase the retirement age and employees’ pension contributions. The unions argue that the changes will mean that as a result of the various breaks in their careers many women will have to work until the age of 65 to get a full pension. They point out that generally the reforms don’t acknowledge the scale of the gender pensions gap nor the need to take account of difficult and dangerous occupations. [Read more at > CGT (FR)->http://www.cgt.fr/spip.php

Unions putting forward claims to state sector employers think that there is a big gap to close in the forthcoming negotiations. The OFR negotiating cartel wants to see pay increase in line with the private sector as well as action on work-life balance. The SEKO services union is concerned about employment security particularly for women and young workers. It also wants a general wage increase of 2.6% but says that there is nothing on offer from the employers. [Read more at > ST (SE)->http://www.st.org/aktuellt/avtal-2010/avtalsrorelsen-inom-arbetsgivarverket/yrkandet-lamnat/#newsItem15585]

The SETCA services union reports that the regional government of Wallonia has agreed to allocate an additional €4.5m to the non-profit sector in response to demands from the trade unions. The sector includes a range of health and social services and the extra cash will cover a harmonization of pay structures across the sectors, proper application of elements of the 2007-2009 agreement and a range of measures on employment. The union sees this as a first step to meeting its collective bargaining demands and believes that union action, including a national demonstration on 8 June, was important

The SSP-VPOD public services union backed the national demonstration on 14 June over childcare provision and proposals to increase the retirement age for women. The union has criticized the federal government for plans to cut back a scheme that has actually increased childcare places in recent years, although there is still a major shortage across the country. [Read more at > SSP-VPOD (FR)->http://www.ssp-vpod.ch/actualites/nouvelles/ansicht/article/14-juin-2010-les-femmes-se-mobilisent-pour-laccueil-des-enfants.html?tx_ttnews[backPid]=34&cHash=cbb0d8e98e] [And at > VPOD-SSP (DE)-> http://www