2011 October epsucob@NEWS 16
ETUC warns of threat to pay bargaining in economic governance proposals
The ETUC is concerned that the legislative package on economic governance that was agreed in the European Parliament at the end of September will be used to keep wages down and poses a threat to collective bargaining. There is a clause in one part of the package that affords protection for national wage bargaining and the ETUC says it will not hesitate to use this safeguard to protect the autonomy of collective bargaining at national level. In the meantime the European institutions have pushed the debate around pay determination up the political agenda and a conference organized by DG
24-hour strike over new threat to public sector pay and jobs
The ADEDY public sector confederation organized a national strike on 5 October in response to the government’s latest round of austerity measures. One part of the latest package of cuts would involve transferring 30,000 public sector workers to a special labour reserve where they would be lower pay, with the prospect that the jobs would be permanently cut. [Read more at > ADEDY (GR)->http://www.adedy.gr/adedy/site/home/ws.csp] [And at > Guardian news website (EN)-> http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/oct/05/general-strike-in-greece] [And at > Bloomberg news website (EN)->http://www
Union calls demonstration over threat to public services and pay bargaining
The FP-CGIL federation will be mobilizing for a national demonstration on 8 October which will highlight the threat to public services and collective bargaining posed by the European institutions and exposed in the leaked letter from the European Central Bank (ECB) to the Italian government. The ECB letter not only calls for widespread privatisation of public services but for wage reform and decentralization of collective bargaining. The ETUC has also reacted angrily to the ECB’s interference in natonal collective bargaining arrangements. [Read more at > FP-CGIL (IT)->http://www.fpcgil.it/flex
Union organisations co-ordinate action on 11 October
Five trade union organisations – CGT, CFDT, UNSA, FSU and Solidaires – have called a day of action on 11 October to protest at budget cuts announced by the French government in August. Among other demands, they are calling for an end to job cuts in the public service, for maintenance of the real value of pay and an opening of negotiations on public sector pay. They argue that the government is doing nothing about tackling tax havens or to increase taxes on the rich. Read more at > CGT (FR)
Ver.di threatens strike action at EON
The ver.di services says it may resort to strike action in response to the threat of large-scale job cuts at the EON energy company. Up to 11,000 of the company’s 79,000 global workforce could go and ver.di wants to negotiate a job security agreement that would exclude compulsory redundancies after 2012. Sven Bergelin, ver.di official and chair of EPSU’s utilities standing committee said that workers were particularly angered by EON’s plans as the company was making good profits. [Read more at > rp-online (DE)->http://www.rp-online.de/wirtschaft/news/Verdi-droht-Eon-mit-Streiks_aid_1025838
Doctors maintain threat of mass resignation
The mass resignation of hospital doctors, co-ordinated by the LOZ trade union, is still possible following inconclusive talks with the government. The union has a number of key demands including stopping the conversion of public hospitals into joint stock companies, the application of labour code rules on working time and working conditions and pay increases for health staff. Read more at > Slovak Spectator news website (EN)
Unions maintain protests over pay cuts
The Unison and Unite trade unions have organized further strike action against Southampton City Council in the south of England in protest at pay cuts imposed in the summer. Over 4,000 workers were affected by the cuts when the council sacked them and re-employed them on contracts with inferior pay and conditions. Unison members have also been taking strike action over pay cuts at Shropshire County Council in the Midlands while the union has managed to regain recognition at Plymouth City Council in the south west of England. [Read more at > Unite (EN)->http://www.unitetheunion.org/news__events
Strike at facilities management company
Over 300 workers employed by the Charité-CFM services company in Berlin have taken strike action and organized a demonstration on the third day of the strike on 14 September. The workers provide a range of services (cleaning, catering, security) to the Charité university hospital. The dispute is over pay and a collective agreement to cover all the workers. The company claims that is under pressure to keep costs down or risks losing the contract with the hospital. Watch the video report at > ver.di (DE)
Unions negotiate deal for mental health workers
A new 22-month agreement covering 80,000 workers in the mental health sector will be put to members for approval. The three main unions have secured a 3.25% overall pay increase that includes a 0.75% rise in August 2011, with a 0.25% one-off payment (minimum €25) in November and an additional 0.5% on the end-of-year bonus in December. In 2012 there will be a 1% increase in salaries in September, another 0.25% (minimum €25) payment and the end-of-year bonus will rise by another 0.5% taking it to 6.75%. While this keeps salaries rising in line with the rest of the health sector, unions are
Cross-sectoral negotiations break down
National negotiations over a framework for pay increases over the next two years broke down at the beginning of October and now collective bargaining will continue at sectoral level. The EK private business federation and KT local government employers offered a 2.4% pay increase for 13 months and 1.9% for the following 12 months. The SAK and STTK confederations rejected the offer as too low. Read more at > Trade Union News (EN)
Unions campaign over social care funding and women's pay
The vida and GPA-DJP services trade unions are working together in a campaign to ensure better funding for social care and improved pay and conditions for workers in the sector, the vast majority of whom are women. They are concerned to act now to defend and improve pay and conditions in order to prevent the increasing demand for social care leading to pressure both to keep wages low and to increase workloads and working time for staff. Read more at > vida (DE)
Federation calls for better pay and conditions for sub-contractor employees
The FNME-CGT energy federation organized a national day of action on 22 September to highlight the situation of the employees of sub-contractors in the nuclear sector. The union points out that these workers are facing some of the most serious safety risks in the sector but are missing out on the pay and employment conditions enjoyed by permanent staff. The union has delivered a 10,000-signature petition to the energy minister calling for improved pay and conditions for all sub-contracted workers, arguing also that all the contracted out services should be brought back in-house. [Read more at
Union argues that agreements needed on role of volunteers
As 2011 is the European year of volunteering, it is appropriate that the FOA public services has surveyed its members to find their views on volunteer work. While nine out of 10 are fully supportive of the work done by volunteers in the social services, just over a quarter are concerned that some volunteer work involves tasks that should really be carried out by professionals. FOA suggests that the union at the workplace should be involved in discussions with volunteer organisations to clarify the respective responsibilities of paid and unpaid workers. [Read more at > FOA (DK)->http://www.foa
Street cleaners protest over threat to transfer jobs
Unions organized a demonstration on 22 September over proposals to transfer 600 street cleaners from the Brussels region to local authorities. The unions are concerned that the issue of the employment conditions of the workers has not been dealt with and they are surprised by the unexpected announcement of the transfer as the government and region had appeared to put any restructuring plans on hold. The regional government gave assurances that any proposed changes to the service will be undertaken subject to negotiation with the unions. [Read more at > CSC (FR)->http://csc-services-publics.csc
Local government challenges Mediation Office's narrow view on wages
The Kommunal municipal trade union has criticized the National Mediation Office for its narrow view of the scope for pay bargaining and failure to acknowledge the need for action to close the gender pay gap. The union agrees that wage developments should take into account the pressures facing the manufacturing and export industries but that there has to be scope for some flexibility otherwise the lower paying sectors that are dominated by women workers will never catch up with other sectors and the gender pay gap will never be closed. [Read more at > Kommunal (SV)->http://www.kommunal.se
Union mobilises justice workers over working conditions and service quality
The CFDT-Interco public services federation has called for all workers in the judiciary to demonstrate outside court houses on 11 October. The protests will highlight the succession of reforms in the service that have been carried out without taking account of the needs of the workers and the increasing workloads for staff who are suffering more and more from stress. The union is also concerned about the falling real value of salaries, the failure to recognize staff skills and the threat to a service that should be accessible to all. [Read more at > CFDT (FR)->http://www.cfdt.fr/rewrite
No progress with civil service negotiations
Talks between unions and the government on the main civil service agreement have broken down. At one point it appeared that the employers would consider a lower pay rise along with an agreement on job security but in the end they were insisting on a pay freeze with no commitment on jobs. FNV Abvakabo is planning action from next month to put pressure on the employers while CNV Publieke Zaak is still considering its next move. [Read more at > FNV Abvakabo (NL)->http://www.abvakabofnv.nl/nieuws/nieuws/overleg-cao-rijk-definitief-vastgelopen] [And at > CNV Publieke Zaak (NL)->http://www
First step in annual pay negotiations
The GÖD trade union has contacted the public service ministry to ensure that the annual negotiations over pay get underway so that increases to salaries can be implemented as usual from 1 January 2012. The union is looking at least to maintain the value of earnings and allowances and has reminded the ministry that the starting point is an assessment of official statistics on developments in inflation and economic growth in the period from October 2010 to September 2011. Read more at > GÖD (DE)
Campaign for right to strike for church employees
The ver.di services union has set up a new website as part of a campaign against church employers, who provide a range of social services and who want to deny their workers the right to strike. Ver.di has been successful in cases taken to regional labour courts over church employees’ right to strike. However, the Synod (parliament) of the Evangelical Church is planning to legislate against strike action in church law. Ver.di is planning a protest demonstration on 4 November in Magdeburg. [Read more at > ver.di (DE)->http://www.verdi.de/themen/nachrichten/++co++cf734d90-effd-11e0-5686