009 epsucob@NEWS May 2008
Unions secure breakthrough on temporary agency workers
The UK government has finally agreed to a deal on agency workers that should enable progress to be made on the long-delayed temporary agency workers directive. In the agreement with the TUC trade union confederation and CBI employers' organisation the UK government has conceded that after 12 weeks on the same contract, agency workers should be able to claim equal treatment (in terms of pay and some other conditions) with the permanent members of staff they work alongside. Movement on this directive is closely linked to progress on revision of the working time directive and both will be
E.ON faces strike action in response to pay offer
Services union ver.di organised strike action at the E.ON energy company in response to the employer's pay offer. The union is looking for an 8.5% increase and rejects the company's demand for a one-hour increase in the working week from the current 37 hours. The three-hour warning strike on 21 May involved around 2,500 workers in Bremen and Lower Saxony. Ver.di described the employer's offer as an insult coming at a time when the company has seen a 10% increase in profits and paid out a 22% increase in dividends to shareholders. Meanwhile the 25,000 energy workers in Eastern Germany covered
Civil service union to ballot on industrial action
The annual conference of the PCS civil service union agreed to ballot members for further strike action over pay. PCS members were involved in national action on 24 April in protest at government insistence that public sector pay increases should be capped below the current rate of inflation. The action that day was co-ordinated with strike action by teachers and lecturers. PCS now wants a mandate for further action with plans for a one-day national strike and a rolling programme of walkouts. The national industrial action campaign comes on top of a series of strikes in government departments
Airport workers strike secures improved pay deal
Airport workers began strike action on 16 May in support of changes in their pay system. Over the following days some 400 workers, many with responsibilities for rescue and emergency services, in 13 airports around the country joined the action until a new agreement was negotiated late on 20 May. The agreement does not just provide for a higher pay increase overall but includes larger payments for working outside normal hours and at weekends. The general pay increase will be at least 19,000 Kr (€2,400) a year. [Read more at > Aftenposten news (EN)->http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local
Government responds to strike with minimum service requirement
French trade unions have reacted angrily to the failure of the government to respond to their demands following a day of action on 15 May. Unions are continuing to call for higher pay and protection of public services in the face of the government's failure to negotiate and its major reform plans. The unions also reject the government's claims of low levels of support for the strike and the use of temporary workers in the education sector during the strike. The government also drew a strong reaction from trade unions when it imposed new rules on minimum service levels in local authorities
Two-year deal for youth service workers
The 26,000 employees in the youth welfare sector see their pay increase by 3.5% as from 1 May this year with a further rise of 3.0% from 1 May 2009. The new two-year agreement also provides for the integration of the annual lump sum payment so that from 2009 it will be paid as a 13th month salary. In order to make working in the sector more attractive the unions and employers have discussed improved training and career development opportunities. Read more at > ABVAKABO (NL)
Unions protest over pay inequalities across the public sector
The CCOO, UGT and CSI-CSIF union federations in the public sector handed in thousands of signatures to the Ministry of Economics and Finance on 20 May demanding action over pay and career development. The unions say that there are large salary differences of as much as 40% between public servants doing similar jobs in different departments. The unions also want to see major improvements to career paths for many public servants who they say must apply for different jobs in order to get higher pay rather than being able to progress in their chosen occupation with proper training and career
Ambulance workers demonstrate over pay
Over 60 ambulances joined a demonstration in Vienna on 21 May as workers protested over deteriorating pay and conditions in the non-profit sector. Workers from the Austrian Red Cross, Johanniter (St.Johns) ambulance service and Workers' Samaritan Federation are calling for a single collective agreement for the sector or extension of the agreement that currently covers Red Cross workers. Some workers are not covered by a collective agreement and there is evidence of long working hours - as many as 60 a week - without overtime pay. The demonstrators also raised the issue of the need for proper
Second regional collective bargaining conference
Twenty-two delegates from seven countries met in Berlin earlier this month in the second of three regional meetings that EPSU has organised on social dialogue and collective bargaining with financial assistance from the European Commission. The participants discussed latest developments in pay, the ETUC's fair campaign and recent controversial statements from the European Central Bank and Eurogroup of finance ministers about “inflationary” pay claims in the public sector. The meeting also covered the threat to collective bargaining from recent European Court cases and examined the sectoral
Private and public sector unions call demo for 5 June
Unions in the CGTP federation in both private and public sectors will be joining a national demonstration on 5 June in protest at the government's reforms of the labour code and changes to employment conditions in the public services. Unions are concerned that government policies will lead to an increase in precarious employment and want to recoup lost purchasing power for public sector workers. Read more at > STAL (PT)
Unions will continue mobilisation over private health agreement
Trade unions representing workers in the private health sector report say they will continue to organise actions following the a national demonstration on 22 May. The collective agreement covering the private health sector should have been re-negotiated and renewed from 1 January 2005 but 29 months on there is still no progress. Read more at > FP-CGIL (IT)
Nurses suspend industrial action
Trade unions representing psychiatric nurses have suspended their industrial action until they have a chance to ballot their members over a revised package of compensation covering violence at work. The Health Service Executive has extended the original scheme and increased compensation levels. It is also looking at compensation for psychological trauma and once its proposals are known the unions will decide whether to recommend the new scheme to members. Read more at > SIPTU (EN) And at > PNA (EN)
Union criticises minister for proposing cut in recruitment
The CSC public services federation has attacked economy minister Vincent Van Quickenborne for arguing that public sector recruitment should be cut, with the filling of only one vacancy in every three. The union says that such a policy cannot be applied wholesale across the civil service without affecting service quality. It also points out that the minister fails to take account of the fact that around 40% of public sector workers are due to retire in the next five years and that there is an urgent need to respond to this with policies allowing for a transfer of knowledge and expertise from
Health sector sees higher than average increases
Average gross hourly pay in health and social services is 36.9% higher in the first quarter of 2008 than it was in the first quarter of 2007 according to the latest figures from the Estonian statistics agency. This compares to the 20.5% increase in average hourly pay across the whole economy. Average hourly pay in health and social services is now 76.55 Kroons, just ahead of the 74.74 average for the whole economy. Read more at > Statistics Estonia (EN)