Health workers get new agreement after 10-week dispute

The FP CGIL trade union has signed a new collective agreement covering firefighters which has important provisions for a general pay rise, increased overtime pay and increased payments recognising the arduousness of the occupation. With these key pay-related elements agreed, the union says that negotiations will now move on to deal with a wide range of other employment conditions covering health and safety, provisions for firefighters who can no longer manage active service, training, insurance against occupational accidents and diseases as well as the overall organisation of the service.

After many months of conflict and a total of 202 days of strike action, services union ver.di has negotiated a new collective agreement with the Celenus clinic in Bad Langensalza in central Germany, a subsidiary of the French-based multinational Orpea. The deal includes pay increases of 1.5%-2.5%, an increase of EUR 50 on holiday pay to take it to EUR 500, a childcare allowance of EUR 75 a month and a lump sum payment of EUR 190. The union believes strongly that the workers deserve more but is relieved that the dispute is over and to be able to return to a normal process of collective