Norway
(December 2016) Public services union Fagforbundet reports that from 1 January 2017 Oslo City Council will take over the running of care homes previously run by the Norlandia company. Since the contract for the homes was outsourced workers' pay has fallen behind comparable rates in the public sector. The return to municipal control means care workers will see pay rises of 40000-50000 NOK per year (EUR 4430-5530).
Public service union UNISON has welcomed the announcement by the Welsh government that care workers in the country are to receive a bonus of £1000 after tax (€1200) in April, alongside the introduction of the real living wage. However, the union has warned that more needs to be done to encourage care workers stay or come into the sector. It has also expressed voiced disappointment that non-care staff are not covered. The union believes the Welsh government is responding to union and employer pressure because of the serious staffing crisis in care. UNISON has also been arguing for the early
Independent unions at the scandal-hit care multinational Orpea, have managed to make positive gains in annual negotiations. The CGT reports that the situation has now changed significantly since the position of the in-house union was challenged with the CGT, CFDT and FO winning their case against the company for rigging workplace elections. The CGT says that pay increases this year for non-management staff range from 3% to 7% depending on length of service while management staff get 1%-4% again depending on length of service and whether they benefited from salary adjustments in 2022 or 2023
The ver.di services union has welcomed a major improvement in minimum wages in the care sector agreed by the joint care sector committee that recommends rates for implementation by the labour ministry. With higher increases for Eastern regions, it means that there will be single rates for the whole country by September 2021. The rate for non-qualified workers will rise to EUR 11.35 this year and to EUR 12.55 by 2022. The rate for those with two-years' training will rise to EUR 13.20 and a new rate for those with three years' training will be introduced in 2021 at EUR 15 and rise to EUR 15.40
