2010 August epsucob@NEWS 15
Workers now benefit from minimum wage in care sector
Services union ver.di has welcomed the fact that the promised minimum wage for the care sector came into force on 1 August. Workers are now entitled to a minimum hourly rate of €8.50 in the West and €7.50 in the East. The rates will be increased to €8.75 and €7.75 from 1 January 2012 and to €9.00 and €8.00 from 1 July 2013. Ver.di had called for a higher rate and is disappointed that there are different rates for East and West Germany. The union is aware that the new regulations do not mean that employers will automatically pay the minimum rates and it is planning an information campaign that
Rejection of local government deal in Scotland - dispute in rest of UK
Local government union members in Scotland have voted by a massive majority to reject a three-year agreement that would have provided increases of 1% this year, followed by a pay freeze and then 0.5% in 2012. The local government unions, UNISON, GMB and Unite, will meet to discuss their pay campaign. Meanwhile, the same unions have registered a dispute with local government employers in the other main agreement that covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Unions are angry that employers are maintaining the pay freeze, refusing to pay low paid workers the £250 approved by the coalition
Getting the facts about the gender pay gap
Early responses to the EPSU survey on the gender pay gap show that affiliates have used a range of methods to try to reduce the gap. In Sweden equal pay legislation has been important in local government while in the Netherlands a job evaluation system in the health service has contributed to securing higher pay for care workers. In other countries, such as Estonia, there is still a basic problem about getting statistics on men and women’s average pay. EPSU needs a lot more information from affiliates to get a comprehensive picture of the situation across Europe and report to the standing
Strike at private hospital enters third week
Members of the CGT trade union at the private hospital owned by Médipôle Sud Santé in Narbonne in the South of France have been on strike for over two weeks in support of their demands for a pay increase of 3%, along with a monthly bonus of €100 and a 13th month payment. The union has called on the FHP private hospitals organisation to deal with pay at national level in view of a series of strikes in the sector – 37 around the country in May, June and July. Read more at > CGT (FR)
Cleaners strike to defend collective agreement
Members of the VPÖD-SSP public service union have been on strike for three weeks against attempts by the ISS cleaning company to cut pay. The dispute covers the ISS concession at Geneva Airport where it wants to cut minimum monthly pay from CHF 3658 (€2666) to CHF 3430 (€2500) and to cut the top rate of pay (after 20 years’ service) from CHF 4847 (€3532) to CHF 3550 (€2587). The union argues that ISS has to comply with the longstanding collective agreement at the airport and that the Geneva authorities, that own the airport, should insist on this or ban the company from operating at the
Unions mobilise members in care sector
The FNV-Abvakabo and NU’91 public services unions are calling on their members to mobilise in support of their claims for a new collective agreement in the nursing and home care sector. The unions’ demands are not identical but include salary increase of 1.5% backdated to 1 March 2010; keep night work voluntary for those aged 55-plus; maintain current compensation for working irregular and unsocial hours; improved training agreement; higher compensation for standby duty and better schedules for maternity care. [Read more at > FNV-Abvakabo (NL)->http://www.abvakabofnv.nl/nieuws/nieuws
Regional collective bargaining conference – 14-15 September – Bratislava
The third and final of this year’s regional collective bargaining conferences will take place in Bratislava next month. As with the previous meetings in Copenhagen and Madrid the agenda will cover the crisis, outsourcing, precarious employment and the gender pay gap. Documents for the meeting are available in Romanian, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Turkish and Czech and interpretation in these languages will also be provided at the meeting. The meeting is mainly aimed at EPSU affiliates from Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Turkey, UK, Ireland and the Netherlands.
Local government strike planned for 20 September
The STAL local government union is continuing its campaign of protest against government policy and in defence of employee rights in the public sector. After a series of rallies in August, it will organise a one-day strike on 20 September and on 29 September will join the CGTP-IN national demonstration in support of the ETUC’s European day of action. Read more at > STAL (PT)
Most minimum wages are less than 45% of average earnings
The latest data on statutory minimum wages in 23 European countries from the Eurostat statistics agency show that only Malta has a rate above 50% of average earnings (50.2%). There are six countries with minimum rates above 45% but 17 below this level, 13 of which are below 40%. Read more at > Eurostat (EN)
Union secures meeting over waste management in Dublin
Dun Laoghaire council in Dublin has agreed to meet with the SIPTU union and the other three councils in the Dublin area to resolve a dispute over waste privatisation. SIPTU has threatened strike action over the council’s unilateral proposal to outsource its waste collection. The union argues that this contravenes the recently negotiated “Croke Park” national agreement that set out clear procedures for negotiations over privatisation and restructuring in local government. [Read more at > SIPTU (EN)->http://www.siptu.ie/PressRoom/NewsReleases/2010/Name,11821,en.html] [And > earlier developments-
Federation challenges opening up of public sector to employment agencies
The FSP-UGT public services federation has published a report examining the question of employment agencies and whether a change in the law will allow unlimited use of agency workers across public administration from 1 January 2011. The Federation is not convinced that the law will remove all restrictions on employment agencies and says that it will maintain its opposition to their use on the grounds that they imply an increase in precarious employment conditions and lead to outsourcing and privatisation as well as creating a two-tier workforce. [Read more at > FSP-UGT (ES)->http://www.fspugt
Annual survey indicates slight increase in working hours
The annual survey of working time by the EIRO industrial relations observatory confirms the trend in recent years of very little change in working hours and the disappearance of working time cuts from the collective bargaining agenda. For 2009, EIRO reports some evidence of an increase in hours in France, Slovakia, Germany and Spain. In France, this resulted from legislation in 2008 that relaxed the rules regulating the 35-hour week. The survey also reports specifically on working time in the civil service where again there is little evidence of any significant change. [Read more at > EIRO (EN
Union sets out main demands for 7 September day of action
Unions across the public and private sector are mobilising for a national day of action on 7 September in protest at government plans to raise the pension age and make other reforms to the retirement system. Along with other unions the CGT is calling for the retention of the right to retire at 60 and wants a minimum pension of €1600 a month. The unions in the public sector also want to see an increase in public sector pay to compensate for the loss of purchasing power over several years. Read more at > CGT (FR)
Union shows red card to employers' stalling tactics
Services union ver.di has criticised the BDE private waste sector employers for playing for time in the current negotiations. The union’s main demands are a 3% pay increase plus the abolition of the two lowest pay grades. Ver.di is particularly concerned that employers are talking about new employees starting on 80% of the normal rate and argues that the risk would be that these lower rates would be made permanent and so create a two-tier pay system. [Read more at > ver.di (DE)->https://ver-und-entsorgung.verdi.de/abfallwirtschaft/tarifarbeit_tarifpolitik/private_abfallwirtschaft_1/tarifrunde
EPSU collective bargaining conference – 7-8 December
This year’s main collective bargaining conference will take place on 7-8 December in Brussels and will examine how public sector workers across Europe have been hit by the crisis. There will be a range of workshops on themes such as the gender pay gap, occupational pay in the utilities, sustainable development and flexicurity. The conference is organised with financial support from the European Commission that enables us to provide documents in 10 languages and provide seven languages in active interpretation. Read more at > EPSU (10 languages)
Public services union rejects report on public sector cuts
The GÖD public services union has rejected proposals from a report by the Institute for Advance Studies (IHS) that there should be a pay freeze in the public sector or that increases should be below inflation or postponed. The union argues that this would affect purchasing power. It also argues that it would be in favour of a reform of the public sector salary system with higher rates for new starters. GÖD also points out that the education and age profile of the public sector are different from the private sector and account for higher salaries. [Read more at > GÖD (DE)->http://www.goed.at
Unions argue the case for public sector pensions
In the face of widespread attacks on public sector pensions, unions are putting together their evidence for the government-appointed Hutton committee that has been charged with reviewing the system. The PCS civil service union has submitted a detailed report setting out how recent changes to the civil service pension scheme have been acknowledged by the National Audit Office as putting it on a sustainable footing. The Unite union argues that the government has already pre-judged the review by changing the way that public sector pensions are protected against inflation. [Read more at > PCS-
Threats of cutbacks in health sector angers union
The IMPACT public services union is concerned about proposals to cut jobs and services across the health sector. Fixed-term workers could be the target of planned cutbacks but the union warns that health sector employers should review their plans and ensure that they don’t infringe the “Croke Park” national agreement that ruled out compulsory redundancies in the public services. [Read more at > IMPACT (EN)->http://www.impact.ie/iopen24/cuts-north-west-target-jobs-essential-services-n-341.html] [And > similar developments->http://www.impact.ie/iopen24/cuts-west-poses-serious-jobs-threat-impact
ETUC criticises court judgement on pensions
A recent ruling from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) provides another example of economic freedoms taking precedence over social rights, according to the ETUC. The case involved collective agreements between local authorities and trade unions in Germany that specified who would provide pensions. The ECJ ruled that procurement rules should apply to authorities above a certain size and so the provision of pension services had to be open to tender in line with EU rules. ETUC general secretary John Monks said: “This judgment ignores the public authorities’ independence when they are acting as