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Jul. 31, 2020
2020 EPSU Collective Bargaining News August no.15

Keeping up-to-date with public service pay negotiations

Europe Europe

This newsletter aims to report on the latest news about public service collective bargaining. Articles are stored on the EPSU website and can be searched by country and theme here. However, it is going to be particularly important to follow the latest developments as EPSU affiliates negotiate on pay in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic. EPSU has therefore put together a country-by-country overview that gives the state of play of bargaining in each country. It will be updated at least once a month and information on more countries and sectors will be added. The link to the article is below but also at the end of the introductory paragraph in the collective bargaining section of the EPSU website - here.
Jul. 29, 2020
2020 EPSU Collective Bargaining News August no.15

Unions continue to challenge proposed labour reforms

Ukraine Ukraine

Following a letter from the FPSU trade union confederation, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association has written to the President to raise serious concerns about the latest developments in labour law reform. The original government proposals from December 2019 were widely attacked by the Ukrainian and international labour movements. However, recent amendments haven't dealt with many of the trade union concerns. These include among other issues: arbitrarily reducing the number of workplace unions; denying managerial staff the right to form or join a unions; setting a minimum membership threshold which undermines workers' rights to form or join unions of their choice; and creating a new trade union supervisory body with wide and unchecked powers. The Special Rapporteur also highlights the failure of the government to properly consult with trade unions throughout the legislative process. Similar issues have been raised in letters to the President and government from the international Human Rights Watch organisation. Meanwhile the health workers’ union continues to assert its right to take industrial action with all key workers at health facilities in the city of Smila, south of Kyiv, taking part in an indefinite protest against non-payment of wages. On 29 July full health services were provided for only an hour and just emergency services for the rest of the day.
Jul. 28, 2020
2020 EPSU Collective Bargaining News August no.15

ETUC monitors COVID-19 safety measures and return to work

Europe Europe

National trade union confederations are keeping the ETUC up-to-date with what trade unions and labour inspectorates are doing to ensure safety at the workplace in response to COVID-19 and, in particular, in relation to the return to work. In Austria, 20% of inspected workplaces have been told to improve their safety procedures while the Danish FH confederation reports some problems in private clinics and healthcare and it has taken action to ensure that health and social care facilities are fully part of the inspection regime. In Ireland more inspectors have been taken on to cope with increased demands while in Sweden and the UK unions have been involved in walkouts when faced with workplaces that don't meet the new safety standards. The other confederations reporting to the ETUC so far are ZSSS in Slovenia and the UGT in Spain. The information is being regularly updated.
Jul. 28, 2020
2020 EPSU Collective Bargaining News August no.15

Research reveals extent of low pay among key workers

Europe Europe

Data from the Wage Indicator pay database covering five countries reveals that many of the key workers who have been on the frontline in the fight against COVID-19 are on below)average wages. The research looked at nine jobs in childcare, call centres, retail, nursing, admin, logistics, warehouses and transport in the UK, German, Netherlands, France and Sweden. In the UK all occupations fell below the national  average wage while in Germany it was all but one and in the Netherlands all but two. The situation for these workers was better in France and Sweden.
Jul. 28, 2020
2020 EPSU Collective Bargaining News August no.15

Right to strike - information now on 41 countries

Europe Europe

EPSU has just published new factsheets on the right to strike in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia taking the total number of countries covered in this series to 41. This follows the addition of factsheets on Moldova, Russia and Ukraine earlier this year. Each factsheet sets out the main legal provisions and highlights any recent cases taken to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and/or the European Social Committee (ESC) of the Council of Europe. Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia have all been the subject of ILO and ESC cases. The ESC has ruled that all three are not in conformity with the Article 6.4 of the European Social Charter because of the restrictions imposed on the right to strike in the public sector.
Jul. 28, 2020
2020 EPSU Collective Bargaining News August no.15

International body recommends collective bargaining to tackle gender pay gap

Europe Europe

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is recommending that governments should aim to increase the collective bargaining coverage rate among women in non-standard jobs as a way to close the gender pay gap. The report says that collective bargaining can be effective through targeted raises compensating for the concentration of women in low-paid industries; by establishing gender-neutral occupational classification schemes to correct the undervaluation of female-dominated occupations; measures promoting pay transparency; and gender-neutral evaluation criteria for career progress. The report has been welcomed by the ETUC which sees it as influential support for its call on the Commission to support collective bargaining, alongside binding gender pay transparency measures, as the best way to end the gender pay gap.