USA, Luxembourg

The Economic Policy Institute in the US has just published research that reveals the impact of declining union density and collective bargaining on wages. It finds, for example, that falling union membership translates to a loss of $1.56 (€1.47) per hour worked for the average worker, the equivalent of $3,250 (€3,070) for a full-time, full-year worker. Meanwhile, the erosion of collective bargaining lowered the median hourly wage also by $1.56 (€1.47), a 7.9% decline (0.2% annually), from 1979 to 2017. An analysis of wage distribution found that declining unionisation had widened inequality

The US government has set out 70 recommendations to encourage collective bargaining and union membership making it easier for many federal employees to join unions and eliminating barriers for union organizers to talk with workers. A report by the administration’s Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment, says, “it is our administration’s belief that unions benefit all of us.” The report notes that union households earn up to 20% more than non-union households, with an even greater union advantage for workers with less formal education and workers of colour. The report calls for

Over 2500 workers took part in a national trade union demonstration against a bill to reform the pensions system. The unions are challenging plans to increase the retirement age and reduce benefits. Their counter proposals include a higher basic pension, better working conditions for older workers and measures to help those suffering with health problems or carrying out difficult and arduous jobs. The unions also want to see a public complementary pension system and they called for a meeting with the ministers of social security and labour. [Read more at > OGB-L (FR)->http://www.ogbl.lu/blog