Japan, Sweden, Malta

In the light of the recent controversy over attempts by a Latvian building company to undercut the Swedish collective agreement in the construction sector (the Vaxholm case), the two main union federations have come together to resist social dumping. The co-operation agreement says the federations will step up their work together and encourage improved links between their member organisations. [Read more at > LO->http://www.lo.se/home/lo/home.nsf/unidView/7906F4F2F15D46FBC12570A800491F00] In the meantime Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevey has appeared before the European Parliament

The new centre-right government has said that it will support the Byggnads construction union at the Vaxholm case hearing in the European Court next month which is set to rule on the union's right to protect collective agreements in the construction sector. The Vaxholm case involved the union in a blockade of a school building project because the Latvian contractor on the site was paying its workers according to a Latvian collective agreement and not the agreement for the Swedish construction sector. Although the Labour court in Sweden ruled in favour of the union it referred the case to the

A new report from the LO trade union confederation underlines the importance of maintaining high levels of minimum wages across the economy and preventing the gap between the high and lower paid from increasing. The report rejects the argument that low pay is primarily a temporary phenomenon affecting young people and argues that low pay of any kind has an impact on other wage earners. It also points out that many older workers still experience low pay and that it tends to affect families with poverty and low pay likely to be passed on across the generations. LO argues that measures are needed

The LO trade union confederation has commented on the recent rise in industrial disputes in Sweden, identifying three key causes. It says that unions are taking action to increase the coverage of collective agreements but also in response to some employers, backed by the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, who are determined not to sign collective agreements. The third reason, according to LO, is that disputes are arising as more and more public sector activities are taken over by private sector companies. [Read more at > LO (EN)->http://www.lo.se/home/lo/home.nsf/unidView

The government has proposed extending rights for working parents, currently enjoyed in the civil service, right across the public sector. The minimum legal provision of three months' leave and time off for emergencies was much improved by negotiation in the civil service where 12 months of parental leave is available and civil servants have the right to work shorter hours until their children reach the age of 12. Private sector employers have reacted angrily to the proposals fearing that the government might extend them beyond the public sector. [Read more at > EIRO (EN)->http://www.eurofound