Spain, Netherlands

After several months of negotiations ABVAKABO FNV and the other unions in the sector (CNV public matter and FBZ) have concluded a new agreement covering child welfare workers. The agreement runs from 1 January to 31 December 2005. The salary increase of 1.5 percent will be paid as 1.0 percent from 1 January 2005 and 0.5 per cent from 1 September. Along with pensions and sick pay there are two other important parts of the agreement covering workloads and employer contributions of at least a sixth of the share of the costs of nursery spaces. [Read more at > ABVAKABO->http://www.fnv.nl/abvakabo

The long-running dispute in the local government sector is over with a new collective agreement signed on 1 September. The agreement, backdated to 1 April 2004 will run until 1 December 2005 and will include a 1% pay increase effective from 1 June 2005 for the 190,000 workers in the sector. ABVAKABO negotiator Peter Wiechmann said that the long period of strike action was not in vain and an agreement wouldn't have been reached without it. Further details of the agreement will be circulated to the epsucob@ network shortly. [Read more at > ABVAKABO->http://www.fnv.nl/abvakabo/renderer.do/menuId

Latest collective bargaining news from the ABVAKABO website provides details on two agreements that stretch into 2007. Childcare workers will get three pay increases during their 16-month agreement which runs from 1 January 2006 to 30 April 2007. The increases are 1% in April 2006, 0.75% in October and then 0.25% in January 2007. In electricity distribution and production there is a longer deal. Although only agreed earlier this month it effectively runs from 1 January 2005 (or 1 April 2005 for the distribution sector) to 1 June 2007. The three pay increases take place in April 2005, April

The CC.OO union federation has refused to endorse the agreement for the 2006 pay increase in the public sector. The basic increase for the public sector for 2006 negotiated in the summer was for 3.1%. Since then unions have negotiated an extra 0.3% for central government and 0.5% for local government. The CC.OO points out that in 2005 public sector workers lost out with a 3.0% pay increase while inflation rose to 3.5% by October 2005. The union also says the government has tried to confuse the negotiations over pay by mixing them up with discussions over other issues such as work-life balance

Unions in the FNV federation have set up a youth network for members under 35. Two of the first initiatives of the network will be to train young members in negotiating improvements in working conditions and in campaigning for the right to be paid the national minimum wage at 18 years of age rather than at the current age of 23. [Read more at >FNV->http://www.fnv.nl/nieuws/renderer.do/menuId/8944/clearState/true/sf/8944/returnPage/8944/itemId/48142/realItemId/48142/pageId/6841/instanceId/8946/] [And in Dutch at >FNV->http://www.fnv.nl/nieuws/renderer.do/menuId/8886/clearState/true/sf/8886