Social Services, Recruitment & organising, Czech Republic
Union launches campaign to increase pay in social services
(May 2017) The OSZSP health and social services union has launched a campaign to improve pay in the social services sector under the slogan "end cheap labour". The union has already had a meeting with the government where it highlighted staff shortages, excessive workloads and very low pay with some on as little as CZK 12000 a month (EUR 450). The union stresses that staff shortages are set to become more urgent as workers in the sector retire and there is increased demand from an older population.
Union calls for urgent action on care workers' pay
(May 2017) The OSZSP heath and social care union has called on the government to take immediate steps to increase pay for social care workers. The union argues that these workers are very badly paid for the responsible and demanding job they do. This is resulting in a recruitment crisis in the sector. The union wants to see the agreement to cut the two lowest pay rates on the social care pay scales implemented and for care workers to be covered by the health care salary structure.
Unions call on government to confirm 10% pay rise
Public sector trade unions met on 30th August to give a clear message to the government that there should be no further delay in paying the 10% salary increase for all public service workers. The unions accused the government of delay as it had already indicated that the promised increase would be applied from November rather than September. The unions said that they had been negotiating in good faith since April and would be joining a national demonstration on pay on 14 September to underline their message to the government.
Government confirms public sector pay rise in face of strike threat
The coalition government has confirmed that it will implement a 10% pay rise for public sector workers (15% for teachers) in November. Public sector trade unions had expected the increases to be applied in September and issued a threat of strike action if the government failed to ensure that the increases would take effect in November.
Union highlights positive results from collective bargaining
In a press release confirming the implementation this month of a 10% pay increase for public service workers, the OSZSP health union underlines the role of the trade union in these successful negotiations. The increase this year means that hospital workers have seen an overall pay rise of 30% in the last four years while workers in social services have seen a 26% increase. Meanwhile, social workers and direct care workers have seen their pay rise by 47.5% over the same period. The union recognises that low pay is still a challenge in health and social services and is committed to win further
Pay rise for public sector workers
Workers in public administration and some other public services will see their pay rise by at least 5% in 2019, with higher increases for low-paid workers in some areas including the departments of justice, culture, labour and social administration. There will higher increases of 15% and 10% for teachers and non-teaching staff in education while the security forces will get between 2% and 6%. The increase for health workers has yet to be confirmed. The OSZSP health union wants a pay rise of 10% across the board which it argues has been promised by the prime minister. However, the health
Capacity building project for the hospital sector in Central, East and Southern Europe started
On 28 March 2019 EPSU participated, together with its representatives of the two national affiliates from Romania, Sanitas, and Croatia, HSSMS-MT, in the kick-off meeting of the joint HOSPEEM-EPSU project focusing on strengthening social dialogue in the hospital sector that will run in 2019 and 2020.
Union calls for more funding for social service jobs and pay
The OSZSP health and social service union met with employers and the government last month to discuss funding of social services. Employers in the non-profit sector agreed with the union about the importance of ensuring adequate and reliable funding for the sector. There were some concerns about the ability to pay the 2019 pay increase and employers said that the uncertainty of funding was causing problems for maintaining jobs and decent pay levels. The union called for 20 billion crowns for 2020 and a 10% pay increase. It also underlined the need for 1 billion crowns to fund investment in
Union continues to push for more staff in social services
The OSZSP health and social care union met with ministry of health officials earlier this month to discuss staffing levels in the social care sector. The union has been pushing hard for the government to introduce safe and effective staffing levels. It underlines the need for this to be done on the basis of real assessment of needs and not on the basis of current staffing levels as many institutions are understaffed and staff overworked. The union also wants increased funding for providers which it sees as necessary to increase staff and tackle low pay in the sector where the average wage is