Services union ver.di has welcomed the establishment of a new employers' organisation - BVAP - covering the eldercare sector. The union will aim to begin talks as soon as possible over a collective agreement and is even optimistic that one could be negotiated by the end of the year. Ver.di would also aim to get the Ministry of Labour to extend the agreement to all employers in the sector. It is disappointed that so far the Red Cross has refused to join the new organisation. Ver.di wants to secure pay levels in eldercare comparable to the public sector which it argues are vital to retain experienced staff and improve recruitment of new workers.
Sector agreement covering eldercare in prospect
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Union steps up call for sector agreement covering eldercare
The ver.di services union has called on employers of all kinds across the eldercare sector to negotiate a sector agreement. The union argues that this is needed urgently to ensure better pay for eldercare workers and that they all are covered by a sector agreement whether they work for the private for profit, non-profit or public sectors. Ver.di has welcomed steps taken by non-profit welfare organisations to create an employers' organisation and argues that the next step is a sector agreement that will help improve the attractiveness of the sector and tackle staffing shortages. The union's
Progress towards eldercare sector agreement
Both the ver.di service union and the BVAP employers' organisation report making good progress in their negotiations on a first-ever sector agreement covering eldercare providers. The two sides have also confirmed that they will apply to the labour ministry to have the agreement extended to cover all providers in the sector even if they are not party to the negotiations. The next round of negotiations will take place on 4-5 February. In the meantime the two sides report specific progress on a separate agreement covering trainees that will ensure pay will eventually match that for trainees in
Pay rises in prospect for public sector workers
With a new government and agreement from the International Monetary Fund, public sector workers look set to recoup some of the pay cuts imposed in 2010. The cuts in basic pay of 25% were partially restored last year with an increase of 15% but further increases are now being promised with a rise of 8% in June and then further increases worth another 7%. However, this does not take account of the cuts to bonuses and allowances that hit many workers and meant that some lost out by up to 40%. [Read more at > Reuters news website (EN)->http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/06/us-romania-politics