EPSU has written to the Croatian government expressing its concern about new legislation on determining pay in local government. EPSU’s local government affiliate, the Trade Union of State and Local Government Employees of Croatia, argues that the new law will undermine its right to negotiate pay for its members and that the government has failed to consult properly over the legislation.
Legislation could undermine collective bargaining in local government
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Increase to employee contributions could undermine local government pensions
Unions in local government have been joined by Conservative politicians in warning that an increase to employee contributions by as much as 3% of earnings could threaten the viability of the scheme. It is possible that many workers could opt out of the scheme if required to pay more and if this is combined with the numbers leaving the scheme because of job cuts, then this could pose a real problem in terms of future funding. [Read more at > UNISON->http://www.unison.co.uk/news/news_view.asp?did=6604] [And at > GMB->http://www.gmb.org.uk/newsroom/news_archive/2011/jan_2011/900m_stealth_tax.aspx
Unions criticise government for undermining collective bargaining
The Frente Comum group of public service unions has criticised the government for failing to respect existing collective bargaining arrangements in the public sector. The government has put forward reforms to public sector pensions without going through the proper procedure for consultation. Instead of negotiating directly with public sector unions the government will use a social dialogue forum that includes private sector employers. The Frente Comum unions are concerned about the impact of the proposed pension reforms which could reduce rights for workers to retire from 60 with 40 years'
Civil service collective bargaining could be delayed
The annual round of negotiations in the civil service that normally take place in August could be delayed until after 12 September as some union organizations want to negotiate after the referendum on constitutional change. The changes being voted on in the referendum include important rights on trade union membership, the right to strike and right to negotiate collective agreements. In the current round of negotiations the KESK federation called for a TL300 (€156) increase in civil service pay to take the minimum salary to TL1650 (€856). [Read more at > Hurriyet news website (EN)->http://www