2013 November epsucob@NEWS 18

The current agreement in the hospital sector runs until March 2014 but the FNV Abvakabo public services union is already preparing its key collective bargaining demands following a survey of hospital workers in October. The union notes the positive elements in the current agreement (2011-2014) which delivered a 2% pay increase this year along with a full 13th month salary for the first time. The main issues for the next bargaining round include job security, better provision of employment for workers with disabilities and better protection of workers in terms of working hours and work-life

After nearly two weeks of strike action waste, cleaning and gardening workers in Madrid have won an important victory to save jobs and protect pay. Employers threatened to cut over 1000 jobs and cut pay by 40% but as a result of the strike the job and pay cuts have been averted. The unions have made some concessions in the form of temporary layoff arrangements and a three-year pay freeze but a much better outcome than the massive cuts demanded by employers before the industrial action. [Read more at > FSP-UGT (ES)->http://www.fspugt.es/Gracias_compaeros_S_se_puede_528afdf600b64.htm] [And at >

The LO (blue collar) and TCO (white collar) trade union confederations have welcomed a ruling against the Swedish government's 2010 amendments to the country's posted worker legislation. The European Committee of Social Rights, part of the Council of Europe human rights organisation, found that the amendments infringed the European Social Charter on four counts and so the Swedish government now has to report back to the committee to explain how it intends to respond to the ruling. The confederations have called on the government to open talks on how to change the legislation. [Read more at >

The European Court of Justice has blocked a 1.7% pay rise for the staff of the European institutions citing as justification the exceptional circumstances of the economic and financial crisis. The pay rise was due in 2011 and was based on the established formula linking EU staff pay increases to civil service pay developments in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK as well as the cost of living in Brussels. The Court had made an opposite ruling in 2010 but argued on the basis of a serious change in the economic situation. [Read more at > euractiv news

Trade unions are please that public sector-wide pay negotiations are under way this year after the government and regional government employers refused a national deal and unions had to try to negotiate on a regional basis. However, after three rounds of talks the employers have failed to come up with an pay offer for 2014. There have been exchanges on the state of the economy and the public finances and unions are looking to at least protect the purchasing power of public sector workers' pay but so far the government has refused even to make this commitment. [Read more at GDG-KMSfB (DE)->http

The FOA public service union is concerned about the increasing number of tasks being given to volunteers in nursing homes and care centres - tasks that would normally be undertaken by paid staff. A union survey of members found one in four reporting that jobs previously handled by employees were being done by volunteers. The union welcomes the contribution of volunteers but warns that the sector cannot continue to cut jobs and rely more and more on unpaid support. FOA is also concerned about an increasing division in tasks with paid staff focusing more on practical tasks while volunteers take

Unions say that there was a high-level of support for the national public sector strike on 8 November. EPSU affiliates STAL, SINTAP, STE and APIT were all involved in the action which was in protest at the latest round of cuts proposed in the Budget. Public sector workers earning over €600 a month are facing pay cuts while there will also be reductions in pensions as part of a €3.9 billion package of cuts. [Read more at > EPSU (EN)->http://www.epsu.org/a/9897] [And at > STAL (PT)->http://www.stal.pt/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1333&Itemid=1] [And at > SINTAP (PT)->www.sintap.pt]

ETUC CB Resolution ENETUC CB Resolution Annex ENAt its October Executive Committee the ETUC agreed a new resolution on collective bargaining which addresses in particular the challenges posed by economic governance. A key element of the resolution is the rejection of intervention by the European institutions into national industrial relations. The resolution also sets out a new approach to coordination and the annex to the resolution explains in detail the toolkits that the ETUC's collective bargaining committee has discussed which establish a framework for coordination around the European

A new agreement has been signed covering central government workers. It is divided into two periods, from 1 April 2014 to 31 January 2016 and from 1 February to 31 January 2017. In the first period there will be a flat-rate increase of €20 a month from 1 August 2014 and then a 0.3% increase from 1 August 2015. Bonuses and additional pay given in euros will also be increased by 0.73% from 1 August 2014. For the second period, if the cross-sector social partners cannot agree on salary increases by 15 June 2015, then the agreement may be terminated with a four-month period of notice. The

Public services union vpod reports that federal employees will get a pay increase of 0.7% after some tough bargaining. Although the economic outlook is relatively good and public finances quite healthy the government was reluctant to offer more than a 0.5% rise. The joint trade union committee, of which vpod is a member, reluctantly agreed the 0.7% increase as an improvement on 0.5% but argued that this was a modest increase and failed to provide a decent increase for the many workers who would not benefit from any performance-related increase or movement up the pay scale. [Read more at > vpod

A conference organised by the ETUI research organisation provided an opportunity to debate the impact of the crisis and austerity including a session on collective bargaining which has been particularly hit with knock-on pressure on wages in some sectors. "The collective bargaining system has been all-but wrecked in Ireland and Romania," said Torsten Müller and Magdalena Bernaciak. The ETUI researchers have observed a decentralization of collective bargaining along with increased government intervention in it. This has mainly affected southern and eastern Europe, while northern countries have

Trade unions representing midwives have been calling for some tmie for improvements to their pay and conditions, including a revaluation of their salary in line with their level of training and medical responsibilities. Negotiations in the public hospitals sector took place on 13 November but no progress was made in the absence of the minister for health. As a result thousands of midwives joined a national demonstration on Tuesday 19 November with many taking strike action. [Read more at > CFDT (FR)->http://www.fed-cfdt-sante-sociaux.org/content/sages-femmes-la-cfdt-sante-sociaux-en-faveur-d