US unions relieved after court deadlock

Unions are going back to their members to consult over the next step in negotiations in University Medical Centers. Bargaining should have been completed by 17 February but unions couldn’t accept the employers’ insistence on a pay freeze as well as changes to overtime, on-call and standby arrangements. A series of workforce meetings are to be held between 7 and 21 March. [Read more at > FNV Abvakabo (NL)->http://www.abvakabofnv.nl/nieuws/nieuws/cao-overleg-umc-opgeschort] [And at > CNV Publieke Zaak (NL)->http://www.mijnvakbond.nl/Bijeenkomsten-CAO-UMC?referrer=266] [And at > NU 91 (NL)->http

The FNV Abvakabo and CNV Publieke Zaak are organsing consultations with members around the country to discuss what initiatives to take to unblock negotiations over a new collective agreement covering provincial government. The employers have not offered any pay increase and there has been no progress in negotations for two years. The consultative meetings have been called for the first half of June and unions are calling for non-members to attend as well. [Read more at > FNV Abvakabo (NL)->http://www.abvakabofnv.nl/over-ons/nieuws/nieuwsoverzicht/2014/05/cao-provincies-ledenraadplegingen-in

The FSC-CCOO federation has called on the government urgently to convene negotiations covering national administration to resolve the question of bonus payments from December 2012. The bonuses were cut by the government as one of a number of cuts in the pay and conditions of public sector workers. However, court judgements since then have challenged the legality of these cuts and now unions argue that the government should negotiate rather than leave it to be settled by a range of different legal actions and rulings. The latest case ruling involved a prison official and was supported by the