005 epsucob@NEWS March 2008

State sector trade union members are currently being balloted over a new three-year agreement worth 12.8%. The major part (8.17%.) will be spent on general wage increases while 2.2% has been set aside as “pool funding” for other improvements. In addition to this, the regulator mechanism (which ensures a parallel wage development between the public and private sector) and local wage developments will account for 2.23% of the increase. A new element is compensation to state employees for the growth in fringe/staff benefits in the private sector. This is set at 0.2% and means that the wage

Thousands of members of the PCS civil service union supported the second two-day strike in the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) on 17 and 18 March. The DWP is one of the biggest government departments and PCS members are taking action in protest at an imposed three-year pay agreement that would see salaries increase by only 1% a year and leave 40% of workers without a pay increase at all in 2008. The union is involved in disputes in several other departments and agencies where the employers have offered pay increases below the rate of inflation. [Read more at > PCS (EN)->http://www.pcs

The all-out strike in the Ministry of Justice continues but trade unions are angry that the ministry is trying to intimidate workers by announcing that it plans to investigate possible breaches of the rules that require a minimum level of service during strike action. Trade unions argue that they have scrupulously kept to the minimum service requirements. The strike is over significant differentials in pay between current Ministry of Justice employees and those transferred to the regions. [Read more at > FSAP-CCOO (ES)->http://www.fsap.ccoo.es/webfsap/menu.do?Actualidad:Sindical:Actualidad

After five months of intensive negotiations a new agreement in the social work sector is being recommended by trade unions to their members. The agreement runs from 1 November 2007 to 1 March 2010 and will include two main pay increases of 3% from 1 March 2008 and 2.5% from 1 March 2009. A change in the pay structure will also mean that many workers covered by the agreement will get a 0.5% increase from 1 January 2009. There will be a €125 lump sum payment in February 2010. The agreement includes changes to working hours arrangements for older workers. Those aged 58 can reduce their hours by

Electricity distribution workers in the Wallonia region have been involved in two weeks' of industrial action involving working to rule, in protest at pay differentials in the industry. Unions say that new pay rates introduced since 2002 mean that many new employees are paid 30%-40% less than other workers who were taken on before 2002. Although the action has been called off and negotiations started, unions haven't ruled out further action. [Read more at > Lesoir (FR)->http://archives.lesoir.be/t-20080310-00F6Z8.html?query=electrabel+greve&andor=and&when=-1&sort=datedesc] [And at > Lesoir (FR

This year EPSU is experimenting with a series of regional meetings to discuss collective bargaining and social dialogue. The aim is to provide another forum, in addition to the annual conference, in which to discuss policy and information and possibly to identify issues that are of particular interest to specific groups of countries or in particular sectors. The first meeting took place in London on 3-4 March and provided some valuable input into the organisation of the main annual conference in Brussels on 9-10 December. Further meetings will take place in Berlin on 13-14 May (for affiliates