School workers mobilise over low pay and precarious work

Members of public services union Forsa who work as school secretaries (head of administration in schools) have voted with a nine-to-one majority to take industrial action from 20 September. The secretaries have a long-standing issue over a two-tier system that leaves most of them who are employed by schools on low pay and without other benefits such as sick pay and pensions. In contrast, a minority are directly employed public servants who benefit from much better pay and conditions. The action will mainly consist of a work-to-rule.

The STAL local government has organised a demonstration outside the local government ministry on 9 February in protest at the government's failure to increase pay rates for the lowest paid municipal workers. A combination of a freeze in pay progression and a freeze on pay scales since 2009 means that workers on the bottom two pay scales have seen their pay rates (EUR 450 and EUR 532.08) overtaken by the national minimum wage (EUR 580). Under government proposals those on the two lowest pay bands will be stuck on the minimum wage, while those who progress to the third pay level will only see

Research by the European Trade Union Confederation has found that payouts to shareholders are rising up to 13 times faster than pay for working people. Taking two examples, dividend payments increased by 75% in Portugal and 66% in Denmark between April and June this year, while nominal compensation in those countries rose by only 6% and 5%. Across Europe, dividends increased by 10% – double the rate at which wages are rising. Meanwhile, the ETUC has also focused on the increase in educational costs for families as children return to school. The price of essential items like pens, pencils