2010 May epsucob@NEWS 10
Unions react angrily to public sector pay cuts
Public service federations FSC-CCOO and FSP-UGT have attacked the government for its sudden announcement of deep public spending cuts. The government wants to cut pay by 5% this year and freeze it next year. Most pensions will be frozen and a range of other measures will add up to €5 billion of cuts this year and €10 billion in 2011. Unions are angry at the way the government has broken agreements with the unions and wants to force public sector workers to suffer cuts in pay and pensions because of the pressure of the international financial markets. [Read more at > FSC CCOO (ES)->http://www
Government proposes 25% cuts in public sector pay
The government has announced that it wants to make deep cuts in public spending in 2011 to avoid having to call on the International Monetary Fund for further loans. Public sector pay could be cut by 25% and pensions by 15%. Unions and opposition parties are planning protests and the Sex Lex civil service federation is consulting members over strike action. [Read more at > Sed Lex (RO)->http://www.sedlex.ro/main/noutati.php?section=1] [And at > SETimes (EN)->http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2010/05/11/feature-01] [Read more at > Irish Times (EN)->http
Confederations plan next joint general strike for 20 May
The ADEDY public sector and GSEE private sector confederations have agreed to joint action on 20 May in the latest protest at the cuts being pushed through by the Greek government in accordance with demands from the European Commission and International Monetary Fund. The unions are focusing in particular on cuts to pensions and social security highlighting the fact that a major problem has been previous government failure to tackle the high levels of undeclared work that had reduced the level of contributions into the system. [Read more at > ADEDY (EL)->http://www.adedy.gr/adedy/site/home/ws
Union decides to recommend acceptance of public service agreement
Following a key court ruling and further clarification from the Labour Relations Commission (LRC), the executive of the IMPACT public service union has decided that it will recommend that it members accept the public service agreement proposed by the government. The court ruled that important parts of an existing agreement covering performance management, outsourcing guarantees, premium pay rates and other issues would continue to be valid. The LRC also confirmed that unions would be fully consulted over the implementation of redeployment and restructuring under the public service agreement
Minister tries to block care sector minimum wage
Services union ver.di has reacted angrily to attempts by economics minister Rainer Brüderle of the FDP to block the introduction of a minimum wage to cover the 800,000 workers in the care sector. Ver.di had already managed to get agreement from the employers for minimum rates of €8.50 an hour in the West and €7.50 an hour in the East. Before the intervention of Brüderle, CDU labour minister Ursula von Leyen had indicated that it would be possible to implement legislation soon so that the rates could be in force from 1 July. [Read more at > ver.di (DE)->https://gesundheit-soziales.verdi.de
Local government workers get 3.5% over two years
Around 100,000 white collar workers in local government, members of the SKTF union, are covered by a new two-year agreement that runs from 1 April 2010 to 30 April 2012. Pay can rise by 2% in 2010 and 1.5% in 2011 but there are no individual guarantees. Parental leave is increased from three to five months. Read more at > SKTF (SE)
Days of action on pay, jobs and pensions
Five trade union organisations have issued a joint call for a day of action on 27 May. The CGT, CFDT, UNSA, Solidaires and FSU will be mobilising in protest at government plans to freeze public spending for three years. The unions want to see increases in public sector pay and an end to job cuts. They are also concerned about proposals to change the pensions system and the fact that the government has allowed little time for consultation on the issue. Meanwhile the FO confederation has called for a national, cross-sectoral strike on 15 June specifically in protest at the pension reforms that
Non-profit sector workers mobilise for 8 June
Unions organising workers in the non-profit sector have called for a major national demonstration on 8 June in protest at the failure of the federal, community and regional governments to undertake meaningful negotiations. The unions are calling for a range of measures to improve purchasing power and employment conditions and increase employment in a sector that delivers a range of health and social services. [Read more at > SETCA (FR)->http://www.setca.org/News/Pages/lenonmarchandpassealaction.aspx] [And at > BBTK (NL)-> http://www.bbtk.org/nieuws/Pages/DeSocialProfitgaattotactieover.aspx]
Union wins court victory over redundancy scheme
The PCS civil service union has won a major legal victory against the government. The High Court ruled that changes to the civil service redundancy scheme were invalid because they had not been agreed with the union. The union said that the changes would have meant substantial cuts for civil servants taking redundancy or early retirement. It has called on the new government to negotiate over the scheme. Read more at > PCS (EN)
Unions plan day of action for 19 May
Unions representing workers in the nursing, care home and home care sector have called a demonstration on 19 May outside a meeting of the employers’ organisation. Employers are demanding a pay freeze but unions argue that this goes counter to previous agreements that should guarantee job security and the maintenance of purchasing power. Unions say that further action will be planned if the employers don’t change their position. [Read more at > FNV Abvakabo (NL)->http://www.abvakabofnv.nl/nieuws/nieuws/zorgpersoneel-actie] [And at > CNV Publieke Zaak (NL)->http://www.mijnvakbond.nl/VVT-actie-op
Unions and employers agree to talks on waste sector minimum wage
As from 1 January 2010 employees in the waste sector including street cleaning workers have been covered by a legal sectoral minimum wage set at €8.02 an hour until 31 October 2010. Services union ver.di has won agreement from the BDE private sector employers’ and the VKA municipal employers’ organisations to discuss how to maintain the minimum beyond 31 October 2010. Read more at > ver.di (DE)
Busworkers to strike to defend collective agreement
Around 1,000 members of the JHL and JYTY trade unions are planning strike action on 20 and 21 May in protest at the City of Helsinki company’s plans to unilaterally pull out of the company collective agreement. If this happens then workers would be covered by the sectoral agreement and they would lose a range of allowances where the company agreement provides better pay than at sectoral level. The unions are also concerned about the company imposing new rules on shift work that would give workers less control over their shift patterns. [Read more at > JHL (EN)->http://www.jhl.fi/uutinen/7028]
Survey reveals pressure of work faced by health employees
A survey by the Lower Austrian Chamber of Labour reveals the extent to which health workers’ well-being is under threat from stress and long hours. The survey of around 33,000 employees found one in five were emotionally exhausted while 27% worked 12-14 hours a day. Some 40% of employees worked more than 40 hours a week even though only 1% had agreed to work such long hours. One in four new jobs are in the health sector and there are around 6,000 vacancies nationwide. The Chamber of Labour and services union VIDA have called for action on health sector working conditions in order to help boost
Union stresses need for trained workers in elder care
The FOA public services union has said that volunteers cannot plug the growing skills gap in the elder care sector. Responding to the minister for social welfare’s call for more volunteers, the union argues that proper elder care requires skilled workers and the combination of recruitment shortages and the growing number of elderly means that an additional 70,000 workers will be needed in the sector by 2019. Read more at > FOA (DK)
Research highlights long hours risks
Further research has been published that reveals the threat to workers’ health posed by longer hours. The study of civil servants found a 60% increase in heart-related illness among those working three or more hours a day more than the seven-hour norm. Publication of the research comes at a time when the European Commission is consulting over the Working Time Directive. A communication from the Commission suggests that health and safety is no longer the only factor to be taken into account when assessing the impact of working time legislation. A view that EPSU and the ETUC will reject in their
New two-year agreement in the energy sector
The SEKO services union has agreed a two-year deal with the EFA energy employers’ association that will see salaries increase by 3.7% for the 3,500 workers covered by the agreement. The deal includes setting minimum wages for 18-year-olds but also for skilled workers with two and five years’ experience. The minimum monthly wage for 18-year-olds will be SEK 17288 (€1790) in 2010 rising to SEK 17738 (€1840) in 2011. Read more at > SEKO (SE)
Municipal police plan strike action on 1 June
In the fact of government failure to negotiate, six trade unions representing municipal police have called for a day of strike action and demonstrations in key cities across France. Among the union demands are regradings for a number of occupations and a recognition of the hardship and risks faced by the police. Read more at > CFDT (FR)
Negotiations in municipal sector underway
The long-running dispute in the municipal sector has still not been resolved but unions and employers are negotiating. Further negotiations took place on 11 May and although an agreement was not finalised, there were hopes that a deal would be agreed soon. In the meantime unions are maintaining their protests and industrial action. Refuse workers and street cleaners in Amsterdam and Utrecht have been on strike in protest at the employers’ attempts to impose a pay freeze. [Read more at > FNV Abvakabo (NL)->http://www.abvakabofnv.nl/nieuws/nieuws/geen-akkoord-gemeenten] [And at > FNV Abvakabo
Council uses code to tackle two-tier workforce
The May issue of UNISON’s Bargaining Update reports that Sheffield city council in the north west of England has told private contractor Chartwells that it must be all its staff working on the Sheffield school meals contract the same rates as those transferred from the Council in 2001. A Workforce Code of Practice was negotiated by unions, employers and the government in order to prevent the spread of a two-tier workforce in public sector contractors. The city council admits that the Code of Practice should have been applied when the contract was signed three years ago. [Read more at > UNISON
Nurses' union in overtime ban
The TEHY nurses’ union is running an overtime ban to put pressure on municipal employers to allow the union a greater role in collective bargaining. The union is ensuring that patient safety is not jeopardised and says that the action is having an impact on patient waiting times. The current collective agreement was negotiated in 2007 and runs until 2011. A conciliation process is due to begin on 17 May. Read more at > TEHY (FI) And at > YLE news (EN)