Germany
After 4½ weeks on strike, members of the ver.di services union in Lower Saxony have fought off attempts by local authority employers to introduce a 40-hour working week. Overall the 120,000 council employees in the region will have a 38.9-hour working week with different arrangements for some groups of workers. Those working in childcare, hospitals or for public enterprises such as refuse disposal will be on a 38.5-hour work plus extra training days. Other workers will be on the 39-hour week as agreed in the main public sector agreement which came into force last year.
Meanwhile in the Baden-Württemburg region the dispute has gone to a conciliation commission.
Read more at > ver.di
A recent meeting of the EPSU waste group in Sweden sent a solidarity message to the thousands of workers in the sector who are part of the strike over working hours.
Read more at > EPSU
