Dec. 05, 2019
Social Services
Dec. 04, 2019
Unions push for better pay and conditions in health and care
Health and social care trade unions are campaigning for better pay and conditions for hundreds of thousands of works in the dependent care sector and national health service. Around 3000 trade unionists protested outside the Ministry of Health on 30 November as part of the campaign by the CCOO-Sanidad union to secure major changes to the health service pay system. On 2 December the FeSP-UGT federation sent key demands to all the autonomous regions calling on them to intervene with the companies that are blocking measures to improve pay, reduce precarious work and tackle excessive workloads in the dependent care sector.
Dec. 04, 2019
Health union achieves major victory with sector collective agreement
The Sanitas health trade union has managed to negotiate a collective agreement in the sector despite the strict representative rules that make it extremely difficult to negotiate sector deals in Romania. The agreement confirms many of the rights the union has won over the years and ensures that they apply uniformly across the country. Among the most important elements are holiday entitlement (21-30 days depending on length of service), the role of the trade union in personnel policy, collective redundancies and disciplinary procedures and measures to support nurses' further education and training.
Dec. 02, 2019
Pay rise in care sector confirmed
Workers in the nursing home and home care sector are covered by a new collective agreement running from 1 July 2019 to 31 August 2021. There will be a 3.5% pay rise by 1 June 2020 followed by a 3.0% increase on 1 July 2021. An increase in the end-of-year bonus has been brought forward and workers will get a full 13th month salary this year. The agreement also includes a commitment to have 90% of all employees in the sector on permanent contracts. There are other measures to allow workers to exchange pay for more time off and special measures for more time off in the lead up to retirement. The Ministry of Social Affairs will be asked to make the agreement generally binding for the sector and so covering employers that are not members of the employers' organisation that negotiated the agreement.
Dec. 02, 2019
Health unions target 35-hour week
The vida and GPA-djp private service unions have submitted their main collective bargaining claim to the employers for the health and social care sector that covers 125000 workers. The unions' key demand is for a 35-hour week with no loss of pay. They see this as essential for making the sector more attractive to boost recruitment, tackle staffing shortages and address the excessive workloads and stress that are rife in the sector. The unions also point out that part-time workers will benefit with an effective pay increase of 8.6% as their current hourly rate is based on a 38-hour week and the hourly rate will increase with a move to a calculation based on 35 hours.
Nov. 22, 2019
Unions continue their campaign for better pay for care workers
The FSS-CCOO and FeSP-UGT public service unions mobilised members working in care across the country on 7 November to put pressure on the employers to agree to a EUR 1000 minimum monthly wage for the sector (14 payments). Demonstrations took place outside several of the regional headquarters of the CEOE employers' organisation. The unions are demanding urgent action to improve pay for the overwhelmingly female workforce that faces challenging working conditions with significant risks of musculo-skeletal and psycho-social disorders. The next action is planned for 14 December.
Nov. 21, 2019
Health workers plan action over pay and staffing
Both public services union UNISON and the RCN nursing union have voted for strike action in Northern Ireland over low pay and staffing levels. Members of both unions voted 92% in favour of strike action. The RCN’s action short of a strike will begin on 3 December building up to a strike on the 18th while UNISON will start its campaign on 25 November, also leading up to a strike on the 18th. The Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance is currently balloting its members on action, again over low pay, and the result will be announced on 25 November.
Nov. 21, 2019
Fourth bargaining round delivers real pay rise for public sector
The younion and GÖD public service unions have successfully negotiated a new pay settlement for the public sector after four rounds of negotiations. The main increase in pay will be 2.25% from 1 January 2020 but with a minimum guaranteed increase of EUR 50 a month this will mean 3.05% for the lowest paid. Other payments and allowances will increase by 2.3%. This is above the 1.7% inflation rate used as a basis of the negotiations and ahead of the current inflation rate of 1.13%.
Nov. 20, 2019
Government confirms CZK 1500 increase across public sector
The government has confirmed the pay increase for public sector workers that was negotiated in September. There will be a flat rate CZK 1500 (EUR 59) increase per year, meaning on average a 7% increase. However, the government has also confirmed that it will abolish the pay table for lower paid staff. These include non-teaching staff in regional education, culture staff, secondary professions in social services and non-medical professions in hospitals. These will be transferred to another pay system meaning a additional increase of 3.5%. The increases take effect in January.
Nov. 19, 2019
Health and social care unions mobilise again
Nine union organisations representing health and social care workers along with professional organisations and health campaign groups came together again on 14 November calling for urgent action to tackle the crisis in the health system. Along with demands for increased funding, unions were calling for immediate measures to deal with staff shortages and increased pay for all health and social care staff. EPSU sent a message of solidarity and a delegation, including trade unionists from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands joined the demonstration. Some unions have already made a call for further action on 5 December to coincide with a national protest over pensions.
Nov. 07, 2019
Health, social care and finance ministry workers take action
Following the national protests and strike action on 8 and 15 October, health and social care trade unions are building for the next national day of action on 14 November. The unions are calling for increased funding for health and social services and measures to increase staffing and improve the pay and conditions of workers in the sectors. On the same day unions representing workers in the finance ministry and customs will be protesting over plans for major restructuring that poses a threat to jobs and services.
Nov. 07, 2019
Health and social care workers plan for strike action
Following protest actions on 5 November, health and social care workers in the Vaud canton (region) are planning a strike on 5 December to ensure that all workers in all sectors covered by the regional health collective agreement get a pay rise and benefit from an increased minimum wage. The unions, including the ssp/vpod public services union, are concerned that the employers want to restrict pay increases to certain occupations.
Nov. 06, 2019
Workloads feature in public sector negotiations
Public service unions younion and GÖD have taken part in the first two rounds of bargaining in the annual pay negotiations. The key data for the negotiations were agreed as an inflation rate of 1.7% and economic growth of 1.5%-1.7%. The unions are looking for a clear increase in purchasing power for all public sector workers along with recognition of the staffing situation with concerns around workers facing heavy workloads and precarious employment conditions. The employers made no pay offer in the second bargaining round on 5 November. The next negotiations take place on 15 November.
Nov. 05, 2019
