Working Time, Pay settlements, Europe

EPSU has commissioned the UK-based Labour Research Department to produce a series of articles analysing recent examples of working time reduction. The first article looks at Austria where public service unions in both private and public sectors have taken action to cut weekly working time, particularly in the large private sector agreement covering health and social care workers. The next article, to be published in February, will provide an update on the situation in Iceland and in March the focus will be on other Nordic countries. IndustriAll Europe has also produced a series of briefings

An analysis of data working time from the Eurofound research agency by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) shows how collective bargaining can deliver a better work-life balance. Workers in countries with the highest levels of collective bargaining coverage enjoy up to a month more leisure time each year – without loss of pay – than those where coverage is lower. In countries where nine in 10 workers are covered by a collective bargaining agreement, the average working time is 1,674 hours a year (excluding overtime). In contrast, in countries where only one in 10 workers are covered

The latest review of working time developments by the Eurofound research agency notes increased debates around the issue of working time reduction but few examples of where this has been implemented in practice. It reports on a couple of examples of shorter working hours in the private and non-profit health and social care sectors in Austria and a municipal company in Portugal. The public sector agreement in Lithuania includes additional day’s leave for education and training while national legislation there now allows for a 32-hour/four-day week for state and municipal employees who have

The USF trade union reports that staff in European institutions, bodies and agencies (with the exception of the European Central Bank) will get a net 4.5% increase in salaries, pensions, and social allowances backdated to 1 July 2022. This is on top of the 2.4% increase applied earlier this year, giving a total net increase of 7%. This is the result of a formula that has been applied since the early 1980s, following industrial action by USF both then and later to defend the formula. The salaries (and later also pensions) of staff have kept pace with the development in the purchasing power of

The debate over a shorter working week continues next month with a hybrid conference on 20-21 October – “A 4-day week in Europe: how to get real working time reduction”. Organised by the European Network for the Fair Sharing of Working Time, the conference will cover practical examples of working time reduction in both public and private sectors, including the major move to a shorter working week in Iceland. There will also be contributions from trade unionists from Switzerland and France. Another conference supported by the European Trade Union Institute will focus on the impact of labour

The global 4-day week campaign is extending its pilot programmes to the rest of Europe, having already launched initiatives in Ireland and the UK. The campaign argues that it is possible to boost productivity and workers’ wellbeing by reducing working time without reducing pay and provides advice and support to employers who are interested in getting involved in a pilot programme. Over 180 employers with a total of 10,000 employees are involved in pilots that are up and running in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand as well as in the UK and Ireland. Research and support is provided by

Staff in European institutions, bodies and agencies will get a net 2.4 % increase in salaries, pensions, and social allowances backdated to 1 January 2022. This is the result of a formula that has been applied since the early 1980s, when EPSU affiliate, Union Syndicale Fédérale carried out successful industrial action, also defending the gains later through further industrial action. The salaries (and later also pensions) of staff have kept pace with the development in the purchasing power of civil servants working in the national governments of the Member States. This increase reflects the

EPSU organised an online working group on 5 April to bring affiliates up-to-date with developments on the Adequate Minimum Wages Directive and to provide them with background on the 4-day week campaign. Lorenzo Repetti, advisor at the ETUC, indicated some of the key issues that were being covered in the trialogue negotiations on the Directive between the European Commission, Council and Parliament. He noted that some key provisions to strengthen collective bargaining that were supported by the ETUC were being challenged by the Council. Lorenzo reported on positive developments in relation to

Staff in European institutions, bodies and agencies will get a net 1.9% increase in salaries, pensions, and social allowances backdated to 1 July 2021. This is the result of a formula that has been applied since the early 1980s, when the EPSU member organisation, Union Syndicale Fédérale carried out successful industrial action, also defending the gains later through further industrial action. The salaries (and later also pensions) of staff have kept pace with the development in the purchasing power of civil servants working in the national governments of the Member States. In 2020, this

A new study of the impact of the pandemic in social care in eight countries reveals the problems faced by social care workers and the extent to which trade union action has helped to address issues around personal protective equipment (PPE), sick pay, working time and understaffing. There has been a shortage of PPE in all countries, but it was only in Sweden that a trade union had to take legal action for its members' right to use personal protective equipment. Increased overtime was a challenge in all countries but with split shifts being a particular problem in Sweden. The pandemic exposed

This newsletter aims to report on the latest news about public service collective bargaining. Articles are stored on the EPSU website and can be searched by country and theme here. However, it is going to be particularly important to follow the latest developments as EPSU affiliates negotiate on pay in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic. EPSU has therefore put together a country-by-country overview that gives the state of play of bargaining in each country. It will be updated at least once a month and information on more countries and sectors will be added. The link to the article is below but

Around 50000 European public service officials and other workers employed by the European institutions and agencies are getting a 2% pay increase backdated to 1 July 2019. This is the result of the application of a pay formula obtained following lengthy strike action organised by EPSU affiliate Union Syndicale Fédérale in the 1980s and 90s and incorporated in the Staff Regulations since 2004. The formula guarantees that the purchasing power of these workers develops in line with inflation and the pay of officials in the central governments of the 28 member states with 1.5% due to inflation in

The latest biennial report from the Eurofound research agency finds that there have not been any significant developments in working time across Europe. The average working week remains at 38 hours. Public administration is one of the specific sectors analysed where weekly hours averaged 37.6 in both 2018 and 2017. The report noted some specific sector developments with particularly negative legislation passed in Hungary affecting public administration allowing for longer hours and more flexibility. More positive agreements were noted in Estonia (health) and Greece (local government and waste)

A survey of European wage developments by the Hans Böckler research organisation finds an upward trend since 2017, with the highest increases recorded in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Overall real wage increases across Europe averaged 0.9% in 2018, twice the level of 2017 and the figure so far for the current year is at 1.0%. The median increase in the 11 countries of North and West Europe was 0.6% in 2018, rising to 1.1% so far this year, contrasting with the higher figures for CEE countries of 5.2% in 2018 and 3.7% in 2019. The six countries in Southern Europe registered lower increases

On 14 May the European Court of Justice (ECJ) issued an important ruling that effectively requires Member States to establish rules for employers to record their employees' working time. In a case about overtime brought against Deutsche Bank by the FS-CCOO services federation in Spain, the ECJ stated that workers' rights to protection as afforded by the Working Time Directive cannot be properly ensured unless there is an objective measure of their working hours. The Court said it is up to Member States how they ensure that employers comply with the ruling.