Collective Bargaining, Precarious employment
Collective bargaining – trends and developments
Collective bargaining is a core activity of trade unions and EPSU’s affiliates negotiate with public service employers at every level. This can range from national public-sector wide bargaining to sector and local negotiations with public sector employers but also private and non-profit providers of public services. EPSU works with the European Trade Union Confederation to try to improve collective bargaining rights for all workers across Europe. We also act as a European information point so that EPSU affiliates are aware of trends in public service negotiations. EPSU’s collective bargaining newsletter provides regular updates on developments across Europe.
Confederation agrees to coordinate on pay
The LO confederation, with 14 affiliates representing mainly blue-collar workers, has agreed a formula to coordinate collective bargaining on pay in the upcoming wage round. This includes a commitment to focus on lower paid workers with an aim to secure increases in minimum wages in collective agreements by specific amounts in Krone to underpin general percentage pay rises. This first step in coordination was welcomed by EPSU’s affiliates in LO, Kommunal, SEKO and the transport workers’ union. However, there was also a recognition that discussions would continue on the specific figures to be
ETUC welcomes progress on collective bargaining rights for self-employed
Following a long-running campaign, the ETUC has welcomed the adoption of new guidelines by the European Commission which make clear EU competition law does not stand in the way of solo self-employed workers engaging in collective bargaining. Self-employed workers make up around a tenth of the European workforce but research commissioned by the ETUC found that some form of (limited) access to collective bargaining for self-employed workers existed in only 10 EU countries. The ETUC says that removing this legal uncertainty will benefit many of the more than 24 million self-employed and freelance
Government agrees to negotiate public sector agreement
The public service federations in the UGT and CCOO confederations welcome the fact that their demands for public sector pay negotiations have been agreed by the government. The unions want a multiannual agreement that allows for the maintenance of purchasing power and, in particular, an increase this year on top of the 2% pay increase imposed by the government. CCOO and UGT want to see action to correct the long-term decline in purchasing power across the public sector, with foreign service personnel, for example not seeing an increase for 14 years. The unions want to ensure that the new
Union calls for wave of wage demands
The FNV trade union has called on workers to back a wave of wage demands in response to surging inflation. The union is targeting employers to get wage increases that protect against the higher cost of living, including additional increases where pay rises have already been negotiated. It is also calling for permanent contracts for workers stuck in precarious employment. The union demands include a €14-an-hour minimum wage, a 35% tax on profits in line with what workers pay on their income and other tax measures to boost public revenues. At the same time, a consortium of trade unions
New European Care Strategy
The population of the European Union is ageing: the number of people aged 80 and over is expected to increase by 88 per cent over the next 30 years. Principle 18 of the European Pillar of Social Rights, the right to long-term care (LTC), will be ever more important.
Reports examine collective bargaining developments
New reports from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and Eurofound research agency analyse developments in collective bargaining in the light of the pandemic and other important drivers of change. The ILO report provides an overview of developments in collective bargaining during the pandemic, focusing on seven countries – Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Belgium. The report argues that the role of strong sectoral collective bargaining institutions was particularly important, allowing sectoral actors to negotiate specific responses considering the impact and
New social partner project: skills and training in care sector
The Social Employers and EPSU with the affiliate partner Nexem are pleased to annouce the launch of the FORTE Project. The project outcomes will feed into joint discussions and outputs in the framework of sectoral social dialogue in social services.
Police and prison staff protest at labour ministry
The Publisind trade union federation organised a protest rally on 17 August outside the Ministry of Labour to highlight a range of issues relating to the pay and pensions of its members in prisons and police services. The union is angry that a key law on salaries has not been fully implemented and is calling for a 15% pay rise for prison and police staff. The union points out that its members were essential to the efforts to tackle the COVID pandemic with many staff working very long hours to try to maintain services in the face of staff shortages of around 25%.