Social Services, Strike
Unions in care multinational coordinate at European level
(May 2017) Trade union reps from subsidiaries of the social care multinational Orpea came together in Brussels on 4-5 May to discuss common problems and how to improve coordination and potentially initiate moves to setting up a European works council. Participants debated the pressure of increased workloads and the role of profit-seeking multinationals in providing social care.
Union calls for legislation to tackle gender inequality across occupations
(May 2017) The vpod public services union has highlighted the problem of gender pay inequality across occupations, noting that lower pay in occupations dominated by women, like care, cannot be justified on a gender-neutral basis and that they are the result of specific historical developments. The union cites new research from Essen University in Germany and argues that legislation that currently requires action by employers with over 50 employees should be amended to provide for an evaluation of occupational groups.
Unions call for negotiations following pay commission report
(May 2017) Public sector trade unions want to see a swift move to negotiations following publication of the advisory report of the Public Services Pay Commission. The report focuses on average pay developments in the public and private sector and notes the extent to which public sector pay is on average lower than before the crisis. Public sector unions want to make significant progress towards recovering the lost purchasing power of many of their members since 2008.
Unions unite in national demonstration over care
(May 2017) The four unions that organise care workers in the public (GÖD and younion) and private (vida and GPA-djp) sectors have come together to organise a national demonstration on 12 May. The key demands of the protest are for better funding for care and action to deal with the excessive workloads, stress and long working hours of many care workers. The unions want to see action to tackle staff shortages and national legislation on staffing levels.
Bargaining successes in health and social care
(May 2017) Services union ver.di reports on two significant bargaining developments in the Sana healthcare company and in the non-profit care sector in the Saxony-Anhalt region. Sana's 10000 workers will get a 2.2% pay rise backdated to 1 January this year and a further 2.2% from 1 February 2018 along with several other improvements to pay and conditions, including two extra days off for ver.di members only. The new pay agreement in Saxony-Anhalt covers 4000 care workers employed by the regional welfare federation and is backdated to 2016 while providing pay increases until 2018. Ver.di sees
Workers and residents affected as more care companies collapse
(May 2017) Around 200 workers and the 1100 people they provide care for are the latest victims of private care company bankruptices. The collapse of Hjemmehjælpen Aarhus, the largest private care company in Aarhus, Denmark's second city, is the third private care company bankruptcy in May and the 41st since 2013 when a new tendering system was introduced. The FOA public service union is calling for a change to the system with requirements to monitor professional and management skills, company finances and to protect working conditions.
Union launches campaign to increase pay in social services
(May 2017) The OSZSP health and social services union has launched a campaign to improve pay in the social services sector under the slogan "end cheap labour". The union has already had a meeting with the government where it highlighted staff shortages, excessive workloads and very low pay with some on as little as CZK 12000 a month (EUR 450). The union stresses that staff shortages are set to become more urgent as workers in the sector retire and there is increased demand from an older population.
Federations denounce private care agreement with unrepresentative unions
(May 2017) The FP-CGIL and CISL FP public service federations have attacked the Anaste private residential care employers' organisation for signing an agreements with unrepresentative unions and cutting out the main federations affiliated to the CGIL, CISL and UIL confederations. Around 15000 workers are covered by the agreement which the CGIL, CISL and UIL federations had been negotiating. The three unions took strike action on 27 April to try to improve pay and working conditions and are highly critical of the agreement now signed with the other unions.
Solid support for social care strike
(April 2017) The unions organising workers in private eldercare companies that are part of the Adaste employers' organisation reported very solid support for the strike on 27 March. The level of support was anything from 70% across the different regions with some local unions facing problems where employers refused to negotiate minimum service arrangements. The four unions - FP CGIL, Fisascat Cisl, Uiltucs UIL and UIL FPL, have rejected an employers' offer of a EUR 19 increase after several years of pay freezes and want an increase of EUR 110.
Union welcomes new collective agreement in healthcare
(April 2017) The vpod public services union has welcomed the negotiation of a new collective agreement that covers around 18000 workers employed by health institutions in the Bern region. Nursing staff, doctors as well as catering and cleaning staff will all be covered by the agreement which will come into effect on 1 January 2018. There will be a new pay system and improved paternity and adoption leave in some institutions along with other benefits like additional holidays. The minimum wage in the agreement will be CHFr 4000 (EUR 3750) per month over 12 months although the unions were aiming
Union calls for minimum staffing levels
(April 2017) Services union vida is continuing its campaign to secure federally agreed minimum staffing levels in the health and care sectors. The union took part in a parliamentary hearing on the future of care and said that increasing patient numbers and widespread staffing shortages were creating major problems. Increase workloads were putting pressure on staff who are often stressed and overworked, posing a threat to the quality of care.
Main municipal and welfare agreement extended
(April 2017) Municipal workers' union Kommunal has negotiated a year's extension to the three-year agreement which it negotiated last year with the SKL local government employers' organisation. The agreement provided for additional increases for nursing assistants and nurses as part of a strategy to close the gender pay gap. The basic increases in each of the four years 2016-2019 are SEK 520 (EUR 54), 530 (EUR 55), 535 (EUR 55.5) and 540 (EUR 56) while in the first and second years nursing assistants get 1020 (EUR 105) and 710 (EUR 75) while the third year includes 685 (EUR 70) for nurses. The