Local government

Fagforbundet , Delta , EL og IT Forbundet and Akademikerne have reached a 2025 wage agreement with the employer organisation Samfunnsbedriftene. The deal covers workers in municipally-owned companies. The agreement provides general pay increases of NOK 14,500 for unskilled workers, NOK 15,500 for skilled workers, and NOK 16,700 for skilled workers with vocational college education. Staff in unregulated positions—typically managers not covered by fixed pay tables—will receive a general increase of 2.7%. In addition, from 1 August, 1.15% of the total amount agreed will be allocated for local

After difficult negotiations, a new federal collective agreement has been concluded for workers in the chimney sweep trade in Germany. The agreement includes a general wage increase and updates to the wage classification system, aiming to reduce tensions between the key representative bodies— the Trade union and Central Association of German Chimney Sweeps (ZDS) and the Central Guild Association (ZIV). Wages will increase by an average of 12.6% as of 1 May 2025, including a 5.5% rise now calculated on the basis of hourly wages. This change was a key compromise by the ZDS. New agreed hourly

Union STAL is organising a national protest on 27 June to demand urgent action on low pay, precarious employment, and poor working conditions in local government and municipal companies. The mobilisation follows a national plenary of 500 delegates, activists, and union leaders, who gathered to assess the political and workplace challenges facing the sector. Key concerns include stagnating wages, lack of decent working conditions, job insecurity, and restrictions on trade union rights. STAL warns that the worsening political climate—marked by a rise in right-wing and far-right influence—poses a

Thousands of Scottish Water workers represented by UNISON , Unite and GMB held a seven-day strike from 2 to 8 June after rejecting the company’s initial pay offer. The action followed earlier walkouts in April and May and disrupted emergency repairs, wastewater treatment, and other essential services across Scotland. The unions demanded a flat-rate increase of £3,000 for staff in grades 1 to 8. Scottish Water had originally proposed an average pay rise of 3.4% for 2024–25, with slightly higher increases for the lowest grades, alongside a move to a 35-hour workweek and access to performance

Unions Kommunal and Vision have reached a new agreement covering around 10,500 part-time firefighters in Sweden’s rescue services (Räddningstjänst i Beredskap, or RiB). Signed with employers’ associations SKR and Sobona, the agreement runs from 1 May 2025 to 30 April 2027. The deal introduces a number of improvements in both working conditions and pay. A key achievement is increased compensation for emergency callouts and exercises, as well as better support for combining on-call duties with other employment. Part-time firefighters will also benefit from higher compensation for delays and more

After more than 80 days of strike action, unions representing maritime fisheries inspectors in Spain have reached a historic agreement with the government, securing major improvements to working conditions and pay. The agreement was signed by CCOO , UGT, CSIF, and CIG , while ELA initially held out but later also ended the strike. The inspectors had been demanding recognition of their special working hours, pay improvements, and the creation of a dedicated inspection scale. The government has now committed to begin negotiations on these points, including a new job classification structure

FNV members have voted overwhelmingly in favour of the final offer for the new collective labour agreement for the workers employed by the twelve provincial governments and related public bodies. Covering the period from 1 July 2025 to 1 July 2026, the agreement includes a 4% wage increase, delivered in two stages, and a one-off €1,000 gross payment in November. The deal was backed by 81% of FNV members. The agreement introduces improvements to allowances for irregular work, extending coverage and increasing weekend rates. A new provision allows workers to allocate part of their individual

Refuse workers in Birmingham, represented by Unite the Union, have been on all-out strike since 11 March 2025 in response to the city council’s plans to restructure waste collection services. The dispute centres on the proposed removal of a specific operative role, which Unite says would result in pay cuts of up to £8,000 for some workers. The council disputes this figure, claiming only a few staff members would be directly affected and that alternative roles at equivalent pay have been offered. On 14 April, workers overwhelmingly rejected a proposed deal which Unite described as offering only

Unions in Finland, including JHL , Jyty , Super and Tehy , have approved a new general agreement for workers in municipalities and wellbeing services counties, covering the period 1 May 2025 to 29 February 2028. The deal lays out a framework for pay and working conditions for around 500,000 workers. The agreement provides for average wage increases of 7.37% over the three-year period, alongside a jointly agreed pay development programme to be implemented from 2026 to 2028. In the social and healthcare sector, the total increase is expected to exceed 14% according to Tehy , with targeted

Unions in Norway have reached an agreement with Norlandia on the 2025 interim wage settlement for kindergarten workers. The negotiations were conducted jointly by Fagforbundet , Delta , and the Education Union, under Spekter Area 12. While the agreement will formally take effect once all negotiations in Area 12 are concluded, the unions report that the outcome is positive for members. The agreement includes central wage increases effective from 1 April 2025: NOK 16,000 for staff without specific qualifications, NOK 18,000 for skilled workers and assistants, and up to NOK 26,000 for

Trade unions in Estonia are calling on the government to withdraw proposed amendments to the Employment Contracts Act and to restore meaningful tripartite negotiations at national level. The Trade Union of State and Local Government Institutions Employees (ROTAL) and the Estonian Energy Workers’ Trade Union Federation (EEAÜL) warn that the government is retreating from core elements of social dialogue and undermining collective bargaining structures. One of the unions' main concerns is the government’s decision to downgrade tripartite negotiations. National-level dialogue between the

Wage negotiations in Norway’s state and municipal sectors have reached a critical phase, as LO Stat, LO Kommune, and YS Kommune have broken off talks with public employers. The dispute centres not on the overall wage increase—set at 4.4%—but on how it should be distributed. In the state sector, LO Stat rejected the government’s proposal to allocate most of the increase to local-level negotiations. The union is demanding general increases through centrally negotiated flat-rate additions to ensure more equal pay outcomes. The matter has now been referred to the National Mediator, with a strike

Municipal workers in the city of Orašje, Bosnia and Herzegovina, are continuing a warning strike that began on 10 April 2025. The action follows the announcement by Mayor of plans to cancel the current decision on coefficients and pay grades in the city administration—an act that would violate the Law on Salaries in Government Bodies of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the applicable collective agreement for civil servants and public employees. The mayor has also refused to negotiate on the wage base for 2025, leaving salaries frozen at 2024 levels. The recent increase in

A new collective agreement for municipal workers in the Netherlands will see salaries rise by an average of 7.64% over two years. The agreement, negotiated by FNV and other unions with the Association of Dutch Municipalities (VNG), also raises the minimum hourly wage to €16. The agreement covers 220,000 municipal workers and runs from 1 April 2025 to 1 April 2027. While unions welcomed the new minimum wage, they described the overall wage increase as modest, with FNV noting that it reflects a compromise based on the final offer made by VNG. Lower-paid workers will see higher gains due to a €35