Local government

Unions including Fagforbundet , NITO , NTL , LO and others have reached an agreement with the employers’ organisation Virke covering workers in non-profit institutions delivering public services. The deal applies to a wide range of sectors, including kindergartens, health and social services, higher education, specialist health services, and cultural institutions. The agreement includes general wage increases for all covered workers. For those under the municipal wage structure (e.g. kindergartens and care services), workers will receive between NOK 14,500 and 21,200, while managers will get a

Council workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland represented by Unite have overwhelmingly rejected the employers' pay offer of 3.2% from 1 April 2025. The offer was made without negotiation, prompting Unite to consult its members in a ballot where 84% voted against. GMB and Unison also recommended rejection, highlighting the offer’s failure to address a decade of real-terms wage decline. Their consultative ballots closed on 20 June, and results are expected soon. Since 2010, local authority workers have seen their pay fall by around 30% in real terms, while six councils have gone

On 16 and 17 June, forest firefighters and environmental agents in the Community of Madrid held coordinated protests to denounce critical understaffing and the lack of resources ahead of the high-risk fire season. On 16 June , CCOO, CSIF and UGT-CAF gathered forest agents outside the regional environment ministry. They reported that fewer than half of the 453 needed agents are currently employed, raising serious concerns about fire readiness. Union representatives also pointed to unsafe working conditions in local offices, including exposure to radon gas, lack of drinking water, and

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