Work-life balance
Union negotiates another workload and staffing agreement
Ver.di, the main trade union in the health sector, is close to securing an agreement on staffing and workloads with Augsburg hospital in Bavaria. As the institution is set to become a university hospital from 1 January next year, the agreement has to be confirmed by the state health minister. Ver.di members at the hospital have voted 93% in favour of industrial action and so the union says it is ready to take action if the agreement is rejected. Similar to other agreements negotiated recently in hospitals in North Rhine Westphalia and Saarland, the Augsburg deal will mean additional jobs - 100
Strike action delivers positive result on flexi-leave
Four days of strike action by workers at Roscommon council in the West of Ireland have lead to the restoration of the right to flexi-leave that had been removed by the council's management. The workers, organised by the Fórsa and SIPTU trade unions, had carried out a series of four one-day strikes and further action was planned in order to secure rights which are enjoyed across the rest of the local government sector and which are important in ensuring a good work-life balance, particularly for working parents. EPSU had sent a solidarity message.
Better pay and working conditions for maternity workers
A new collective agreement covering 9000 maternity nurses has been agreed by the FNV and NU'91 unions with a 5.75% pay rise over two years along with 10% increases for those in their first and second years in order to make the sector more attractive to young workers. Pay will be increased in four stages: 1% (backdated to April 2018); 1.5% (October 2018); 1.5% (January 2019) and 1.75% (May 2019). There will also be an end to 24-hour on-call shifts and other measures are foreseen to reduce workloads and improve work-life balance. A committee will be set up to monitor compliance with the
Overview shows wide variations in paternity and parental leave
The European Commission has produced a short overview of paternity and parental leave provisions across EU countries revealing that, for example, paternity leave is available in nearly all member states but the length and level of compensation vary considerably. The draft directive on work-life balance proposes two weeks' paternity leave paid at the level of sick pay. While 17 member states already have the two-week minimum only 13 offer it on the basis of at least 66% of previous earnings.
Red Cross workers take action to support negotiations
In advance of the third round of pay negotiations, a series of warning strikes by employees of the Red Cross have been taking place across the country to show the level of support for a decent pay rise. Public services union ver.di is calling for a pay rise of 7.5% with a minimum increase of EUR 200 a month. So far the employers have only offered a EUR 220 lump sum payment and a 2.4% increase this year with a further rise of 2.2% in July 2019. Ver.di says that the agreement should reflect current pay bargaining trends and should also include provisions on work-life balance and health that
Municipal workers plan series of strikes over flexible working
Workers at Roscommon Council in the west of Ireland, members of the Fórsa trade union, have begun a series of strikes in order to win back their rights to flexileave. The right is seen as important, particularly for working parents and is being denied to Roscommon workers despite it being a right enjoyed across local government, endorsed in the national agreement and supported by a ruling of the Labour Court. The local government workers have taken two days of strike action and organised a protest march. They will continue to strike every Tuesday and Thursday. EPSU and other union