Early Childhood Education and Care, Restructuring
Labour shortages: Social Partners jointly respond to the European Commission Consultation on Labour and Skills Shortages in the EU: An Action Plan
In a coordinated action, EPSU joined with Social Partners in Health and Social Services to responded to the European Commission consultation on Labour and Skills Shortages in the EU Action Plan.
EPSU Social Services Working Group discuss labour shortages, legislative developments and European Work Councils
On 27 February 48 participants gathered in Brussels for the Social Services Working Group to discuss, among other things, European Works Councils in the care sector, staffing levels and digital care platforms.
National strike to hit ENEL energy company on 8 March
EPSU and PSI have sent solidarity greetings to the three union federations – Filctem-Cgil, Flaei- Cisl and Uiltec – in their dispute with the ENEL energy company. The three unions are planning national strike action on 8 March and began a month-long period of industrial action affecting overtime, travel and changes to working hours on 24 February. The unions are angry about the company’s unilateral plans to change working hours arrangements, to outsource operations on the electricity grid, and its refusal to renew the remote work agreement. The three federations argue that the measures will
Union pushes for transitional agreement in childcare
The FNV trade union was due to begin talks with childcare employers to negotiate a transitional collective agreement to cover the approximately 114,000 employees in the sector, particularly with a view to address the challenges of retaining and attracting staff. The union notes that staff shortages and heavy workloads are leading to high levels of sickness absence and that the numbers leaving the profession increased significantly in 2023. The aim is to secure a temporary agreement for the second six months of 2024 in the lead up to negotiations over a long-term agreement. A recent FNV survey
Childcare workers strike over pay and precarious conditions
Members of the CCOO trade union in early years education have taken three days of strike action with a fourth planned for 15 November. They also came from all regions of Spain to join a national demonstration in Madrid on 2 November as part of their campaign to secure improvements to pay and secure real progress after over two years of negotiations with private sector employers. The union wants action to address precarious employment conditions and has had to resort to industrial action to put pressure on the employers to negotiate on the issue. The union argues that pay and working conditions
EPSU Childcare network discussed monitoring and evaluation in early childhood education and care
On 20th September 2023 the EPSU Childcare network met to discuss monitoring and evaluation in early childhood education and care, and the results of a survey on working conditions and professionalisation.
Survey reveals problem with childcare provision
The trade union-linked Hans Böckler research organisation has published a new survey uncovering worrying gaps in childcare provision across the country. It says that 10 years after the legal right to childcare from the age of one came into force, there is a shortage of childcare places. Further, it reveals that a large proportion of working or job-seeking parents who officially have a place for their child don’t have reliable care, with 57% confronted with reductions in childcare hours and/or even temporary closures of facilities due to staff shortages this spring. Two-thirds of those surveyed
Series of pay deals for private sector childcare workers
EPSU affiliates Fagforbundet and Delta, along with other unions, have been involved in negotiating a series of similar pay deals for workers covered by different private sector collective agreements. Assistants and skilled workers in the PBL group of kindergartens got a NOK 25800 (€2200) addition on annual salaries while teachers and education leaders received NOK 30000 (€2560). The overall cost increase of 5.4% is in line with the public sector increase. A 5.4% rise will also cover childcare facilities run by Norlandia which has moved to the agreement negotiated by the Spekter employers’
Ambulance, council and water workers back industrial action
In three separate disputes, members of the Fórsa and SIPTU trade unions have voted in favour of industrial action. In the ambulance service, SIPTU members voted with a 95% majority to back industrial action following the refusal of management to implement a restructuring plan that had been negotiated with and was fully supported by the union. Meanwhile, SIPTU members in the water sector will take strike action on 7 June unless there is a guarantee that their local authority pay and conditions will be protected when they transfer to a new employer, Uisce Éireann, a new standalone public utility
Childcare workers take to streets over pay, jobs and funding
A trade union alliance involving the CNE, CSC Services Publics, CGSP, SETCA, CGSLB and SLPF coordinated a demonstration in Brussels on 26 April to raise concerns about the state of childcare provision. The protest involved a delegation meeting with the minister for children and health in the Brussels-Wallonia Federation with demands to tackle the long-standing problems of understaffing and precarious work and to prevent the extension of private, for-profit provision across the sector. The union were supported by non-profit providers in the sector.
Union action secures another pensions success in childcare
Following a successful strike over pensions at the PBL employers’ organisation, the Fagforbundet trade union has managed to secure improved occupational pensions for employees in kindergartens covered by the NHO Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise. The four-week strike in NHO companies ended on 17 March with negotiations guaranteeing that the portion of public subsidies intended for pension purposes will be fully applied and that savings rates for pensions will also be guaranteed rather than varying from one kindergarten to another. The deal also means that employers are not tempted to