Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The ADEDY public sector trade union confederation has called a national, public sector strike for 21 May over the cost of living and low pay across the public services. ADEDY argues that the pay rise awarded from 1 January 2024 of €38-€42 a month has done little to compensate for the loss of purchasing power over the years since austerity. The confederation says that a nurse has to survive on a net salary of €680. ADEDY is calling for a 10% pay increase for all public sector workers, for collective bargaining on pay, for abolition of the 2% unemployment levy, an increase in the tax-free

The SUFBIH civil servants’ union has signed a three-year agreement with the federal government that runs to the end of 2026. The union was pleased with the outcome after three months of negotiations and said the agreement showed how social dialogue could deliver. The agreement stipulates that the lowest salary in administrative bodies is 70% of the average salary in the Federation of Bosnia & Hercegovina and severance pay for retirement is the equivalent of five average salaries for civil servants. There are improvements to various allowances and supplements, including for on-call periods, and

On 2 November, around 4,000 health workers in the southern canton of Herzegovina-Neretva began strike action in support of a demand for a 30% salary increase over the next two years. During the strike action only urgent cases are being admitted to the facilities affected. The workers’ union blames the government for the poor state of the health sector and low salaries and is committed to striking until a comprehensive collective agreement is signed. The cantonal government appointed a negotiation team to address the workers' demands. Despite a tentative agreement to a 30% salary increase

On 21 September the ADEDY civil service confederation organised national strike action in protest at labour law changes that were due to be discussed in parliament that day. The changes target the public sector and include relaxations in working time rules that could see civil servants working up to 13 hours a day/78 per week. The changes would mark the end of the five-day week, allow for highly precarious contracts as well as stricter rules on strikes.

The ADEDY public service workers’ confederation called a nationwide work stoppage from 11am on Wednesday 26 July and organised a protest outside the Ministry of Finance. This follows an earlier action on 19 July in protest at new legislation that ADEDY argues fails to address the long-term impact of austerity on public sector workers’ pay and conditions. The Confederation is demanding a range of measures to support workers, including re-establishing the value of the 13th and 14th month salaries, tax-free salaries up to €12000, an increase in the allowance for hazardous and unhealthy work and a

The POEDHN health workers’ union, supported by the ADEDY public sector trade union confederation, organised a national demonstration on 22 February with calls for urgent action on health service funding. The union is demanding increased staffing and measures to address the widespread use of precarious contracts across the health service. It is also continuing to campaign for better pay and conditions with many health workers facing low pay, often little more than the minimum wage. This is a long-term legacy of austerity with pay cuts imposed in 2009 and pay frozen since 2015.

The ADEDY public service and GSEE private sector trade union confederations report strong support for their nationwide strike action and national protest on 9 November. ADEDY was calling for an increase in wages to compensate for inflation along with several other improvements to employment conditions, including re-establishing the 13th and 14th month salaries, an increase and extension of the allowance for dangerous and unhealthy work, negotiating collective agreements in the public sector, a boost for public health care funding, and massive recruitment of permanent staff to tackle staffing

The ADEDY civil service and GSEE private sector confederations have called for a national strike and demonstrations on 9 November over the cost-of-living crisis. ADEDY says that nothing has been done to reverse the pay cuts imposed on public sector workers as part of austerity measures 12 years ago and the government has not proposed any pay rise for civil servants for 2023 despite inflation reaching 11%. Along with its demands on pay, the confederation wants to see a boost to health funding and commitment to increase health and public service employment. Meanwhile, the GSEE is calling for an