USA, Lithuania, Iceland

EPSU has published the second in a series of articles on working time reduction, focusing this time on Iceland. Ten years ago the country had some of the longest weekly working hours in Europe and then trade unions began to address the issue through a series of pilot projects and negotiations in both municipalities and central administration. Trade unions worked closely with management to ensure services were maintained and the results of the pilot projects showed that working time could be reduced without loss of pay with surveys showing increased well-being among workers. Many local and

On 24 October, the BSRB public sector federation was one of more than a dozen organisations supporting a day of action calling for urgent action to address gender inequality, the gender pay gap and to tackle gender-based and sexual violence. Actions ranged from strikes and demonstrations to the withdrawal of all forms of labour, paid and unpaid. Since the first women’s day of action in 1975, unions and other organisations in the country have organised major strikes and protests and there has been some reduction in gender inequality. However, there is still a long way to go with the gender pay

The LSADPS health workers’ union reports that its members in public health will benefit from pay rises of around 14% from the beginning of this month. This is based on the collective agreement negotiated by the LSADPS and eight other health sector trade unions in 2021 and updated in October of last year. Along with higher basic pay there are increases to the coefficients on which salaries are based and these will apply to the members of the trade unions that have signed the agreement. The average increase for all health staff will be around 8%.

EPSU and industriAll Europe have sent a joint letter of protest to bosses at the Achema chemicals plant in Lithuania. They have called on the management to end anti-union activity and return to the negotiating table to resolve a dispute over pay and a new collective agreement. The local union, part of the LPPSF union affiliated to both EPSU and industriAll, took strike action in February – the first private sector strike in Lithuania for 30 years – but had to suspend the action when the government declared a state of emergency because of the war in Ukraine.

The Economic Policy Institute in the US has just published research that reveals the impact of declining union density and collective bargaining on wages. It finds, for example, that falling union membership translates to a loss of $1.56 (€1.47) per hour worked for the average worker, the equivalent of $3,250 (€3,070) for a full-time, full-year worker. Meanwhile, the erosion of collective bargaining lowered the median hourly wage also by $1.56 (€1.47), a 7.9% decline (0.2% annually), from 1979 to 2017. An analysis of wage distribution found that declining unionisation had widened inequality

EPSU has sent solidarity greetings to its affiliate, the Industrial workers federation of Lithuania, which began an indefinite strike in the fertilizers and industrial chemicals company Achema on 8 February. This is thought to be the first strike in the country in the private sector in 30 years and the union reports that the 600 strikers have been put under considerable pressure by the company. The union is demanding an end to labour rights violations, a collective agreement, pay increase, and the creation of a climate of dialogue and information and consultation.

The US government has set out 70 recommendations to encourage collective bargaining and union membership making it easier for many federal employees to join unions and eliminating barriers for union organizers to talk with workers. A report by the administration’s Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment, says, “it is our administration’s belief that unions benefit all of us.” The report notes that union households earn up to 20% more than non-union households, with an even greater union advantage for workers with less formal education and workers of colour. The report calls for

EPSU affiliate the LSADPS and eight other medical trade unions organisations have negotiated a new three-year collective agreement that runs from 1 January 2022 and covers workers from the entire health sector, who are members of the trade union organisations involved in the negotiations. This is the first time all trade unions have come together to sign one sectoral collective agreement. A combination of factors mean that wages are set to increase by an average of 10.9% in 2022. There is also a commitment to ensure funding for wage increases to prevent a recurrence of the delay in wage rises

Trade unions have negotiated improvements for workers in social services and public services. The new collective agreement in social services will see minimum monthly pay increased significantly from €642 to €730 while working hours will be cut by one hour a week. Trade union members covered by the agreement will get an extra day’s leave after 10 years’ service. Meanwhile, across public services there will be a 2.2% increase in the basis salary on which specific salary amounts are calculated. Trade union members covered by the collective agreements will get two additional days’ leave for