Kazakhstan, Israel
Mediterranean trade unions on public services, European parliament elections and the extreme-right
The recent elections in several European countries that resulted in gains for extreme-right parties and even brought them into government were discussed at the constituency of the Mediterranean unions.
General strike forces government to pause legal reforms
A general strike organised by the Histradut confederation was a key part of the national mobilisation against the government coalition’s plans to weaken the role of the Supreme Court. As a result the government, which includes parties of the far right, said the proposals that would prevent the Court from ruling on legislation and allow the government to appoint judges, would be put on hold.
Higher pay and shorter hours across public services
After seven years with no update to the main public sector framework agreement the Histradut trade union organisation reports that negotiations have delivered a salary increase of 11% over the next four years up to April 2027 along with a lump sum of NIS 6,000 (€1575) designed to help cope with the cost of living. Workers will get a two-hour cut in working week from 42 to 41 hours in June 2023 and from 41 to 40 hours in January 2025. There will also be special salary adjustments for a range of occupations, particularly in health and social care. Meanwhile, the union has negotiated an agreement
Union makes breakthrough at Fresenius
The UCAPSE trade union has made a significant breakthrough by negotiating the first collective agreement covering 500 employees at Nefromor a subsidiary of the Fresenius Medical Care multinational. UCAPSE managed to organise workers in 2018 and has since been involved in long and complex negotiations to achieve a collective agreement which now covers pay, minimum wages, working time, education funds, pensions and shift allowances. There are backdated pay increases of 3.25% for 2021 and 3% for 2022. The hourly rate for the lowest paid will rise to around €8.40 (legal minimum wage is €7.73). The
Court rules against university’s anti-union actions
The Davar news website reports that last month the Regional Labour Court ordered Tel Aviv University to pay 150,000 shekels (€42,500) to the research laboratory workers’ union in compensation for obstructing its efforts to unionize. The Court said the university tried to fire the chair of the union and dock the salary of another union member. It ordered the university to rescind the dismissal of the union chair, Dr Moti Ronen, and bring him back to work under the same contractual agreements that preceded his dismissal. The university is also required to pay back in full the salary it docked