Social Services
Trade unions react to detailed public sector pay analysis
Last month the Wage Structure Committee produce a detailed report on pay in the public services as a basis of a tripartite discussion that is due to begin in the autumn and that will have an impact on negotiations of the next three-year collective agreements in the public sector that will run from April 2024. The committee, with trade union participation, was set up in 2021 as a first step in trying to address the persistent problem of pay inequality across the public services and the major staff shortages across many occupations. The initial reaction of many EPSU affiliates is to welcome the
Employees of church-based organisation flex their bargaining muscles
For the first time, employees working at care facilities run by the Protestant church in Hesse in central-west Germany are mobilising to support their union ver.di in collective bargaining. The workers have only been covered by a collective agreement since April 2022 and so building support for their key demand – an increase of €450 a month – is a new experience. They managed to get over 550 signatures on a petition handed to management. In the past, pay and working conditions were simply laid down in church employment contract guidelines. The collective agreement negotiated by ver.di and the
Wage boost for workers in disability care and blood services
The 200000 workers covered by the disability care collective agreement are getting a phased pay increase of 10% on top of the 3.2% already paid in May this year, negotiated by the FNV and NU’91 trade unions. There will be two increases of 3% on 1 September and 1 December (both with a €80 minimum) and in 2024, there will be two further increases of 2% in June and December (both with a minimum of €55). The travel allowance will be doubled from 8 cents to 16 cents per kilometer. Meanwhile, after difficult negotiations, unions at the Sanguin blood services non-profit company, including FNV, have
Workers in church-run care homes get 8% pay increase and cut in hours
After six months of negotiations, workers in church-run elderly care and nursing homes will get an 8% pay increase, along with a cost-of-living bonus of €1500 and a one-hour reduction in weekly working hours to 39 hours. The agreement covers around 3600 employees and the new monthly minimum wage will be set at €1850.76. The 8% increase translates into a 10.65% increase once the one-hour cut is taken into account. The vida trade union negotiated the agreement which it sees as bringing the church-based employer more in line with other collective agreements in the sector although it argues that
New Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for Social Services gives voice to one of Europe’s fastest growing sectors
Press Release - Today, the European Commission established a new EU Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for the first time in over a decade: the Social Dialogue Committee for Social Services.
Workers get pay boost at care multinational
Independent unions at the scandal-hit care multinational Orpea, have managed to make positive gains in annual negotiations. The CGT reports that the situation has now changed significantly since the position of the in-house union was challenged with the CGT, CFDT and FO winning their case against the company for rigging workplace elections. The CGT says that pay increases this year for non-management staff range from 3% to 7% depending on length of service while management staff get 1%-4% again depending on length of service and whether they benefited from salary adjustments in 2022 or 2023
EPSU expert group discusses Occupational Safety and Health in HSS
The group discussed recent developments on worker protection in the EU and beyond, an interactive risk assessment tool in healthcare, and the revisions of directives on Carcinogens and Mutagens and Reprotoxins (CMRD 5) and asbestos.
Non-profit health and care workers plan all-out strike
Members of the Fórsa, INMO and SIPTU trade unions, employed in community and voluntary sector agencies funded by the state sector will begin indefinite strike action in a range of workplaces from Tuesday 17 October. The action, involving workers mainly in the health and social care sectors, is coordinated by the ICTU confederation and was overwhelmingly supported by members in ballots that took place following the breakdown of talks at the Workplace Relations Commission in July. The long-running dispute is over the failure by employers to address pay disparity between these workers and their
Health and care workers need meaningful European policy - not words
Following the comments of Ursula Von den Leyen in her State of the Union address and the comments of other DG SANTE officials on the issue of the health and care workforce, EPSU wants to point out that political speeches need to be followed by concrete policies and concrete proposals.
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.