Electricity, PPPs
Union secures wide-ranging agreement with energy company
After lengthy negotations, services union ver.di has endorsed a new agreement with the Uniper energy company that it will put to its members over the coming weeks. Key elements of the deal are commitments to no compulsory redundancies and to an early retirement scheme, seen by ver.di as important for the company's coal-powered operations that will face restructuring. This part of the agreement will run to 2022 while the long-term pay deal will run to 2024. The union prevented the company from cutting bonuses like Christmas pay but performance pay will be ended. In 2018 workers will get a lump
The Creeping Privatisation of Health Care in the European Union
A new briefing paper of Corporate Europe on the Creeping Privatisation of Health Care in the European Union provides detailed insight in the political and market mechanisms that increase health inequalities and lead to privatization of basic care.
Pay rise for 20000 workers in electricity sector
(March 2017) Around 20000 workers in the private electricity sector saw their pay increase by 1.55% from 1 February following a new pay deal negotiated by the GPA-djp and PRO-GE trade unions. The increase is above the 0.9% average inflation rate for 2016. Trainees will also get the increase. The agreement includes a commitement to contiinue discussions about pay and job content, working in difficult circumstances as well as shift work and arduous work at different phases of the working career.
World Bank called on to fix the accounting problems that make Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) fundamentally flawed and dangerous
In an open letter Eurodad, PSI, EPSU and others criticise the World Bank’s consultation on Recommended PPP Contractual Provisions and demand that is is put on hold
Energy workers strike over pay
(January 2017) Member of five trade unions organising in the energy sector, CGT, CFDT, FO, CFE-CGC and CFTC, called for strike action on 31 January in protest at the employers' attempt to freeze pay in the sector. The unions say that workers will not pay the price of restructuring in the sector and want immediate negotiations on pay. They also call on the government (the majority shareholder in the major energy companies EDF and ENGIE) to come up with an industrial strategy for the sector. EPSU sent a message of support.
Energy unions end strike over rest periods
(November 2016) Energy unions have agreed a new collective agreement and ended their strike over rest periods. The new collective agreement increases minimum wage rates and allows for local bargaining around a 2.4% pay increase. The strike was over an attempt by the employers' organisation to reduce rest periods for workers who have been on call. In the end it was agreed to negotiate this at company level where the unions are positive about maintaining the appropriate rest periods.
EPSU’s Standing Committee on Utilities strongly supports Norwegian energy sector’s industrial action
(5 October 2016) EPSU’s Standing Committee on Utilities meeting today in Brussels voted unanimously to strongly support the industrial actions currently underway in the Norwegian Energy sector.The EL and IT