Working Time, Social Dialogue
Negotiating and campaigning on working time
After pay, working time is core collective bargaining issue but is also an important area of employment regulated by national and European legislation. EPSU has been very active in defending and calling for proper implementation of the Working Time Directive and is involved in current debates on working time. The why and how of working time reduction is a guide produced for EPSU by the European Trade Union Institute and examines long-term trends in working time, the arguments for reducing it and examples of how this has been achieved.
LRG Social Dialogues adopt joint position on protecting workers from asbestos and the future of local emergency services
On 16 November, EPSU and CEMR sealed a number of important agreements setting the priorities for the next years and committing to political principles for the workers in emergency services and their protection from asbestos.
Call for Tenders: Research on evolving jobs, skills, and training needs in the social services sector
The Social Employers and EPSU are looking for a researcher/research team to produce a study on the evolving jobs, skills and training needs in the social services sector and the role of social partners in managing such changes.
EU Social Partners signed new agreement on digitalisation for central government
On Thursday, 6 October the EU social partners for central governments, TUNED for the trade union side and EUPAE for the employers, signed a new agreement on digitalisation with the participation of the European Commission.
Government agrees to negotiate public sector agreement
The public service federations in the UGT and CCOO confederations welcome the fact that their demands for public sector pay negotiations have been agreed by the government. The unions want a multiannual agreement that allows for the maintenance of purchasing power and, in particular, an increase this year on top of the 2% pay increase imposed by the government. CCOO and UGT want to see action to correct the long-term decline in purchasing power across the public sector, with foreign service personnel, for example not seeing an increase for 14 years. The unions want to ensure that the new
Health and care unions present ambitious bargaining demands
The vida and GPA services unions have just launched their main demands in the “social economy” sector negotiations that cover 130,000 in private health and social care. The unions are calling for a pay increase that not only covers inflation (currently topping 9%), but also takes into account the hard work put in by employees over the past year. The unions also want to see more staff recruited and more free time, with the pandemic exposing the impact of staff shortages. They have a range of specific demands relating to overtime, job classifications and mileage allowances – all elements that
Union calls for action on staff shortages in public administration
Services union ver.di has welcomed the federal government’s statement that it wants to tackle skills shortages but argues strongly that in doing so it needs to address the big challenges in the public sector itself. Ver.di points out that education in kindergartens, schools – especially vocational schools – and universities, is key but the shortage of skilled workers in these sectors has long been a problem. Additional jobs and better working conditions in the public sector are needed. This not just about pay but about providing more training opportunities, better equipment and increased
New European Care Strategy
The population of the European Union is ageing: the number of people aged 80 and over is expected to increase by 88 per cent over the next 30 years. Principle 18 of the European Pillar of Social Rights, the right to long-term care (LTC), will be ever more important.
Union launches campaign on working time for care staff
The vpod/ssp public services union says that it is totally unacceptable that certain workers in the care sector are denied basic working time rights. At the moment they face long working days without breaks, double shifts and hours that are not properly registered. Socio-educational staff in care institutions are currently excluded from the working hours provisions in the labour code. The union argues that these workers perform difficult tasks that are often not recognized, although they are essential for the functioning of society and the quality of service to residents can suffer if
Conferences on working time and labour shortages
The debate over a shorter working week continues next month with a hybrid conference on 20-21 October – “A 4-day week in Europe: how to get real working time reduction”. Organised by the European Network for the Fair Sharing of Working Time, the conference will cover practical examples of working time reduction in both public and private sectors, including the major move to a shorter working week in Iceland. There will also be contributions from trade unionists from Switzerland and France. Another conference supported by the European Trade Union Institute will focus on the impact of labour