Remunicipalisation, Central government, Portugal, Norway

Both the SINTAP and STAL unions have expressed discontent with the pay increase on offer for public service workers in 2024. The overall wage bill will rise by over 5% with increases ranging from 3% to over 6% depending on position in the pay scale. The two unions argue that this level of increase will not compensate for the recent loss of purchasing power because of higher inflation. STAL estimates a 5.1% fall in real terms in 2022-23 alone. SINTAP has called for a re-opening of negotiations while STAL has called a national strike for 27 October. The strike, also supported by the Frente Comum

Trade unions, including STAL and SINTAP, are calling on the government to make further changes to proposals on pay and career development for public sector IT workers. In response to earlier union demands the government make some improvements to elements of pay, particularly for IT workers coordinating projects. However, the unions say that these don’t go far enough nor is there adequate provision for IT workers to protect their pay when faced with career change. The unions underline that improvements are essential if the public sector is to recruit and retain IT staff and reduce the need for

Nurses in Portugal have been involved in strike action in both private and public sectors. The SEP trade union organised a one-day strike on 16 March over pay, hours and other conditions in the private sector and it joined a larger strike across public services on 17 March with similar demands and involving other public service trade unions, including STAL.

The SEP nurses’ union has called for a day of strike action on 16 March in the private hospitals that are part of the APHP employers’ organisation. The main demands include a 35-hour week for all, a pay increase of 10% and similar increases on allowances, 25 days’ paid leave a year, improved unsocial hours payments and a higher meal allowance. Public sector unions in the Frente Comum are also continuing their campaign for better pay with a strike in public administration on 17 March and national demonstration on the 18th.

Trade unions across the three confederations – LO, YS and Unio – have negotiated changes to the main state agreement that regulates the relations between unions and the government. With many government agencies facing restructuring, the unions are pleased that the new agreement, that runs until 2025, will strengthen co-determination and ensure trade unions are involved in tackling change and the introduction of, for example, new digital tools and processes. The agreement also reinforces the commitment of both sides to address sustainability and climate change and has clearer wording around

The SINTAP public service union has signed an agreement with the government that will see pay increase by €52.11 a month in each of the years 2023 to 2026. The agreement also includes an increase in the food allowance and a range of pay improvements for selected occupations as well as commitments on career development. Meanwhile, the STAL local government union and other unions in the Frente Comum are planning a national strike on 18 November as they believe the proposed pay increases are inadequate.

Five of the six trade unions in the LO Kommune bargaining group agreed to back the mediation proposal for municipal workers that was finally delivered on 24 May, averting strikes across the sector. The largest union in the sector, Fagforbundet, reported that the agreement would deliver increases on annual salaries of between NOK 12000 (€1165) and NOK 16800 (€1635). The settlement was ahead of that achieved in manufacturing this year, as the unions had pushed for a better deal to allow catching up on the lower settlement in 2021. The agreement also provides for increased night and weekend

The trade unions in the state sector represented by Lo Stat, Unio and YS Stat broke off negotiations at the end of April and are waiting to see what mediation delivers on 23 May. The three groups of unions want to see action to compensate for recent pay trends where pay in the state sector has not kept pace with developments in the private sector. LO Stat unions have already set out plans for industrial action if mediation fails to deliver. Along with a general pay increase they also want to see action to reduce gender pay inequality and are concerned that the state sector’s preference for

The government’s initial offer of a pay increase of 0.9% for public service workers for 2022 is well below the demands of the main trade unions. Trade unions in the Frente Comum federation are calling for a minimum EUR 90 a month increase from 1 January 2022 with a minimum wage set at EUR 850. The SINTAP trade union has claimed an increase of 2.5%. The unions have a range of other demands relating to meal allowances, the pay structure and career development, arduous work, precarious employment, changes to the performance management system and working time.

Tough bargaining in both the state and municipal sectors have ended up in mediation as employers fail to get close to the unions’ key demands. In the state sector unions were already concerned about the increasing gap between the low and high paid and the prospect of pay increases negotiated mainly at local level were seen as increasing the likelihood that the lower paid would again lose out. Public sector unions support the system where industry settlements set a benchmark and note that last year state workers got 0.5% less than the private sector. However, they also argue that the public

Negotiations over pay are getting underway in the state and local government sectors with unions seeking to protect their members’ purchasing power and focusing on support for the lower paid. While unions agree that the system where the industrial sector sets the trend for pay bargaining is the right one, negotiations in the public sector need to address how pay trends have affected different occupations. This means there are arguments for a flat-rate increase that will benefit the lower paid, including the often undervalued groups like cleaners who have played a key role in coping with the

The Common Front of the Public Administration Unions has announced a national day of action on 20 May to push the government to respond to its key collective bargaining demands for 2021. The unions are calling for a EUR 90 increase for all workers and a minimum salary of EUR 850 a month. They also want action to improve career development and the revocation of the SIADAP performance management system.

Public service unions have raised major concerns about the SIADAP performance management system. They reject the use of quotas and call for changes to ensure that workers have a faster and more transparent process of career development. Some unions have launched a campaign and petition calling for a total renegotiation of the system that they argue is bureaucratic and subjective. Others are looking for swift changes to the system and an end to quotas but are angry that the government has stated it will maintain quotas despite having agreed to meet unions to negotiate over SIADAP.