Türkiye, Slovenia, Serbia, Moldova, Bulgaria

The ZSSS trade union confederation reports that some public service trade unions have expressed dissatisfaction with the government's handling of negotiations on wage disparities and the renewal of the wage system. The unions say that the government's lack of commitment to fair negotiations has resulted in a stalemate and the government's failure to provide a counter-proposal for eliminating wage disparities, despite assurances, has led to frustration among union representatives. They argue that the government's approach undermines the importance of public sector workers in maintaining the

The Council of Ministers in Bulgaria has agreed to allocate BGN 180 million (€92 million) for a salary increase benefiting 53,000 state administration employees. This increase, averaging BGN 283 (€145) retroactively from 1 January, aims to address disparities in salaries within the public sector. A decree approved by the Council of Ministers outlines the allocation of a total of BGN 268 million (€137 million) in the budget for this purpose. The KNSB and Podkrepa federations actively participated in negotiations over the past three months to develop the methodology and distribution of these

The SDE energy trade union has raised concerns about the capacity of the energy sector to cope with the green transition. The union highlights slow wage growth in the sector, which is adding to the major challenges in recruiting new staff and the lengthy training required to ensure they have the specific skills needed. The SDE is also worried that existing staff are leaving the energy sector and seeking employment in better-paid positions in other industries. The union points out that a lack of skilled staff will make it difficult to successfully upgrade energy facilities. It has also raised

The ZSSS trade union confederation reports that, following its industrial action last November, the Trade Union of State Authorities of Slovenia (SDOS) organised further strike action from 29-31 January. The union says there has been no progress with the negotiations, particularly in regard to measures for the lowest paid and in contrast with other parts of the public sector. The SDOS has also rejected the proposal from the government to wait and resolve the main issues in the framework of negotiations on the public sector wage system is not acceptable to the union. The union says that workers

The ZSSS trade union confederation reports that some public sector unions have signed an agreement on a partial alignment of wages with inflation, which foresees a wage adjustment of 80% of inflation over the one-year period from December 2022 to December last year, and an earlier holiday payment in February rather than June. With inflation at 4.2%, this means a pay increase of 3.36% in June this year. The government also wanted to agree a delay in negotiations over implementation of the reform of the wage system that was due to start on 1 January. To go ahead, this agreement must be signed by

Public sector unions, including those in the PSSJS confederation, were set to organise a national rally in Ljubljana on 7 December to push for government action on a range of key pay and conditions issues. The unions want the government to commit to implementation of wage indexation in 2024 and completion of the reform of the public sector wage system by 30 June 2026. They are also calling for the elimination of wage discrepancies across different parts of the public sector which should ensure that large parts of the public sector get the level of wage increases already agreed for some groups

A national demonstration of health workers foreseen to take place in Belgrade on 23 November was cancelled as the GSZSZ Nezavisnost trade union reached agreement with the government on a number of key demands on pay. The aim is to get the ministry of health to sign a new regulation on salary coefficients that would define the common basic salary for all workers in the healthcare sector. The union argues that this would be a significant improvement on the current situation where the five basic salaries for different professions in the healthcare are not viable. The union is also calling for

The ZSSS trade union confederation reports that, following unsuccessful negotiations at the Ministry of Public Administration on 14 November, the SDOS public administration trade union organised one-day strike action the day after in seven administrative units across the country. The union demands include an increase in wages for seven pay brackets, improvements to allowances, and a decent level of remuneration for new recruits as part of measures to tackle the current staffing shortage. The SDOS has been pushing for some time for action on a range of issues and the government has failed to

Over the past month the SDE energy workers’ union has submitted a proposal for extraordinary salary increase in the energy sector and has been lobbying on the draft of the law on energy policy, provisions of which could limit the right to strike. The union is also still active in providing support to energy workers that were affected by major floods in Slovenia in August. The solidarity fund initiated by the SDE has received wide support both nationally and internationally.

The SINDLEX trade union federation has been negotiating for three years to try to secure improvements in pay and conditions for a range occupations in the Ministry of Interior including police, prison staff, emergency workers and firefighters. The union is calling for pay commensurate with these workers’ responsibilities and competences. It also wants the government to end the moratorium on recruitment and tackle the serious understaffing that has led to pressure on remaining staff and high levels of overtime which often goes unpaid. EPSU sent a letter to the Prime Minister in support of the

The KESK public services confederation argues that this month’s negotiations on public sector pay and conditions have failed to deliver any significant improvements. On the central issue of pay there is no agreement at all and the issue is now in arbitration. Meanwhile, the confederation says that many union demands have not been addressed with no measures proposed on tackling precarious employment, on addressing harassment and discrimination, no measures on fairer tax and nothing to improve pensions. Meanwhile, the Genel-İş local government union has signed a new collective agreement with the

Negotiations covering over six million public sector employees and pensioners began on 1 August with trade unions from the KESK confederation the main, independent trade unions involved in the process. KESK has set out its key demands which include above all a change to the system to ensure that it guarantees a proper process of collective bargaining, with trade unions entitled to resort to strike action, if necessary. Other key demands include an end to precarious employment and sub-contracting, raising the minimum wage of public sector workers above the poverty line, increasing the minimum

The ZSSS trade union confederation has published a detailed article looking at the impact of outsourcing across many sectors and the initiatives taken by trade unions to prevent or end the process. The examples show the negative effects of outsourcing on pay and conditions, health and safety and union organisation and how agencies and outsourcing companies abuse employment law. Energy union, SDE, an EPSU affiliate, contributed to the overview highlighting how it was trying to reduce and restrict the impact of outsourcing in the sector. The union is particularly concerned about the increased