2015 June epsucob@NEWS 08

The all-out strike by thousands of childcare and other social services workers has been suspended following a decision by the ver.di trade union and VKA employers to go to arbitration. The union continues to mobilise support for the workers who are looking for a revaluation of their salaries to reflect their level of workload, responsibility and professionalism. Demonstrations were organised with the support of the DGB confederation in several major cities including Hannover, Dresden, Cologne and Nuremburg. [Read more at > verdi.de (DE)->http://www.verdi.de/themen/geld-tarif/soziale-berufe

The Kommunal and Vision municipal service unions commissioned a report that reveals how new arrangements for providing home care can benefit both staff and users. The report by the Forum for Health Policy describes the new approach taken in Skönsmon in the city of Sundsvall in central Sweden. Staff are given more responsibility for running the service, planning their working hours and ensuring that staffing levels are adequate. Managers have taken a step back but available to support and supervise their staff. The new system has led to less sick leave, lower staff turnover and reduced costs

Public services union UNISON is very concerned about the decision of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to suspend its work developing guidance on safe staffing levels throughout the National Health Service. The union says that guidance on staffing levels in acute cliniical settings made a real difference and similar guidance is needed in other services such as maternity, mental health and community services. NHS – working in A&E departments. [Read more at > UNISON->http://www.unison.org.uk/news/safe-staffing-won-t-be-solved-by-nice-suspending-its-guidance-work-says

The FES-CCOO public service federation reports that its mobilisation of state sector workers on 28 May has had some results following a meeting between the unions and the Director General and the General Department of Industrial Relations. The meeting discussed the specific content of what would be a re-opening of negotiations between unions and the administration and would cover a number of issues including the state of public employment, the dangers of privatization, the urgent need to recruit to empty posts, the equality plan for the state sector, development of civil service legislation to

Public service unions are consulting members of a new collective agreement - the Lansdowne Road agreement - that will include a range of measures to restore some of the pay cuts that have been implemented over the past six years. The first phase will take place in 2016 with the salary amount above which the pension levy is payable increased to €24,750 (from the current threshold of €15,000). This will reduce the pension levy by €600 per annum for all public servants earning above the threshold. Annualised salaries up to €24,000 will increase by 2.5% those between €24,001 and €31,000 will

The four public service federations - Fp Cgil, Cisl Fp, Pa Uil and Uil Fpl - are organising three large assemblies of workers at the beginning of July in Milan on the 1st, Rome on the 2nd and in Bari on 3rd. These will mark the start of protests over the continuing freeze on collective bargaining in the public sector. The unions want to get bargaining back on track and make it clear to the government that a proper reform of public administration will only be possible with full consultation of the trade unions. [Read more at > Fp-Cgil (IT)->http://www.fpcgil.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT

Health unions are mobilising this month over threats to the health service and the proposed changes to working time at the Parisian public hospitals group AP-HP. The CGT, FO and SUD unions are planning a strike on 25 June in protest at austerity measures to be imposed on the sector. The CFDT at AH-HP has said that negotiations over working time are only possible if a several clear conditions are met. The union is also planning strike action on 11 June. [Read more at > CFDT Santé Sociaux (FR)->http://www.sante-sociaux.fr/cfdt-aphp/] [And at > FO Santé (FR)->http://www.fosps.com/tous-en-greve-le

Health unions have negotiated a new 32-month agreement covering 70000 employees in University Medical Centres. The agreement is backdated to 1 April this year and runs until 1 January 2018 and includes long-term provisions to increase the employment of people with disabilities with 215 taken on this year and 895 by end of 2018 and regular increases beyond that. Temporary jobs will be converted into permanent ones and there will be guaranteed minimum hours and so an end to zero-hour contracts. Pay will be increased by 0.8% as of 1 April this year then three increases of 1% in August 2015, 2016

Trade unions in the non-profit sector, including in particular health and social services, have organised a demonstration in Brussels for 19 June. The key demands include no more austerity for the sector, support for quality employment, an end to commercialisation of services and investment in the sector as a contribution to economic recovery. [Read more at > CNE (FR)->http://www.cne-gnc.be/index.php?m=145&n=2897] [And at > BBTK/SETCA (NL)->http://www.bbtk.org/nieuws/Pages/15014-ABVV_SP_Actie_19_mei-A4-affiche.pdf] [And at > lbc-nvk (NL)->https://lbc-nvk.acv-online.be/lbc-nvk/Ik-werk/Non

A report from the Eurofound industrial relations observatory shows that following the economic and financial crisis wage inequality increased, mainly as a result of rising inequalities within countries. This reversed the trend seen in the years up to 2008. Only eastern European Member States experienced a decline in wage inequality over the whole period, while other Member States saw increasing overall inequality levels against a background of growing unemployment. [Read more at > Eurofound (EN)->http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/news/news-articles/working-conditions-labour-market/impact-of