2016 March epsucob@NEWS 04
Labour code proposals bring unions and students onto the streets
Proposals to reform the labour code have been criticised by a range of trade union and student organisations. The CGT and FO confederations were joined by thousands of students in protests on 9 March calling for he withdrawal of the planned changes. Other union organisations, including the CFDT and UNSA, are pushing for changes to the reforms, particuarly in relation to measures that will make it easier for employers to carry out redundancies. They plan to mobilise for 12 March and warn of further action if the government doesn't make the necessary changes.
Collective bargaining provides better working time protection
A new study by the Eurofound research organisation suggests that compliance with working time regulations and overtime limits is better enforced where working time rules are mainly negotiated rather than where they are mainly set in legislation. The report looks at working time developments between 1999 and 2014, bringing together data from the annual reports produced by Eurofound. In general there were no major changes in working time over that period. The report includes a brief analysis of developments in public administration where weekly working time has been very stable. [Read more at >
ETUC highlights loopholes in posted worker proposals
The new Commission proposals on the Posted Worker Directive only partly deal with the crucial issue of the same pay for the same work. This is the view of the ETUC which argues that the draft revisions fail to provide trade unions with the right of trade unions to collectively bargain for posted workers or to make main contractors jointly liable with their subcontractors for respect of terms and conditions of employment. The EFBWW construction workers' union is also critical of the proposals which it says won't prevent social dumping and includes contradictory and unclear elements. [Read more
Collective bargaining news from across Europe
The ETUI collective bargaining newsletter for February includes articles covering all EU countries and more. Among the news in this edition are articles on public sector developments in Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Portugal. Read more at > ETUI (EN)
Another care company goes bust
The FOA public services union reports that another private care company, Vitapleje, is facing bankruptcy. The union argues that the government and municipalities need to address the situation and the impact that it is having on workers and those receiving care. Read more at > FOA (DK)
Report identifies workplace carcinogens
A new report from the ETUI identifies more than 70 carcinogenci substances which, it argues, should be subject to binding exposure limits under European legislation. The report says that a significant reduction in worker exposure levels is urgently needed and that the lack of adequate prevention in the workplace is currently causing more than 100,000 cancer deaths each year. Read more at ETUI
Health workers' action day to support pay claim
Services union ver.di organised an action day across the Paracelsus health company on 8 March. The company employs 5000 workers in 25 institutions and has been stalling over negotiations of a new agreement. Ver.di has submitted a claim for a 7.5% or at least EUR 150 a month, arguing that employees need to see pay rise to compensate for the sacrifices made in recent years as part of a an agreement to secure the company's future. The union says that the company is profiting from wages that are as much as 25% below equivalent salaries in municipal clinics. [Read more at > Ver.di (DE)->http://www
Analysis reveals major challenges for collective bargaining
The 2016 edition of the ETUI's annual Benchmarking Social Europe includes a detailed review of collective bargaining, minimum wages and trade unions' collective and legal action to defend their collective bargaining rights. While the report identifies an upward trends in wages, with wage increases reflecting more closely increases in productivity, it finds that there are significant major challenges to collective bargaining processes and institutions across Europe. Read more at > ETUI (EN)
Unions face tough measures in competitiveness pact
Employer and trade union organisations have agreed a competitiveness pact in order to avoid even tougher measures being imposed by the government. Some elements of the pact will impact on hours and leave and will be implemented through collective bargaining. The concessions on the trade union side should be reciprocated on the employer side with increased investment. If the government accepts the pact as an alternative to its proposals then it should abandon plans to cut public spending and raise taxes. [Read more at > Trade Union News (EN)->http://heikkijokinen.info/en/trade-union-news-from
Pay deals on the rise in public sector
An analysis of pay trends shows pay increasing in the public sector at a faster rate than the private sector. The most recent figures for February indicate that public sector agreements provide an average of 2.9% in pay increases compared to 1.3% in the private sector. This suggests a catching up in the public sector after several years of pay freezes or very low increases. Recent examples include agreements for higher education and the provinces where wage increases were, respectively, 3.65% and 2.2%. [Read more at > NU news website (NL)->http://www.nu.nl/economie/4227452/lonen-binnen