022 epsucob@NEWS December 2008
Dec. 19, 2008
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Conference debates impact of crisis on bargaining
The impact of the economic crisis on pay bargaining was one of the key debates at this year’s conference on collective bargaining and social dialogue in the public services. Participants also discussed how to tackle the gender pay gap with news of two important initiatives in Norway and Denmark. A number of workshops enabled delegates to exchange information on issues such as violence at work, transnational collective agreements, demographic change and migrant workers. Read more at > EPSU (EN)
Dec. 19, 2008
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European Parliament backs working time reforms
The European Parliament has voted with an overwhelming majority to keep the working time directive strong. There were huge majorities on the three key points: a fair period in which to calculate the average working week; counting on-call time in the workplace as working time; and a phasing out of the opt-out from the directive. The margin of victory exceeded even the most optimistic predictions of proponents of a strong directive Read more at > EPSU (EN)
Dec. 19, 2008
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Unions announce day of action for 29 January
The long-term campaign for a proper system of social dialogue in the public sector will continue to be one of the main collective bargaining issues in the new year as eight trade union federations will come together to support a day of action across the public and private sectors on 29 January. The unions have a range of demands including compensation for past losses in purchasing power, properly funded public services, an end to job cuts in the public sector and measures to tackle precarious employment conditions. Read more at > UGFF-CGT (FR)
Dec. 19, 2008
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Verdi begins mobilisation for regional government pay claim
Verdi’s collective bargaining committee for regional government has agreed to submit a claim for an 8% pay increase next year. The current regional government agreement had no pay increase in 2007 – just lump sum payments – and the increase for 2008 was 2.9%. Verdi wants an 8% rise and a minimum increase of €200. It argues that a gap has opened up between people doing similar jobs in local and regional government with regional government workers losing out. Read more at > ver.di (DE)
Dec. 19, 2008
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Civil service union calls of national strike action
The PCS civil service union has called off its national strike campaign in response to concessions by the government on a number of pay issues. In particular, the government has agreed that pay increases can be partly financed by efficiency savings although how this is implemented in practice will depend on the separate negotiations across the UK civil service’s decentralised bargaining structure. There is also a commitment to address the significant differences in pay across government departments. [Read more at > PCS (EN)->http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/campaigns/national-pay-campaign/pay-campaign
Dec. 19, 2008
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Real pay increase for federal government workers
The 2009 pay increase for most federal government workers will be 2.2%, effectively a 1.1% real increase in pay that has been welcomed by the VPOD-SSP public service union. However, there will higher increases of up to 6.6% for the higher paid on the basis of a pay comparability study from 2005. The union is disappointed with this differentiated pay award and had put in a claim for a 3% pay increase for all federal employees. [Read more at > VPOD-SSP (DE)->http://www.vpod.ch/aktuell/nachrichten/ansicht/article/bundespersonal-wenigstens-ein-bisschen-mehr-reallohn.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=34
Dec. 19, 2008
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3.55% pay increase for 350,000 public sector workers
After four rounds of negotiations the public sector trade unions agreed to accept a 3.55% increase for 2009. The trade unions see this as a positive result in view of the difficult economic circumstances and were determined to secure increases to pay and rejected any lump sum payments as part of the deal. Salary increases are negotiated each year and apply from 1 January. The increase also applies to other elements of pay and allowances. [Read more at > GÖD (DE)->http://www.goed.at/14801.html] [Read more at > GdG (DE)->http://www.gdg.at/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=C01/Page/Index&n=C01_0.a
Dec. 19, 2008
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Unions mobilise over pension cuts
Public sector unions mobilised for a series of demonstrations around the country in protest at the government’s unilateral decision to cut ill-health early retirement pension rights for many public sector workers. In Madrid the trade unions demonstrated outside the finance ministry and expressed their anger that the pension changes had been imposed, an action that clearly contravened the basic agreement that requires such changes to be negotiated. Read more at > FSAP-CCOO (ES)
Dec. 19, 2008
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Report investigates spread of wage flexibility
A new report from the EIRO industrial relations observatory examines the spread of wage flexibility across Europe with a short section looking at variable pay systems in the public services. Overall the report finds that decentralisation has occurred within multi-employer bargaining systems, involving greater scope for the negotiation or determination of an element of wages at company level. It also notes that the increasing use of variable pay systems is reported across most of the countries under consideration. [Read more at > EIRO (EN)->http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/studies/tn0803019s
Dec. 19, 2008
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State employees could get higher than planned pay rise
The 2009 pay rise for civil servants will be 6.6% rather than 5% according to a Czech news report on a recent parliamentary vote. The minister for labour proposed the higher increase in response to current economic conditions and a large majority of MPs supported the proposal, although the finance minister was among the small minority voting against. However, the overall budget still has to be approved by President Vaclav Klaus. Read more at > Czech news site (EN)
Dec. 19, 2008
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Only two countries with minimum wage close to 50% of average earnings
The latest review of minimum wages across Europe by the Eurostat statistics agency finds that only Malta and Luxembourg have a minimum wage that is close to 50% of average earnings. In Portugal, Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, Bulgaria, the Netherlands and Slovakia where the minimum the minimum is between 41% and 47% of average gross monthly earnings, while it is less than 40% In Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, Romania, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom. [Read more at > Eurostat (EN)->http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page?_pageid=1073,46587259&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&p_product
Dec. 19, 2008
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Public sector federation joins national strike
The ADEDY public sector confederation joined the GSEE private sector confederation in strike action on 10 December in protest at a range of government policies including cuts to pensions and undermining legal rights to collective agreements. The strike caused widespread disruption across the country which was still being hit by a wave of protests over the shooting of a student by police. Read more at > The Guardian (EN) And at > Reuters (EN)
Dec. 19, 2008
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Stress agreement has been catalyst for change
The ETUC and European employer organisations agree that the 2004 cross-sectoral agreement on stress has had an impact across Europe. They believe that the framework agreement raised awareness about the importance of dealing with problems of work-related stress at the workplace and acted as a catalyst for action by social partners. There is a comprehensive report detailing the way that the agreement has been implemented in EU Member States. Read more at > ETUC (EN)
Dec. 19, 2008
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Private health and social care workers get 3.6%
The GPA-DJP and vida trade unions have negotiated a 3.6% pay increase for the 75,000 workers covered by the BAGS collective agreement. The increase applies from 1 January 2009 and includes other salary-related payments. An important element of the deal is the agreement by the employers to take on training costs. The BAGS covers workers in involved in the care of the disabled and the elderly as well as childcare workers and other occupations. The agreement was introduced in some regions in 2004 only on the basis of setting minimum rates of pay but its pay structure will now be applied in full
Dec. 19, 2008
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Unions want recognition of role in tackling discrimination
The eight public service federations have reaffirmed their commitment ot fighting discrimination and working for equality and have welcomed the signing of a charter by the government and HALDE, the authority for combating discrimination and promoting equality. However, the unions are disappointed that they were not consulted over the charter and also that it refers to only one public sector council rather than all three councils that preside over the three pillars of the public sector – the ministries, local and regional government and the health service. [Read more at > CFDT (FR)->http://www
Dec. 19, 2008
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Federation pleased by level of support for strike
The FP-CGIL public service union federation has rejected government claims about low levels of support for its national strike on 12 December. The union released its own figures indicating the proportion of workers backing the strike across the different services in different regions. Read more at > FP-CGIL (IT)
Dec. 19, 2008
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NHS pay negotiations won't be re-opened
Trade union demands to re-open negotiations over National Health Service (NHS) pay have been rejected by the Pay Review Body, the independent organisation responsible for recommending NHS pay increases to the government. Unions had called for the three-year deal to be re-negotiated in the light of the 2.75% increase for 2008 that had been rapidly overtaken by inflation that reached 5% by the summer. The Unite trade union is still in dispute over the three-year agreement. It organised a day of industrial action on 3 December and is meeting to discuss what further action might follow in 2009.