Finland
Despite a day of strike and protest action, municipal union JHL was unable to prevent the Helsinki council from pressing ahead with changes to the status of the Palmia municipal company. The union argued that changes in the corporate structure were not necessary to improve efficiency and effectiveness. 1400 employees are affected by the change and most believe there is a threat to their pay and conditions. JHL will monitor developments closely.
Read more at > JHL (EN)
Members of the JHL public services union in Helsinki will take a day of strike action on 23 September in protest at plans to turn the Palmia municipal company into a corporate enterprise. The union believes that this will pose a threat to the collective agreement and to the wages of those already on the lowest pay rates. JHL is also worried that this is a step towards privatising many of the municipal services provided by Palmia. Read more at > JHL (EN)
The autumn will see the German parliament debate a range of labour market measures including a possible proposal on a legal minimum wage. The minimum wage campaign being run by the ver.di services union and NGG hotel and catering union is monitoring MPs' views on the issue. All MPs have been sent a questionnaire and 40% have replied so far. It is now possible to see if individual MPs are for or against a minimum wage or still undecided. The website will be regularly updated as more MPs reply to the survey. [Read more at > minimum wage website (DE)->https://www.mindestlohn.de/initiative/mdb
The FNV Abvakabo public services union has set up an email address for workers to report examples of poor quality care in care homes. The union says that its members are reporting cases where employers cut costs by failing to employ adequate numbers of workers on shifts or by not employing properly trained staff. Workers are under pressure to take on extra responsibilities or work longer hours. Read more at > FNV Abvakabo (NL)
