17-2007 epsucob@NEWS 2 October 2007

A new 28-month collective agreement for the municipal sector has been signed by all unions apart from the TEHY health and social care union. The agreement runs from 1 October 2007 to 31 January 2010 and will mean pay increases of 11% for most workers, including a 2% equality allowance for women in women-dominated professions such as care, social welfare and nurseries. Nursing staff have been offered 13% over the same period. All municipal workers will get a €270 lump sum in December. TEHY is planning to present new proposals to the employers shortly. [Read more at > SAK (EN)->http://www.sak.fi

Local government unions have welcomed a government announcement that 46 municipalities can use capital resources to help fund equal pay claims. This is a major issue for local authorities many of which have been hit by legal claims over equal pay. UNISON and the other local government unions have been trying to resolve the matter through collective bargaining and Labour government's local government minister has endorsed this approach. [Read more at > UNISON (EN)->http://www.unison.org.uk/news/news_view.asp?did=3711] [And at > Unite (EN)->http://www.tgwu.org.uk/Templates/News.asp?NodeID=93809

The industrial relations observatory EIRO reports that a new public sector agreement should be in place by the beginning of 2008 after five years of negotiations between the government and trade unions. The public sector will be covered by this general collective agreement and then specific agreements will be negotiated in different sectors. The main provisions of the agreement allow for four pay increases between 1 January 2008 and 31 March 2010 with one official estimate forecasting real increases in pay of 4.2% in 2008, 3.3% in 2009 and 4.8% in 2010. The agreement will also bring pay rates

The ABVAKABO, CNV Publieke Zaak and VMHP-N trade unions have signed a new collective agreement with the WENb energy employers' organisation. The new agreement replaces the previously separate agreements covering production and distribution in the sector. The agreement runs from 1 June 2007 to 1 July 2009 and includes pay increases of 2.5% from 1 June 2007 and 2.8% from 1 June 2008. There will also be lump sum payments worth 0.5% of salary in each year. From 2009 the lump sum payments will be linked to company results. [Read more at > CNV Publieke Zaak (NL)->http://www.cnvpubliekezaak.nl/eCache

The FNME-CGT and FNEM-FO energy union federations have attacked the government for the way it has raised the issue of special retirement schemes and tried to divide workers by emphasising the difference between these schemes and general retirement provision. The unions are concerned that the government wants to harmonise all pension arrangements with a requirement of 42 or even 45 years of contributions to assure entitlement to a full pension. The FNME-CGT is calling for strikes and demonstrations on 18 October. The FNEM-FO has also called for a mobilisation to defend the special retirement

The National Implementation Board, the government appointed body that oversees industrial relations issues, has criticised the Health Services Executive (HSE) for failing to consult trade unions over a recruitment freeze announced in September. Health unions had been concerned that the recruitment freeze would have an impact on the level of service but were also angry that the HSE had not attempted to consult over the issue in line with the commitment to social dialogue enshrined in the national agreement, Towards 2016. [Read more at > IMPACT (EN)->http://www.impact.ie/iopen24/pub/newsdesk