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Unions call for revised offer for local government workers
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UNISON is urging local councillors to put pressure on the local government employers’ organisation to come up with an improved offer. The initial offer was for 1% increase with changes to conditions or a 1% increase for lower paid workers and 0.6% for higher paid. The union says the offer is wholly inadequate and fails to go any way towards compensating for the effective 16% fall in real pay over the past three years’ pay freeze. The negotiations cover England, Wales and Northern Ireland while in Scotland in separate negotiations the union has formerly rejected an offer of 1% and advised members to vote against the offer in a ballot. Read more at > UNISON And on Scotland at > UNISON
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Electricity union signs new three-year deal
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On March 18 the All Russian Electrounion signed a new sector agreement for the period 2013-2015. This comes at the end of a lengthy campaign with the union determined to secure an increase in minimum rates after three years without a pay rise. The minimum monthly wage rate of first-grade workers in electrical power organizations should reach 9000 Rubles by 2015. Both EPSU and PSI sent messages of support during the union’s campaign. Read more at > EPSU
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Unions welcome new labour code
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The KOZ trade union confederation has welcomed the new labour code introduced by the government elected in March 2012. The code reverses most of the changes introduced by the previous government which were mainly aimed at reducing job security and redundancy rights. The changes had been in line with developments in other parts of Central and Eastern Europe but the new code marks a shift back to greater protection for individual workers. Read more at > Slovak Spectator (EN)
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Unions reject extension of pay freeze
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The main federations in the public services from CGIL, CISL and UIL have all expressed their concern about the threat to extend the freeze on negotiations in the public sector. FP CISL highlights the impact on pay after three years of pay freezes with average pay in the sector at €26600 and even lower in local government (€22000) and health (€23000). Read more at > FP CGIL (IT) And at > FP-CISL (IT)
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Strike on budget day to launch rolling action
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Members of PCS, the largest civil service union, will take strike action on 20 March, coinciding with the presentation of the Budget in parliament. This action will begin three months of campaigning and industrial action in defence of pay, pensions and working conditions and to put pressure on the government which is refusing to negotiate. The union will be consulting with members over the types of action and tactics of the campaign.Read more at > PCS
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National protest over pay and cuts in services
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The STAL local government union and other public sector unions in the Frente Comum mobilised thousands of workers in a national demonstration on 15 March. The demonstration was not just about the pay and conditions of public sector workers but also about protecting services. Read more at > Frente Comum (PT) And at > STAL (PT)
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Energy unions plan action on pay on 28 March
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The four union federations in the energy sector (CGT, FO, CFDT and CGC) have called for a day of action on 28 March including work stoppages. This is part of a campaign to secure improved pay for workers in the sector where employers have unilaterally decided on a 0.8% increase in basic pay for 2013 when inflation is expected to reach 1.8%. The unions point out that this comes at a time when both the main employers in the sector - EDF and GDF - have seen profits grow by 16.9% and 11% respectively. Read more at > FNME-CGT (FR) And at > FNEM-FO (FR)
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Confederations attack government’s pension plans
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The UGT and CCOO trade union confederations have criticised the latest proposals on pensions from the government both because of the impact on workers and the fact that it flies in the face of the social and economic agreement negotiated in 2011. The reforms will mean cuts to early retirement and partial unemployment benefits. The unions argue that early retirement provisions are not about abuse of the system but are reserved only for older workers (61 or 63 years) with long careers (between 30 and 33 years), and whose pensions are reduced to take account of being paid early. Read more at > FSP-UGT (ES) And at > FSC-CCOO (ES)
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New national agreement put to vote
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Public sector workers are voting on whether or not to accept a revised national agreement on pay and conditions. The "Croke Park" agreement was originally negotiated in 2010 and included a substantial package of savings agreed by the unions in order to protect basic pay. The government began negotiations over a new agreement after threatening to impose a further €1 billion in cuts to the public sector pay bill. IMPACT reports that unions managed win concessions on a number of measures including compulsory redundancies, working time and overtime pay. It has recommended acceptance of the agreement as the best that could be achieved in the circumstances. Four unions have formed a coalition to campaign for a rejection of the agreement. These include the CPSU civil service union, the Unite general union, INMO (nurses and midwives) and IMO (doctors). The CPSU executive committee rejected the deal on the basis that it is an unacceptable attack on basic pay and terms and conditions built up over decades. The AHCPS higher civil servants’ union has also recommended a "no" vote. Read more at IMPACT And at > CPSU And at > SIPTU And at > PSEU And at > AHCPSAnd at > INMO
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Ambulance workers take action
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Ambulance workers in different regions are taking action in support of demands for an improved collective agreement. The action involves planned patient transport and not emergency calls and will mean workers taking more time over their duties rather than rushing to deal with their excessive workloads. High workloads mean that they are often under pressure to break rules and guidelines. A survey of members showed overwhelming dissatisfaction with the employers’ offer in relation to pay, job security, flexible schedules and job evaluation. Read more at > FNV Abvakabo (NL)
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Hospital workers take strike action
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Workers at hospitals run by religious orders in the Upper Austria region have taken strike action after a completely unacceptable pay offer from the employers. The vida services union says that the 10,000 workers employed by the hospitals have seen pay fall behind inflation over the past three years and the current offer would be an effective pay cut as the employers want to reduce payments for on-call time and overtime. The union reports a positive reaction from patients but attempts by the employers to take action against strikers and even bring in other workers to break the strike. Read more at > vida (DE)
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Municipal unions open to negotiations
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The main public sector union, JHL, reports that unions in the municipal sector are willing to get involved in negotiations on a new framework agreement. Although the national agreement doesn’t expire until October or even early 2014 in some parts of the public sector, JHL says that early negotiations may be important in order to facilitate local government reform with the government aiming to merge some municipalities. But any new agreement would have to take account of the fact that public sector pay has fallen back and to address the particular problems facing workers in the sector where there have been attempts for force temporary lay-offs. [Read more at > JHL (EN)->http://www.jhl.fi/portal/en/news/ar...
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New agreement on equality in public services
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Despite some reservations trade unions have signed a new agreement on equality between men and women in the public services. It should require that all negotiations now take account of equality issues and that problems of inequality need to addressed through promotion, training, career development and recruitment. There is also a recognition that specific work needs to be done in relation to those sectors dominated by women where their qualifications are often undervalued. However, there was concern expressed over the lack of concrete plans for implementation or budgeted resources for the measures proposed. Read more at > CGT (FR)] And at > CFDT (FR)
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Union targets split shifts in bargaining
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The Kommunal municipal union will be aiming for a reduction in the use of split shifts in the care sector as part of its main bargaining demands this year. The union estimates that around 100,000 workers effectively have unpaid and involuntary break periods because they work split shifts but don’t have enough time to go home and return to work. A 13-hour day with a four-hour break in the middle is not uncommon. The problem is particularly acute in elder care where employers exploit this system and where workers find themselves continually rushing around to get things done with little opportunity to provide quality care to the old people they look after. Read more at > Kommunal (SV)
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5.6% increase in regional government over 2 years
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Ver.di has concluded a deal with the regional government (Länder) employers that provides a 2.65% pay increase for 2013 (backdated to 1 January) and a further 2.95% from 1 January 2014. Prices rose by 2.1% in the year to January 2013. The agreement covers around 800,000 employees and ver.di is calling on the Länder to ensure that the agreement is also applied to civil servants across the regions. Other elements in the deal include a commitment to take on apprentices after qualification and 30 days’ leave for all employees. Read more at > ver.di (DE)
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