Collective Bargaining

The three main trade unions in education have expressed their dismay at the government's plans to cut jobs in middle and high schools. The trade unions FSU, UNSA-Education and SGEN-CFDT have called workers to strike on 12 November 2018, in a protest against the elimination of 2,650 posts in colleges and high schools planned by the government in 2019. This downsizing leads to a further deterioration of the study conditions and work of staff. The unions ask the government to give up the project.

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Tube workers on the London Piccadilly line will go on strike. After talks between management and the Rail, Maritime and Transport trade union broke down the union announced a 48-hour walkout, followed by a 5-hour strike later on. Main points of conflict are a perceived lack of dignity and respect towards the tube workers. For example, workers have been threatened with sacking for taking time off following issues such as suicides on the railway. They also worry about safety of the tube service. The impact of the strike will be well felt in London, as the Piccadilly line daily transports an average of 500.000 passengers.

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On the eve of the Scottish Police Authority's monthly board meeting in Stirling, the SPA announced an agreement that brings all officers below the rank of Assistant Chief Constable an immediate and substantial increase in their salary. The SPA said the deal will represent an additional £125m in officer wages over the period. A mid-point constable will receive a salary increase of £2,300 and the equivalent of an additional £6,000 in pay over the next 31 months. The increase will be backdated to 1 September and applies until 31 March 2021. Next to the immediate pay award, the agreement addresses issues of inequality and anomalies in relation to pay progression.

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Following meetings with the trade unions and the employers, the government stated that beginning from 1 January 2019, it will increase the country’s gross minimum wage to 440 euro a month (an increase of 150 lei). Although the country has had several increases of the minimum wage over the past 10 years, the country’s gross minimum wage is still the third lowest in the European Union. The minimum gross wage increased on 1 January 2018 from RON 1,450 to RON 1,900 (409 euro). Only Bulgaria (260 euro) and Lithuania (400 euro) have lower minimum monthly salaries.

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In a second round of negotiations, trade union IG BCE and employers agreed on a collective bargaining agreement for RHZ Handwerks-Zentrum GmbH's employees. Income will increase by three percent from January 1, 2019, and by two percent from October 1, 2019. Furthermore, members of the IG-BCE union receive a one-time payment of 300 euro in January 2019, trainees receive 150 euro.

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A Eurofound report explores the working and employment conditions of three of the most common types of platform work in Europe. Based on interviews with platform workers, the physical and social environment of platform work, autonomy, employment status and access to social protection, and earnings and taxation are assessed. A comparative analysis of the regulatory frameworks applying to platform work in 18 EU Member States accompanies this review. It looks into workers’ employment status, the formal relationships between clients, workers and platforms, and the organisation and representation of workers and platforms. Key findings include that European countries do not regulate the employment status of platform workers. Although the workers have limited control over their working time and the organisation of their work, they are often considered as self-employed and therefore lack social protection.

Read on: in English … The report: in English …

Cleaners at Basildon Hospital have won a two-year battle to be granted full NHS terms and conditions. This means that they will also get a 3% pay rise. After the cleaners were transferred back into NHS employment two years ago they remained to work under the same conditions as when they were still working for the private contractor. The cleaners were paid minimum wage while some of their colleagues earned more for the same job, only because they were employed directly by NHS from the beginning. The new agreement not only gives the 300 cleaners the same wages as the cleaners that are directly employed by NHS, other aspects of the collective agreement such as holidays and sick pay will now also apply to them.

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Over 60,000 public servants who have been on lower pay rates since 2011 are set to receive pay increases worth on average €3,300 under proposals published by the Government. According to the minister of finance, the deal delivers a fair and affordable resolution. However, he warned unions that only remaining within the current public service pay agreement would benefit. The first increase is in March 2019, and the second in 2020. Workers who have been on lower pay for longest will see a double jump in March 2019. The unions stressed that any payments under these proposals constitute restoration, rather than wage increases. Their executives will consider the deal and decide whether to recommend it to members when they ballot.

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The trade union Filcams Cgil, Fisascat Cisl and Uiltucs concluded a company agreement with the fashion chain H & M. The deal involves more than 5,000 workers, working at over 150 H & M, Cos e & Other stories spread over 17 regions. The unions see this as a result of the offers the workers delivered to the consolidation of the fast fashion business model, after the collective redundancy procedure initiated at national level in May 2017 and the closure of some stores.

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Teachers have been acting against government proposals that include reduction in the off-class hours for the class supervisor from two to one and a reduction in the teaching periods (see our July/ August newsletter). Teachers' union leaders decided to strike action because of rash decisions harming the quality of education and called out a 48-hour strike that affected thousands of students. Unions now seem to have accepted a proposal by opposition party Diko for an interim deal with the government to put an end to the crisis in public education. It remains unclear if the government will also go along with this proposal.

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