The First Hall of the Civil Courts, in its constitutional jurisdiction, said in a landmark verdict that the legislation concerning workers handling asbestos was not sufficient to protect workers and as a result was a breach to their right to life. The case was initiated by a widow whose husband worked as a fitter at the Malta Drydocks and he together with his colleagues was exposed to asbestos for many years. Workers became aware of the danger of asbestos without the support of their employer and the legislation was not strong enough to protect them. There was sufficient evidence that asbestos was dangerous from 1960, but in Malta the authorities took action in the 1990s. The court ordered that the family be given €9,000 in compensation.
English: http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/business/law_report/78220/legislation_failed …
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The website Social Europe has paid attention to inequality in Europe. In an inequality report of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the authors illustrate their work with tables and data. Income inequality in the European Union has barely changed for a number of years. Neither improvements like those before 2009 nor a substantial worsening have been observed. However, this applies only to relative inequality, which indicates the income of richer people, regions and countries as a multiple of that of poorer ones. If one looks at the absolute differences between the highest and the lowest incomes, however, an alarming increase in inequality is to be observed in Europe. In the fifth episode of Social Europe Talk from the European Parliament in Brussels the panellists discuss inequality in Europe.
English: http://library.fes.de/pdf-files …
Social talk: https://www.socialeurope.eu/2017/06/inequality-europe …
Trade union FNV won an important battle in the court room. The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in favour of four care workers sacked in a prepacked bankruptcy deal. The FNV had initiated the case after the four lost their jobs when childcare group Estro went bust in 2014 and restarted directly after as Smallsteps. In total, 1,000 of the 3,800 workers lost their jobs. A lower Dutch court had asked the CJEU several questions. The CJEU had to decide whether the EU transfer of undertakings directive must be interpreted as meaning that the protection of workers is maintained in a situation, in which the transfer of an undertaking takes place following a declaration of insolvency and in the context of a ‘prepack’ prepared before the declaration of insolvency and put into effect immediately after that declaration. The CJEU concluded that a ‘prepack’ procedure does not satisfy all the conditions laid down in the EU transfers of undertakings directive and that, therefore, there can be no derogation from the protection scheme provided for under the directive.
English: http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2017/06/european-court-tears-up …
The judgement (English): https://curia.europa.eu/jcms …
Due to the economic crisis, more than half a million people left the country in the years 2008-2016 in search of labour. Top destination was Germany, followed by Great Britain and France. There was also a substantial internal migration, with some 383,000 people leaving the southern regions and moving to the northern and centre regions. The decrease in the total number of inhabitants continued in 2016: the overall balance showed an important drop (-76,106 citizens).
English: http://www.gazzettadelsud.it/news/english/249475/half-million-left-italy …
https://www.istat.it/en/files/2017/06/EN_National_demographic_balance2016 …
The European social partners of the Metal, Engineering and Technology-based (MET) industries formulated a joint statement that calls for swift, ambitious action to be taken in the field of vocational education and training in order to guarantee VET becomes a First-Class option. Prompt action should also be taken to address the lack of digital skills in Europe, to ensure the continued competitiveness of the MET sector and the sustainability of its jobs at a time of fast-paced transformation.
English: http://www.ceemet.org/sites/default/files/ceemet_industriall …
Trade unions OGBL and LCGB had to go a long way before they could reach an agreement; the negotiations for the hospital sector with the FHL Hospital Federation took 2 years. The collective agreement leads to substantial improvements for all 9,000 hospital workers. It includes direct wage increases (2.2% from 1 January 2017), one-off payments in the course of 2017 and better pay scale with improved career paths (entering into effect in October 2017).
English: https://www.wort.lu/en/luxembourg/hospital-sector-new-collective-agreement …
Union message (French): http://www.ogbl.lu/syndicat-sante/cct-fhl-une-bataille …
Port operator APM Terminal said it will cut 160 staff at its Gothenburg terminal, the largest in Scandinavia, as labour disruptions had caused container volumes to drop by 25 percent over the past year. The company blames the Swedish Dockworkers’ Union for the consecutive blockades and nine strikes for over a year resulting in several shipping lines no longer calling (at) Gothenburg. The Swedish Dockworkers’ Union’s (SDU) call for the strike in a campaign that aimed to represent its members in negotiations with the company. Around 85% of the workers at the port are members of the union. The company, which employs 450 people in Gothenburg, wants to secure a no-strike agreement with workers. Since 10 May, the company has locked out SDU members from working the night shift and refuses to hold direct talks with the union.
English: http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/apm-terminals-to-cut-160-staff …
Shop stewards at state-owned oil company Neste have called off a planned work stoppage to protest government plans to reduce its stake in the firm. The industrial action would have suspended deliveries of fuel for a week. The decision to cancel the demonstration was made after worker representatives met with company officials. At present the state owns some 50.1% of the firm's stock via the Solidium holding company. Unions were protesting against legislative changes that would allow the state to bring down the stake in Neste to 33.4%.
English: https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/work_stoppage_called_off …
Cleaners, porters and security staff at several hospitals are to stage a series of strikes in a dispute over pay. Workers are planning a three-day strike from July 4, followed by a seven-day stoppage starting on July 11 and then a 14-day strike from July 25. Further action will be planned for August and September. A Unite regional officer said that the workers have voted for strike action by a massive majority because they have seen their real living standards drop year on year. They are demanding a 30p-per-hour wage increase. The manager of the contractor Serco said the company has increased salaries for over 230 team members and benefited over 110 permanent staff by an average of 3.5%.
English: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/news/hospital-workers-vote-for-strikes …
Public sector workers with the lowest wages gathered in front of the Government Palace to demand an immediate across-the-board 8% pay rise as the necessary first step in the ongoing pay talks with the government.
English: https://english.sta.si/2400934/lowest-paid-public-sector-staff-seek-pay-rise …