The Nordic countries, including Denmark, are battling plans to introduce an EU-wide minimum wage. Both politicians and unions fear this will undermine their century-old models of collective bargaining, which set minimum pay rates. Denmark’s employment minister said he supported higher wages for the least well-paid in Europe but that “the means to achieve this goal must respect national traditions and well-functioning models”.
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[close]Hauliers have been on strike, blocking the roads in Bratislava and elsewhere. Their demands are a decrease of the road tax by 50% and the suspension of the toll system. The strike, organised by the Union of Slovakia's Road Hauliers (UNAS), continues despite the Ministry’s offer of a 12.5% reduction of the road tax.
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[close]A new job, a salary increase and a job closer to home are the main professional goals of Romanian employees for 2020, according to a study by online recruiting platform eJobs Romania. More than 44% of respondents said they want to change their job this year, 30% hope for a salary increase, 24% want a job closer to home, and 22% put professional development on their wish list for 2020. Many Romanian employees would also like to change their field of activity this year, emigrate or start their own business.
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[close]The national trade union confederation SGB (Schweizerischer Gewerkschaftsbund) aims to revive solidarity in 2020 after a thirty-year period in which it has weakened. Solidarity has increasingly been sacrificed to competitiveness, said SGB, making it understandable why so many people feel left behind. One union president feared that competition leads to a fight in which only the strongest can win.
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[close]A quarter of people aged 25 and over who should be receiving the minimum wage are being underpaid, according to the Resolution Foundation think tank. The number of firms not complying with minimum wage payments has increased since the National Living Wage was introduced in 2016. Before then, about one in five workers aged 25 and over was underpaid, but this figure is now more than one in four. The government said it wanted to ensure that all those eligible were correctly paid.
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[close]Against the background of intolerably low wages in the Turkish metal industry, unions are joining forces to announce decisive industrial action. In a joint press conference, Özcelik-Is, Birlesik Metal-Is and Türk Metal, the three Turkish trade unions organising workers in the metal industries, have announced industrial action to increase pressure in their negotiations with the Turkish employers’ organisation MESS. At present, wages in the metal industry are barely above the recently increased national minimum wage, as a result of high levels of inflation.
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[close]Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) is facing more turbulence this spring, just a year after striking pilots grounded most flights in and out of Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Now SAS flight attendants want more predictable work schedules and higher pay. Their current contract expires on March 31. A majority of flight attendants want more permanent duty schedules, while SAS management wants to retain as much flexibility as possible.
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[close]The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased from 2.6% to 3.4% year-on-year in December. The rapid increase was probably caused by rising goods and services prices, ahead of the January 2020 15.6% rise in the minimum wage, the highest ever.
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[close]The government increased the minimum legal monthly salary requirement (SMIC) to €1,539.42 per month (a rise of 1.2%). The SMIC is the minimum legal salary for all workers in France. It is fixed as an hourly rate, with the monthly rate calculated assuming a 35-hour week.
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[close]Members of trade union FNV have agreed to a pay deal reached in December 2019 for 200,000 employees working in hospitals. Employees covered by the collective agreement will receive a total pay increase of 8% over 27 months. In addition, to help obtain a better work-life balance, they will receive additional recovery time after on-call duty, extended from six to eight hours.
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