The FP-CGIL public service federation has criticised the government's latest plan for the health service. The union points out that the plan has lots of proposals about improving services at the same time as needing to implement large cuts in funding. FP-CGIL also highlights what the plan says about social integration and ensuring services to all groups of citizens, including the elderly but with no funding provision for long-term care. In particular, the union asks how this can be done at the same time as freezing pay and employment and cutting the jobs of 50% of fixed-term workers in the service.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/398
Italian: http://www.fpcgil.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/16493
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Around 2,400 members of the PCS civil service union, working for the Job Centre Plus part of the Department of Work, took two days' of strike action in protest at call targets set by management. They argued that the targets put them under excessive pressure while failing to take account of the level of service provided to enquirers who may have serious worries about their welfare benefits.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/398;
http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/news_and_events/news_centre/index.cfm ...
The confederation of trade unions (KOZ) has initiated a petition in an effort to try and collect the 350,000 signatures needed for a referendum over the Labour Code. The government is scheduled to discuss the draft Code in April. Labour Minister Jozef Mih l has declared he will not yield to the pressure, nor become involved in any eventual referendum. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Iveta Radicov has said that the government is ready for a dialogue with the trade unions, "but not in the form of pressure or threats" (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 3 November 2010).
English: http://spectator.sme.sk/articles/view/41394/3/unions_initiate_petition ...
Government and unions reach pension deal
January 28, 2011
After long negotiations, taking place since early January, the government has struck a deal with the two major union confederations to raise the age of retirement. The parties have agreed that the compulsory retirement age will increase from 65 to 67. As part of a compromise the government agreed that workers could retire at 65 if they had contributed to the state pensions system for at least 38.5 years. Earlier, the government had threatened to impose the changes by decree if necessary, whereas trade unions had warned of another general strike (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 3 December 2010).
English: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12305246; http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/28/world/europe/28iht-spain28.html?_r=1
As negotiations are set to begin over employment conditions in the public sector, seven trade union federations have set out their main demands and criticized the way that precarious employment conditions have spread in the three main areas of public service: national administration, local government and the health service. The union federations want more workers to be on full civil service terms and conditions rather than being taken on as public sector employees or temporary contracts. They are also calling on the government to withdraw its proposal for new short-term, "project-linked" contracts (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 3 December 2010).
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/398
French: http://www.spterritoriaux.cgt.fr/spip.php?article4458
The three local government unions, UNISON, Unite and GMB, representing more than 1.6 million workers, have criticised local government employers for failing to respond to the unions' pay claim covering April 2011-March 2012. The unions pointed out that in 2010 pay was frozen and the employers did not even pay the UKP 250 (?290) payment for those earning under UKP 21,000 (? 24,380) a year that had been part of the government's budget. Furthermore, local government workers had suffered below-inflation increases for five years and were now looking at an increase in pension contributions of 3%. Heather Wakefield, UNISON Head of Local Government, said: "Our members - people who provide vital local services like home care, who work as teaching assistants and bin men - are facing severe hardship" (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 3 October 2010).
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/398;
http://www.unison.org.uk/asppresspack/pressrelease_view.asp?id=2119
The three trade union confederations have agreed a new framework agreement for the private sector for 2011-2012. A key element of the deal is maintenance of the system of wage indexation which had recently been a target of employer criticism. There is also a small additional amount of wage increase (0.3%) that is available above the level of indexation. The other main elements of the agreement, which now goes out to consultation, include increases to welfare benefits, extension of some temporary agreements including early retirement pensions and continued commitment to a very long-running aim to harmonise the different legal provisions covering blue- and white-collar workers (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 3 December 2010).
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/398
Dutch: http://www.fgtb.be/web/guest/news-nl/-/article/102390/&p_l_id=10187;
http://www.acv-online.be/Actualiteit/Nieuws/Detail/IPA2011_2012.asp
French: http://www.fgtb.be/web/guest/news-fr/-/article/102570/&p_l_id=10624;
http://www.csc-en-ligne.be/Actualite/Nouvelles/details/aip_projet.asp
After difficult negotiations the VIDA and GPA-DJP trade unions have agreed a 2% pay increase for the 80,000 workers in the private health and social care sector. The agreement runs for 12 months from February 2011. The unions argue that they have secured a small real pay increase as well as improvements in two areas: leave to look after seriously ill relatives and past service entitlement. The new rules on past service will benefit workers who change employers within the sector as it will mean their past service will have to be taken into account in setting their pay level (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 3 December 2010).
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/398
German: http://www.vida.at/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=S03 .;
http://www.gpa-djp.at/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=GPA ...
The three union federations representing call-centre workers employed by the federal government have submitted a number of key demands to management over staffing levels and working conditions. The unions argue that failure to recruit adequate numbers is putting an intolerable burden on employees who are being forced to work excessive hours as well as regular weekend shifts. The unions warn of strike action if nothing is done and are calling for better training, working conditions and career development for call-centre workers.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/398
French: http://www.cgsp-ministeres.be/index.php?option=com .
The JHL union is preparing for negotiations in the state and municipal sectors and is concerned to secure pay increases for its members, arguing that workers' salaries should be increased in line with general labour market developments and not be used as the way of tackling the public sector deficit. The union will also be looking to continue moves to reduce the gender pay gap and to ensure equal treatment for temporary workers. Concerning negotiations in the state sector JHL's President Tuire Santamki-Vuori wishes to make it clear that employees must not be forced to foot the bill for the "sustainability deficit" in state finances, and that pay rises must match rises in other sectors. Concerning the municipal sector, JHL insists that the parties must come to an agreement, at the very minimum, on pay rises for the first half of 2011.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/398;
http://www.jhl.fi/portal/en/news/archive/?bid=672
On 19 January Minister for Enterprise Batt O'Keeffe signed a ministerial order authorising the reduction in the National Minimum Wage (NMW) by one Euro to €7.65 per hour as from 1 February, implying a cut of 11.6%. The memorandum of understanding on the €85 billion bailout package stated the cut in the minimum wage would take place by May. A government spokesman said it was the government that decides when to sign the order to give effect to the minimum wage cut and it had decided it was important to address competitive cost issues as quickly as possible. Jack O'Connor, president of Siptu, the country's largest union, commented bitterly: "This has been slickly presented as a response to the EU-IMF negotiation when in fact it was already the objective of the Minister for Finance." The new NMW would mainly apply for new entrants; the government says existing employees should be protected from wage cuts if already working under a contract that sets wages at or above the NMW. Yet, workers on the minimum wage may be working on contracts stipulating they are paid at the prevailing national minimum wage hourly rate (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 3 November 2010).
English: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0120/1224287943617.html