Collective Bargaining

Dockworkers announced new strikes in a dispute over anti-union practices and the prevalence of casual labour. At the end of last year, the dockworkers at Setúbal port also held a month-long strike (see our November and December newsletter) that paralysed the port and prevented the export of cars from the nearby Volkswagen plant. Trade union Sindicato dos Estivadores e da Atividade Logística (SEAL) has presented notice of strikes at national ports for six months, between 16 January 2019 and 1 July 2019. SEAL argues that with the agreement at Setúbal port the problems identified in the other national ports are not met.

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In 2015 the country introduced a budget to provide salaries equal to the national average wage to a small group of artists and writers. Before 2015 there were no official funds to support artists and writers. The ministry of culture is planning to increase the budget for artists and writers salaries. With the higher budget, starting from January 2019, the amount of monthly paid salaries will increase from the level of the national average wage to a salary that equals 1.1 times the minimum wage of cultural workers with higher education. Furthermore, the number of artists and writers that can apply for this monthly income will from 2021 onwards be raised from 24 to 30 writers and artists.

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At the start of the collective bargaining season it is clear that some industrial unrest may well be expected. While the government states that the budget leaves little to no room for wage increases the three big trade unions united in the demand to raise the minimum wage by about 40%. The unions justify this demand because current minimum wages are insufficient to cover the costs of living The unions stated that they are ready to fight for their demands and that they will join forces in this year’s collective bargaining. Together the unions have a huge part of the workforce behind them. In reaction to the wage demands of the trade unions, the government is already threatening to reconsider proposed tax cuts to the country’s lowest paid workers.

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The Dutch speaking tribunal of commerce court ruled that the law permitted only taxi services to operate whose drivers were in possession of a taxi licence. The court overruled the company’s arguments that Uber is not a taxi service, but a car-sharing service. It was the Brussels taxi association that brought in complaints about Uber because of unfair competition. Contrary to the Association’s members Uber drivers are not required to meet certain standards on dress, presentation and conduct.

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Trade union 3F is trying to establish a collective agreement for a group of fast food workers that work for several different fast food restaurants in Copenhagen’s Tivoli Gardens. Many of this young fast food workers are believed to be working under precarious conditions. While Tivoli itself and other restaurants at the tourist attraction negotiate collective agreements for their workers with 3F and other trade unions, the fast food restaurants in Tivoli’s food hall refused to sign collective agreements. In the holiday season 3F organised picket lines and distributed leaflets to urge the fast food companies to recognize the rights of their workers and sign a collective agreement.

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Trade union Ver.di called a three-day strike in demand of an 1.50 euro hourly wage raise for its around 12,000 drivers and others workers in the money-transport branch. The increase would amount to around 250 euro a month. The union also want equal pay rates for workers in the former East German states, many of whom earn less than their counterparts elsewhere in the country. The question is how much impact the strike will have. At another strike in 2015 when the union was seeking improved high-risk insurance, some ATMs ran out of cash but cash as a portion of overall turnover dropped below 50% in 2017.

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According to trade union FNV that bases itself on reports from the labour inspectorate, more than a hundred temporary workers are underpaid because PostNL uses sham constructions. The trade union filed a lawsuit against the postal service company. Temporary employees do not receive the wages agreed in the PostNL collective labour agreement, but minimum wages without pension accrual which according to the union is against the law. The false constructions, also known as 'contracting', take place according to FNV in at least sixteen of the 22 PostNL depots. The lawsuit comes amidst wider industrial unrest at the postal service. Earlier this month PostNL filed a lawsuit against trade union FNV to prevent a strike that was called out because negotiations on a new collective agreement remained deadlocked.

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Some 300 security staff at Adolfo Suárez Madrid Barajas airport walked out on 21 December 2018 in a strike action in an ongoing dispute over bonus payments, as well as insufficient clothing to keep them warm in the cold. According to their union Alternativa Sindical, security company Eulen, which runs the service, has not paid the workers a bonus that they promised to pay during earlier negotiations. The strike committee says negotiations have failed to reach an agreement and is accusing Eulen management of 'contempt' for the working conditions of its staff in Barajas, alleging the company 'persists in its breaches' in wages and labour. The strike is said to continue until in the next year.

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Workers at Mayr-Melnhof carton board plants had been on strike since June 2018 when they rejected an offer for a new collective agreement that did not include any pay rise or even the adjustment of wages to inflation. After months of industrial action, management and the union finally agreed upon a new collective agreement that will be valid for three years. The new agreement includes a wage increase of 280 Turkish Lira a month in 2018, 300 Turkish Lira in the first half of 2019 and an inflation correction for the second half of 2019 and 20202.

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Game developer Eugen Systems recently fired six workers involved in an ongoing dispute over wages and overtime. The six employees represented nearly a quarter of the 21 people working at Eugen, according to a press release from the independent union Le Syndicat des Travailleurs et Travailleuses du Jeu Vidéo. Many of them went on strike earlier this year after claiming Eugen was paying them less than the mandated minimums set in their contracts. It lasted over a month and a half before negotiations stalled. The STJV and about 15 employees are now bringing a case before a tribunal in March 2019. While the union states that the six workers were fired as an act of retaliation because of the strike action all six fired workers participated in Eugen systems claims that the firing of the six workers is not related to their partaking in industrial action.

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