Collective Bargaining

When hiring a cleaning specialist or a part-time gardening assistant it is not always easy to keep social security and tax bills accurate. All employers in the country are required to settle and pay statutory social security contributions such as pensions and payroll tax deductions. Furthermore, there may be the obligation to take out non-occupational and / or occupational accident insurance, to pay half of the compulsory health insurance and to conclude a daily sickness benefit insurance. The government has therefore developed a guideline to help people who want to employ workers for small tasks.

Read on: in English …

The upcoming collective bargaining round in the public service could become tough with trade unions Verdi, the German Civil Servants Union (dbb), the Union of Education and Science (GEW) and the Gewerkschaft der Polizei (GdP) demanding a 6% wage increase or at least 200 euro gross a month more for workers in the civil service of the federal states. In total, there are 2.3 million employees in civil service of the federal states who would benefit from the wage hike. The new pay collective agreement should have a term of twelve months. The collective bargaining round starts on 21 January 2019.

Read on: in German …

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) says that unions in the private sector would be justified in seeking baseline pay rises of at least 3.4 per cent in 2019. In addition, where sector specific or enterprise specific performance is above the average for the economy, unions should take this into account when formulating wage claims. According to an ICTU report conditions are improving in the private sector with weekly earnings up 3,6%.

Read on: in English …

A research article published in The Lawyer Quarterly examines the role and position of collective bargaining in Czech labour law. From both an historical as a European comparative perspective multiple shortages in current the labour system and problems regarding collective bargaining are highlighted. Because of historical events such as the Nazi and Communist era social dialogue of the social partners and organisations representing their interests does not have the same longstanding tradition as in other European countries. What further complicates the matter is that scholars, judges and legal practitioners were educated in different legal cultures what hampers their legal thinking even today.

Read on: in English …

W In online gig work, self-employed workers complete projects remotely for clients obtained through online labour platforms. Surveys suggest that similar proportions of European workers engage in online gig work and local gig work, yet the two differ significantly. The online gig economy is transnational and spans a full spectrum of skills, from data entry to software development. This article goes into what this development might mean for the future of the labour market. And as online workers are not organized into unions, and in many countries could not legally be organized even if they wanted to, since they are self-employed what does the upcoming gig-economy mean for the quality of work?

Read on: in English …

Trade unions Efling and Verkalýðsfélag Akraness decided that they will enter upcoming wage negotiations separately from the trade union federation SGS of whom both unions are a member. The reason to split up from the federation that consists of 19 trade unions is that they take a more radical stance in the upcoming wage negotiations that the SGS. Both unions are expected to work more closely together with VR Union that is not part of the SGS.

Read on: in English …

After a year of negotiations with employers for a new collective bargaining agreement, the unions representing bus drivers have found themselves in a deadlock. The agreement, which defines hourly rates below the minimum wage and allows bus drivers to be on the job for as much as 360 hours a month is unacceptable to the drivers. In response, they have announced plans to increase union pressure tactics, while not ruling out a halt of all public transportation. It remains unclear what the bus drivers are going to do now negotiations are deadlocked.

Read on: in English …

A new law banning controversial zero-hour contracts "in most circumstances" will come into force in March 2019. The Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill was passed by both houses of the Oireachtas and will now be presented to the President for his signature. Under the new law, zero-hour contracts will be outlawed except in situations of genuine casual employment and where they are essential to allow employers to provide cover in emergency situations or to cover short-term absence. The legislation will also compel employers to pay a new minimum payment to employees called into work but sent home again without work. The Employment Bill has been described by politicians and media as one of the most significant pieces of employment law in a generation.

Read on: in English …

After 20 rounds of negotiations and an intense labour dispute, unions and employers organisations reached a deal over a new collective agreement for construction workers. In the new agreement the pension age of 60 years is secured and construction workers will get a wage increase of 80 francs per month in both 2019 and 2020. The agreement was not easily reached. Employers wanted to move the minimum pension age to 62 years, earlier retirement would be only be possible if workers gave up 30% of their pension. In reaction to the proposed cuts, thousands of construction workers from all over the country took to the streets in a day of protests and more than 15.000 construction workers engaged in industrial action.

Read more: in German …

The National Tripartite Cooperation Council have met to discuss the cabinet's proposal to raise the minimum wage from 260 euro a month to 286 as of January 1, 2019.The employers' organizations are against the increase in the minimum wage. Government also plans to increase minimum pension by 5, 7%. Another point of discussion for the social partners is the increase of the remuneration for night work. The union offers it to become a percentage of the minimum wage for the country – 0, 5% of it for one hour of night work.

Read on: in English …