Collective Bargaining

The tripartite council that consists of employers, trade unions and government failed to reach an agreement on increase of the minimum wage. Trade unions are demanding that the minimum wage, currently a monthly 420 euro, increases to 450 euro. Meanwhile the government states that minimum wages could only be increased to 430 euro a month. This would be in line with the governments’ latest economic development scenario for 2019. Employers have yet another view on the matter. They propose differentiating in wages per region with salary increases varying in proportion to the average local salary.

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The supreme court has ratified fines that were charged to four Uber drivers for failing to have permits and violating laws that the country introduced to regulate Uber. The laws were implemented in February 2017 in response to protests that Uber creates an unfair competition by not following the legal standards that are required for established taxi firms. Nowadays Uber drivers must have seat sensors and fare meters in their cars. The drivers are also obliged to have official permits to transport passengers. The supreme court’s verdict is paving the way for similar fines on a further 1,500 drivers. Trade union 3F stated to be pleased with the supreme courts’ decision but calls for authorities to pursue Uber itself and not just its drivers.

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Trade unions that organise nurses expected a ‘massive turnout’ for a joint national strike scheduled for 20 and 21 of September as they demand the government to present a new career revision proposal. They demand pay increases across the board, better career progressions and a pay supplement for specialised nurses. The supplement was agreed in 2017. However, the government sees it as a temporary provision.

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According to a press release of the statistical office INE, the labour cost of companies stood at 2,602.01 euro per worker per month in the second quarter of 2018, with a variation rate of 0.7% as compared with the same period of 2017. The wage cost per worker per month increased by 0.5%, standing at an average of 1,951.81 euro. Other related costs increased by 1.2%, standing at 650.20 euro per worker per month. The document provides details by economic sector and by region. Also outlined is the impact of seasonal effects.

Read the press release: in English …

Trade union FNV has a tradition of yearly setting one nationwide percentage for the pay rise that they will demand in the hundreds of collective agreements in which they are involved. For 2019, FNV will go for a pay rise of 5%, the highest pay rise they’ve come forward with in 30 years. According to the union, wages are growing to slow in the context of rapid economic growth and labour shortages and thus a pay rise of 5% is reasonable. Besides the pay rises, FNV will focus in the upcoming bargaining season on creating more secure jobs. Employers’ associations are of the opinion that a central pay demand is a backward concept.

Read on: in English … The bargaining demands: in Dutch …

In the upcoming wage negotiations trade union LANV will demand pay rises between 1 and 2.5%. Depending on the industry, wages should be increased by up to 2.5%. Furthermore, the union wants the minimum wages to be raised to 3,500 francs for unskilled workers at a 13 months' wage. In recent years employees have had to settle for modest wage increases and many zero pay rounds. The union states that zero pay rounds are out of place this year.

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The tomato industry has been accused of pushing migrants into ‘conditions of absolute exploitation’ (see also the July/August Newsletter). The agricultural sector is heavily reliant on migrant workers. According to official estimates, 161,000 foreign workers (16% of the total) are regularly employed in the agricultural sector in Southern Italy and at least as many are working without having been declared. Migrant worker, many of them irregularly employed, hand-pick tomatoes for high-tech processing plants, some of them in extremely exploitative conditions, for as little as 20 euro for 12 hours per day.

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Negotiations between the different trade unions and the Employers Organization for Church Activities (KA) were broken off in July. The unions have decided to go for a strike, if mediation does not lead to a result. Trade union Parat, together with eleven other trade unions, will take out nearly 100 employees on strike if there is no agreement during the mediation. The union said that all professions in the church (pastors, deacons, catechists, organists, kindergarten workers, pedagogues, office employees, grave diggers etc) are affected by the conflict.

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The new Cabin Crew Union (CWR) is part of the trade union federation Solidarność and was initiated to fight for fair pay and working conditions in the aviation sector. Ryanair however immediately broke their promise to respect trade union rights. The same day that the union was launched workers withdrew from the employee representation system demanding that their union, instead of them individually, would negotiate on their behalf. Managers refused to receive CWR registration papers and told workers they would be made redundant if they did not accept self-employment contracts with Ryanair. Under Polish law self-employed workers are ineligible for trade union membership and collective bargaining.

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The Confederation of Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) has put forward a proposal to introduce a minimum non-taxable income at the level of the national minimum wage. The minimum non-taxable income means less tax from low income groups and will increase their consumption power. According to CITUB this new policy could help to reduce inequality, pointing out that the country has a Gini coefficient higher than 40%.

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