Collective Bargaining

Several unions have announced a general strike on 9 October in a protest against the overall policy of the government. The main problems are related to the unemployment insurance, the staffing of the employment agencies and cuts in public services. The CGT and FO trade unions as well as two national student unions speak about ideological policies targeting the destruction of the social model, favouring notably the explosion of inequality and the breaking of collective rights.

Read on: in English … The announcement: in French …

According to trade union Efling the right of youngsters and migrant workers are violated more often than is the case with other workers in the country. This is partly so because they are primarily working in hospitality and construction, well-known offenders when it comes to employment rules. The union states that they often pay below minimum wage, or so-called equal wages, that they don’t pay overtime and there often are other issues related to sick pay, and so on. The union has special attention for this kind of exploitation and started a campaign to reach out to people and going out into people’s workplaces to target this problem.

Read on: in English …

With talks about a new collective agreement remaining deadlocked trade union UĦM resorted to industrial action. The union demands a pay increase for a part of the more specialised staff and called out their care workers, social workers and occupational therapists not to communicate with clients, not to compile reports, and not to attend meetings to put some force into the demands. Some 500 people with mental or physical health impairments are said to be affected by these actions.

Read on: in English …

With considerable differences in wages in the construction sector, compared to, for instance, neighbouring country Estonia, many workers enter to look for a job. Construction companies use this situation by paying workers only a fraction of the normal wages. To be able to tackle this issue, a cross-country cooperation was set up on multiple levels. The countries now work together on government level, where Estonian inspectors also take part in inspections. The unions work together providing them with information on legal salaries and trade union rights. And a law, backed by both employers and unions, was imposed that demands everyone that is on a construction site to be carrying a visible ID card with an official tax reference number.

Read on: in English …

The construction of the Munch museum in Oslo has been put forward as a showcase for the so-called ‘Oslo model’. The model, implemented early 2017, is a set of rules and contracts aiming to prevent tax evasion and the exploitation of workers. The construction of certain projects like the new Munch Museum already started before the Oslo model was implemented but they have been asked to follow the regulations as far as possible. Changes so far include that more workers on building sites are officially registered and due to the ‘two-layer rule’ the chaotic subcontractor layer system which existed before belongs to the past.

Read on: in English …

Labour shortages in many sectors of the labour market make employers increasingly looking for workers outside of the country’s borders. Trade unions worry about this development, fearing an increase in social dumping unless stricter controls of foreign employments are introduced. There are two instruments used to tackle social dumping. First of all, collective agreements have included new regulations which allow insight into foreign workers’ wages and terms of employment. Secondly, there is state control via the Working Environment Authority, registers and tax authorities.

Read on: in English … The labour market report: in Danish …

Trade unions will not accept an increase of the minimum wage of less than 10%. They rejected a proposal of the finance ministry that promised an increase with 8.6%. Following the rejection of the trade unions the nations’ tripartite Social and Economic Council, that is made up of unions, employers and government representatives, also withheld its support for the proposal. According to union officials at least 10% is necessary to prevent highly skilled workers massively leaving the country to search for better paid work.

Read on: in English …

In their ongoing wage dispute, a group of organised primary school teachers (PO in Action) called out a nationwide strike and day of action 2 October 2018 together with all other public sector workers that are currently having trouble in their negotiations on new collective agreements. In June 2018, primary school teachers and employers reached an agreement on a new pay deal but PO in Action is pressing ahead with its campaign to close the gap between primary and secondary teaching salary scales.

Read on: in English … in English (2) …

The European Tariff Report of the Hans Böckler Stiftung reveals that wages in the EU are rising in nominal terms. However, as the inflation has returned from an extremely low level to a normal level in 2017, average real wages only increased by 0.4%. In 9 out of 28 European Union countries real wages even fell. According to the research, inequality a higher coverage of collective agreements is essential in order to achieve sustainable and inclusive growth and to combat. Countries with low wage inequality, especially Sweden, Belgium, Finland and Denmark, achieve this through high collective bargaining coverage and strong centralisation of collective bargaining. Wage inequality is significantly higher in Eastern Europe, where comparable collective bargaining is often lacking. In Romania, Bulgaria and Latvia, the salaries of high-earners are at least 4 times higher than those of low-paid workers, compared with a factor of 2.3 in Sweden.

Read the Report: in German …

Trade union OGBL and the University of Luxembourg signed their first ever collective agreement. The collective agreement was worked out together by staff, union representatives and the university rectorate and governs the terms of employment for all staff. The agreement applies in the next three years to 1,760 workers: 1,260 who work in academia and research and 500 who work in administration, finance and technical services. Before there was only an agreement on working conditions that was concluded in 2015.

Read on: in English …