Collective Bargaining

The government has announced the extension to the end of the year of a measure facilitating temporary unemployment, amid expectations of a wave of requests in this regard from employers.

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Throughout Europe, production has resumed and workers have returned to their workplaces. The social partners in the chemical, pharmaceutical, rubber and plastics industries, industriAll European Trade Union and ECEG (European Chemical Employers Group) with their national affiliates acknowledge the efforts of social partners at company level to ensure that this return to work does not pose any risk to workers’ health and safety.

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Unemployment across Europe has risen due to the coronavirus pandemic. Young people and seasonal workers have been particularly hit during the lockdown. To help counter this, the European Union has revamped an initiative that helps job hunters find work anywhere in the EU by the so called Europass. Europass links up European job seekers and employers across the EU. The idea behind the new iteration is to simplify and update the Europass CV and other skills tools for the digital age.

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The European Commission approved two Bulgarian wage-support programmes under its state aid temporary framework to support the economy during the Covid-19 pandemic. The first measure is the expanded and modified employment aid scheme, referred to usually as the “60:40” scheme, in which the government covers 60% of an employee’s salary and mandatory social security and healthcare contributions, while employers cover the rest.

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The average monthly salary reached € 1,293 in the first quarter of 2020. This was an increase of 5% year-on-year, the weakest growth since 2016. Real wages grew even less because of inflation. The consequences of the Coronavirus crisis make any significant growth unlikely in the near future.

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In the first quarter of 2020, more than one in five unemployed persons became economically inactive, the highest rate ever. At the same time, the same number of unemployed persons became employed, and there was no increase in the number of people losing their jobs.

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Long-term residents may soon be able to work in the country without obtaining an ‘employment license’ if Maltese authorities decide to take seriously a warning of the EU Commission to remove the requirement. In its regular package of infringement decisions, the European Commission has decided to start an infringement procedure against Malta, as the latter has failed to fulfil its obligations under the Long-Term Residence Directive.

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The government has agreed to give pay rises worth € 8 billion to health workers, as it hailed their role in fighting the coronavirus. The deal was signed with trade unions after seven weeks of fraught negotiations. Health workers have been revered as heroes during the pandemic with regular displays of public appreciation. But they wanted more than recognition and have held protests to demand pay rises and better funding for hospitals.

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Two affiliates of Education International have urged decision-makers to approve the financial and human resources required to implement vital measures in schools, such as the introduction of health protection officers. The unions challenge politicians to implement the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. One important feature will be the focus on students affected by learning gaps during the lockdown.

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Thousands of Airbus employees went on a brief strike to protest against the mass involuntary layoffs looming at the company as a result of the current pandemic. Workers in France marched along a runway, and in Germany, protests took the shape of empty chairs and red balloons.

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