Collective Bargaining

The recovery after the crisis, as well as the massive migration of workers to Western European countries, has generated the largest labour shortage in recent history. Employers are considering to offer improved wage packages – including higher salaries and bonuses, and other benefits such as health insurance, private pensions or profit-sharing – or to look for workers from outside. According to the 2018 Randstad Monitor, employers are willing to consider 15% higher wages to attract talent. More than two-thirds (71%) of the companies plan to hire for permanent jobs, and most of the available positions are in sales, production and IT. However, in hospitality, manufacturing, industry, agriculture, construction and services foreign workers from non-EU countries are hired with poor working and living standards.

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The European Cockpit Association (ECA) that represents more than 38,000 Ryanair pilots from national associations across 36 countries seeks to counter concerns that Ryanair might transfer hundreds of jobs to countries less welcoming to unions. The low-cost carrier had stated its intention to transfer a fifth of its Irish fleet to Poland, supposed to be a country with limited pilot union representation, as part of the dispute over pay and working conditions. However, the move could lose relevance as pilots in Poland have announced plans to join the European-wide protests.

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According to the National Statistical Institute, the average gross monthly wage increased by an annual 8.2% to 1,125 BGN (575.2 euro) in the second quarter of 2018. Highest wages were registered in the information and communication sector, followed by financial and insurance activities. The lowest gross salary, was recorded in the sector of accommodation and food services. The statistics reveal that the total income average per household member during the second quarter of 2018 was 1,474 BGN; an increase by 8.7% compared to the same quarter of 2017.

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Temporary workers of staffing firm Gi Group staged a protest in front of the Lucca office. The workers have been waiting for a year to receive back-pay owed to them. The workers were sent by Gi Group to work at Texsus, a multilayer solutions firm for the Hygienic, Medical, and Industrial market. Trade unions found differences in pay for the temporary workers at Texsus and the other employees of the user undertaking. In some cases, the difference was up to a hundred euro less per month. Gi Group recognised the problem in pay and asked for an official calculation of the amount owed to the temporary workers. However, Gi Group refused immediate pay and talks between Gi Group and the unions have stalled since.

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The country’s Federal Council decided in July to consult the cantons and the trade unions on a proposed treaty with the European Union that includes labour reforms. The trade union federation SGB/USS refused to participate in the discussions on easing measures for wages and working conditions as part of the framework negotiations with the EU. The trade union is angry about the mandate that has been given to the economy ministry and fears that the measures to change the free movement of people in accordance with EU regulations will put pressure on wage protections.

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Hundreds of workers at Tenaris steel factory participated in a number of rallies organised to demand better wages. Collective bargaining with the management has been going on since May 2018 but there’s still no deal in sight. So far, the employer’s offer is to raise salaries between RON 100 (20 euro) and RON 200 (40 euro), while the union demands are between RON 250 (50 euro) and RON 350 (75 euro) for each worker. Tenaris Silcotub, which is part of Italian group Tenaris, has almost 2,000 employees in Romania. The company currently pays most of its employees the minimum wage, some RON 1,200 (260 euro) net monthly.

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Workers of a MM Süperpak Ambalaj factory in Izmir are on strike since late June. Management shows bad faith by refusing to meet while pressuring union members to quit the union. MM Süperpak Ambalaj is a subsidiary of Austrian-based Mayr-Melnhof, with operations in Izmir, Karaman and Gaziantep. Around 250 workers from trade union Selüloz-İş have been on strike since rejecting a pay offer of zero wage rise on 20 June. Collective bargaining negotiations at the three plants started on January 26 for the 2018-19 period. Of the 74 articles in the CBA, 50 were agreed. However, pay remains the main conflict.

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Garbage collectors in the Ghent city went back to their work. The collectors at waste management company Ivago held a strike action mainly to protest high work pressure. Due to the strike action rubbish was pilling up in the streets. The trade unions demand reinforcements of collective agreements, a variable working timetable during periods of high temperatures, and more respect from the company towards its employees. After involvement of the major of Ghent, the unions postponed the strike actions.

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Yves Rocher was harshly criticised after the company laid off workers on the grounds that they had joined a trade union. The workers produce cosmetics for the Flormar brand, which is owned by the French multinational. On the 84th day of a picket outside the gates of the factory of Flormar, security forces intervened in an attempt to end the resistance of the 132 dismissed workers. An online petition that calls on Yves Rocher to reinstate the workers has so far collected 107,653 signatures. A film tells their story.

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The statistical office Destatis published the fourth issue of its journal Wirtschaft und Statistik. In one article, the results on the adjusted gender pay gap for the sixteen Länder are presented for the first time, including the approach to how they are obtained. The analysis is based on the Structure of Earnings Survey 2014. The method of dividing the pay gap into a statistically explained part and an unexplained part is considered to be the most commonly used method of analysing pay gaps. The Länder results regarding the adjusted gender pay gap in 2014 range between 4.4% in Schleswig-Holstein and 9.3% in Brandenburg. They are significantly lower, with considerably lower dispersion, than the unadjusted pay gap data that are normally published.

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