Around 85% of the workers at quantum mine Cobre Las Cruces went on strike in demand for the payment of 'toxic bonuses' (pay for work that is particularly dangerous) for subcontractors. In addition to the strike a picket line was organised at the entrance of the mine. According to the company's website, expected annual production averages 72,000 tonnes of copper which makes for 25% of the country’s internal demand.
Read on: in English …
[close]In an interesting article, the work of the union for nannies, associated to trade union UNSA, is described. These workers, autonomous, qualified or not, and in many cases more precarious and less protected, often work in isolation. The nannies have serious difficulties with multiple private employers, while the emotional relationship undermines the professional and contractual relationship to servitude. A key issue is the information of nannies, but also of employer parents. The union also develops services to its members and legal assistance in case of difficulties. The aim is to acquire a collective agreement comparable to the agreement for childminders, or even be covered by the same conventional instrument.
Read on: in French …
[close]The Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft (IW) published a research report that describes collective bargaining in the first half of 2018. In addition to pay, the topic of working time was also on the agenda in some negotiations. This report complements the IW conflict barometer, which regularly reports on the intensity of conflict in collective bargaining. The report not only informs about the degree of escalation, but also about the contents of collective bargaining in the first half of 2018.
Read on: in German … The report: in German …
[close]The Central Organisation of Trade Unions SAK is very pleased with the governments’ decision to withdraw a planned proposal for amending the Employment Contracts Act by allowing an employer to make, without restrictions, fixed-term employment contracts with anyone under 30 years of age who has been an unemployed job seeker for at least three months. The existing legislation demands a justifiable reason for a fixed-term employment contract. The union insisted that government would withdraw the proposal and other plans to weaken employment security. SAK made clear that otherwise it would go ahead with actions.
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[close]After negotiations on their claims for restoration of pay cuts collapsed, Section 39 healthcare organisations (state funded voluntary organisations) are preparing to go on strike on 18 September 2018. Staff in many Section 39 organisations experienced pay cuts similar to those imposed on public service personnel working in State agencies offering similar services after the economic crash. According to trade union Siptu however, unlike public servants working in the health and social care sectors, workers in Section 39 organisations have not yet been offered pay restoration proposals and therefore demands pay restorations.
Read on: in English …
[close]Notwithstanding massive protests the government adopted an act that leads to a higher maximum of the weekly working time (to 60 hours). The Chamber of Labour published in its journal Wirtschaftspolitik-Standpunkte a fact check and the results of a survey on this theme. The interviewed works councils identified the creeping increase in working pressure and the increasing density of work as central problems at the workplace (48% are not satisfied or not at all satisfied). More than half of the surveyed works councils (52%) even stated that the pressure of work and the amount of work has increased in the last 12 months. And almost a fifth of those surveyed (19%) find that the health situation of workers has deteriorated. On the other hand, the respondents see no need at all for the announced working time flexibilization.
The journal: in German …
[close]Randstad Spain published an analysis of the development of temporary work. It shows that the number of temporary contracts that were converted to permanent contracts stood at 407,900 in the first half of 2018, up 17.7% from the same period last year and the highest figure since 2008. The services sector recorded the most conversions with 303,172 temporary contracts converted to permanent contracts. This was followed by construction (61,530), industry (31,579) and agriculture (11,705). In the industrial sector, more than half, or 50.9%, of permanent contracts was converted from a fixed term contract.
Read the analysis: in Spanish …
[close]In Budapest, a worker needs to work for almost an hour to earn enough money to buy a Big Mac, according to an UBS international survey. The so-called Big Mac index is an indicator for the purchasing power of an economy and is meant to symbolise the value of local money. The survey works with average salaries and average prices. From all the European cities that were in the survey, the only cities where one would need to work even more for a hamburger (or an iPhone) than in Budapest are Istanbul and Kiev. The results confirm earlier findings from the OECD that only workers in three other OECD-countries earned less per hour. Observers see this as one of the most important reasons for the ongoing leave abroad of youngsters.
Read on: in English … in English (2) … The Big Mac ranking: in English …
[close]The ILO published a report that analyses the regulation and practice of social dialogue in public services within a group of European Union countries. The selection of practices of social dialogue shows how the principles of ILO Convention No. 151 that concerns the protection of the right to organise, and procedures for determining conditions of employment in the public service have been implemented through legislation and/or collective bargaining. According to the introduction of the report, dialogue and bargaining can and should be key contributors to public sector efficiency, performance and equity.
Read the Report: in English …
[close]Hundreds of offshore oil and gas rigs workers went on strike 10 July 2018 after rejecting a proposed wage deal. When negotiations with unions broke down the conflict intensified with new industrial actions in which some 1550 workers participated. This lead to the shutdown of a Shell-operated oilfield with a daily output of 23,900 barrels of mostly oil. Later on, a deal was reached, with the help of mediation, and the strikes ended.
Read on: in English (1) … in English (2) …
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