Collective Bargaining

More than 10,000 public service workers including customs officers, nurses, social workers and university professors started a one-day strike on 24 January 2018 to demand higher wages. The unions complain that, although this is the fifth year of economic growth, some wage restrictions imposed in 2012 have not been lifted yet. The unions stated that it is time to scrap all restrictions and increase wages. The demand is that public sector wages should rise by 16 to 20 percent over a period of time due to be determined in negotiations with the government.

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Bike drivers at Deliveroo Cologne have planned to go for the installation of a works council. The workers are fed up with the fact that their interests are not taken seriously. The riders are assisted by the food and hospitality workers trade union NGG. The union says that the pay and the working conditions qualify the sector as a very precarious industry. The hope is that through the mandatory co-decision rights that a works council can derive from the legislation a more balanced dialogue with negotiations can be initiated.

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The European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) published its 2017 conclusions in respect of 33 states parties (European Social Charter (1961) and the revised European Social Charter (1996)) showing 175 violations (36%), 228 situations of conformity (47%) and 83 cases (17%) where the Committee was unable to assess the situation due to lack of information, known as ‘deferrals’. The Committee concluded that, in many countries in Europe, poverty level is far too high and the measures taken to remedy this fundamental problem are insufficient. In particular, in many states the social security benefits (notably in respect of unemployment and old age) are well below the poverty level, even when taking into account social assistance, which remains too low. The conclusions adopted by the ECSR in the framework of its reporting system can be consulted using the European Social Charter HUDOC Database.

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SIPTU trade union members employed by Applus National Car Testing (NCT) service have formally accepted a Labour Court recommendation in relation to pay and conditions which includes permanency for workers currently on fixed terms contracts. The recommendation includes a 2% pay rise backdated to 1st April 2017, a further 2% pay rise on 1st April 2018 and a 2.5% pay rise on 1st April 2019. SIPTU members will also receive a 500 euro voucher to cover the period from July 2016 to March 2017.

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Workers at the CTT postal services have scheduled a nationwide strike and demonstration for 23 February, against job cuts and post office closures that are part of a restructuring plan. CTT is to close 22 of its branches as part of the plan. At least four branches are due to close in Lisbon, three in Porto, and one in the Algarve. Reports suggest employees were informed of the shake-up via an internal communiqué, and many claim they were caught unawares by the move. The original restructuring plan initially put to employees reportedly states ‘shops with poor demand’ would be closed down, although workers claim the intention to close 22 branches nationwide was not specified. The head of the CTT workers’ committee, said that they were told that there was no intention of making any significant changes to the network. The CTT has refused to address any possible lay-offs, allegedly telling its committee that affected workers will be transferred to other places where there is a shortage of employees.

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Several Ryanair pilots' unions have demanded a joint meeting with management, saying individual talks on a new collective bargaining system were not satisfactory. In a letter sent by the European Cockpit Association and signed by 11 trade unions, the pilots also demand that Ryanair commit by March 1 to introduce permanent direct employment contracts in accordance with the local laws of the country where staff are based. Ryanair, in a statement, refused the idea of meeting unions collectively. In the past, the company’s practice was to deal with pilots from its 87 bases separately.

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Scandinavia’s largest bank Nordea announced that it’s implementing a ban for its employees to invest and trade in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. With this measure, the bank wants to protect its employees from the risk of unknowingly getting involved in any ethical or illegal activity. The Danish Financial Federation told the public news-station Danmarks Radio that banning employees from owning cryptocurrency is stepping way out of line. Later on, the DJØF trade union expressed itself also highly sceptical of Nordea’s reasoning in this matter. The two organisations represent a majority of Nordea’s employees.

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The New York Times reports on the changes in the labour code. Just weeks after the new code went into effect, companies are readily taking advantage of the rules that make it easier to hire and fire. But the other changes, those designed to help cushion the blow like retraining programs, haven’t been put into place yet, leaving workers vulnerable to a coming wave of downsizing. The changes to the country’s voluminous labour code are part of a broad push by President Macron to revive growth and steer the country toward a Scandinavian-style economic model known as ‘flexicurity’. But the initial imbalance between employers’ rights and workers’ protections means the economic picture could get worse before it gets better.

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Bank workers Trade union Etyk is planning a march for 1 February 2018 – between the first and second rounds of the election – in a bid to get as many concessions as possible from the government and incumbent President Nicos Anastasiades. At the demonstration – likely to be held outside the presidential palace – the union will again demand full restitution for provident funds that were seized (along with depositors’ savings) in the March 2013 banking meltdown. In recent weeks, the union has received promises from four of the five main (party-backed) presidential candidates, with only Anastasiades holding out.

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The management of Fiat Chrysler Automobili (FCA) and the independent trade union signed a 3-year-collective agreement during Christmas holidays. Fiat’s workers at the Kragujevac plant are satisfied with the fact that the agreement has been concluded, taking it as a sign that Fiat has no intention of leaving Kragujevac in autumn once its old agreement with the government expires. Workers who do work at night will get an increase of 6 dinars per hour or 50 dinars per working day. According to the Labour Law, working in night shifts is paid at least 26% more, while the collective agreement with Fiat stipulates 30%. However, not many workers will benefit from it because the third shift at Fiat has been abolished a while ago.

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