Collective Bargaining

The metalworkers trade unions FIOM-CGIL, FIM-CISL and UILM-UIL organised a rally and one-hour strike across the Lombardy region to attract public attention to the problem of poor health and safety at work, following four recent tragic fatalities at Lamina spa in Rho, Milan and Elettronica LG in Rovato, Brescia. The unions criticised the lack of compliance by companies with procedures and safety rules. The recalled that too often these dramas show the inadequacy of the prevention systems and measures necessary to ensure the safety and security of workers. Too often working conditions are being put in second place underestimating the necessity of prevention, training and interventions to raise awareness of the topic and securing of workplaces are held back by cost, and no investment is done in people and their future.

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The complete outcomes of the European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS), a tool established by Eurofound for monitoring and analysing quality of life in the EU, are now online. The overview report presents the findings for the EU Member States. It uses information from previous survey rounds, as well as other research, to look at trends in quality of life against a background of the changing social and economic profile of European societies. Ten years after the global economic crisis, it examines well-being and quality of life broadly, to include quality of society and public services. The findings indicate that differences between countries on many aspects are still prevalent – but with more nuanced narratives. Each Member State exhibits certain strengths in particular aspects of well-being, but multiple disadvantages are still more pronounced in some societies than in others; and in all countries significant social inequalities persist.

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In order to comply with the rules, employers have to pay several social security contributions and parts of the sickness and care provisions. In some of these regulations, a threshold is applied that can be defined in working hours and/or earnings. With the aim to inform employers and to guarantee workers the right payment, the government has updated a manual that details all changes entering into force on 1 January 2018. The manual was first produced in 2016.

Read on: in German … The manual: in German …

Workers of the a Embraco plant based in Spišská Nová Ves announced they would go on strike. The chairman of the KOVO trade union said that they had to declare this action because of the failure to agree on wage conditions for 2018 with the employer. However, the collective bargaining at the factory, which makes refrigeration compressors and condensing units, was reopened and could be finalised. The agreement provides the staff of the manufacturer with an 11% wage growth including bonuses in 2018 and with 6% in 2019. The plant employs about 2,300 people whose average gross wage was €964 in 2017.

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NGO Oxfam’s report, Reward Work, Not Wealth, shows that the gap between rich and poor is far greater than had been feared. The report details how big business and the super-rich are fuelling the inequality crisis by dodging taxes, driving down wages and using their power to influence politics. In its annual report on wealth inequality, the UK-based poverty and disaster relief charity said a booming global economy had allowed a small elite group of rich families to grab 82 percent of the new wealth created in 2017, while the poorest 50 percent saw no increase in their prosperity.

Read on: in English … The report: in English … in other languages (and summaries) …

The industrial action by increasingly angry prison staff entered a second week. The prison officers have blockaded dozens of jails after renewed attacks by inmates increased fears for wardens’ safety. A spokesman for the Ufap-Unsa trade union, which represents the majority of prison staff, said violence against warders was a ‘daily thing’. Earlier on, union officials rejected an offer to reinforce prison security with 1,100 new jobs, the setting up of special detention units for violent prisoners over the next four years and the reinforcing of prison security teams.

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The national Ombudsman and the leaders of trade unions CITUB and Podkrepa submitted to Parliament a proposal for amendments to the Labour Code that would repeal the employer's right to pay only 60% of the salary earned or limit this right to certain circumstances and times of the year. The legislative proposal provides for the repeal of Article 245 of the Labour Code or its change in order for the employer to be entitled to pay incomplete wages for only one month of the year or in certain circumstances to be declared to the General Labour Inspectorate.

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Data from temporary agency Randstad reveal that 40% of permanent contracts in the country began as a temporary contract. The data showed for 2017 that there were 686,445 conversions of temporary contracts into permanent contracts, representing an increase of 17.9% from last year. This is the highest figure in the past eight years. Temporary contracts converted into permanent contracts have increased in all age groups. Those over 45 years of age saw the biggest increase in conversions compared to 2016 (23.8%).

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The ILO published a report with a forecast on employment trends. Chapter 2 on Europe comes up with several graphs and statistics. The business cycle has been closely synchronised across European countries, with the majority of economies expected to see slightly slower GDP growth in 2018, after a strong rebound in 2017. The unemployment rate is projected to have dropped from 9.2% in 2016 to 8.5% in 2017, the lowest rate since 2008. But, while employment has been expanding since 2015, wage growth remains subdued, constraining further improvement in aggregate demand and, in turn, in the labour market.

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TAP Portugal cabin crew trade union SNPVAC, the National Union of Flight Personnel Civil Aviation, has called for strike action the weekend before Carnival starts (8, 9 and 10th February 2017). The management has stated that the strike is illegal and wants judges to decide. Previously TAP has cut back flights but merged passengers into larger rented jets with rented crews. The union also threatens strike action in March. The basis of the protest is the discriminatory treatment that the Government imposes on cabin crew workers and the deteriorating cabin crew working conditions.

Read on: in English (1) … in English (2) …