Iceland is the first country in the world to make it illegal to pay women less than men. A Bill (amendments to the Gender Equality Act 10/2008) came into effect on 1 January 2018. The Bill that makes equal pay for equal work a must in the country - irrespective of gender, ethnicity, sexuality or nationality - was submitted by the Minister of Social Affairs and Equality and passed the Parliament with a vast majority in June 2017.
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[close]The pensions will increase in 2018 faster than in the past years because the calculation of their indexation will change and as of the beginning of the year, they will be increased by one-half of the growth in real wages instead of the current one-third and by the inflation rate. Due to this, the average monthly pension will rise by 475 crowns in January 2018 (with the old method the average sum would be 65 crowns lower). More changes are planned. The fixed part of the pension, which is the same for everyone and amounts to 9% of the growth salary, will rise from 2550 to 2700 crowns. The proportion of the pension that is set down according to the years spent at work and paid sums will be increased by 3.5 percent. There will be also a 35 percent rise in the additional payments to the pensions of resistance fighters and their families.
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[close]Trade union GMB has calculated how high the minimum wage would be if the rate matched executive pay rises. GMB’s research underscores by just how much the statutory pay floor has failed to keep pace with executive earnings. the calculations show that if increases in the national minimum wage had kept pace with a chief executive, the hourly minimum would be £12.74 compared with £7.50 now for those 25 years and older. For a worker aged over 25 on 40 hours per week this would equate to a yearly minimum wage of £26,000 compared with the £14,664 they are currently earning.
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[close]The state-owned cargo rail operator AS EVR Cargo and railway worker and railroad engineer trade unions signed a one-year extension of their collective agreement. EVR Cargo employs 650 people. The collective agreement promises wage growth and improved working conditions for 2018. The company’s management said that they had established a very constructive cooperation with the trade unions, with the Estonian Railwaymen's Trade Union and Locomotive Workers' Trade Union always giving ‘valuable feedback’, which helps the company to better organise work within the company and improve the motivation of its employees.
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[close]National news agency YLE listed the most important changes for the new year. The state national pension, which tops up income-related pensions, is to be frozen in 2018 with no index increases. The guarantee or basic pension, which is paid to the very poorest pensioners, will be increased by 15 euro a month. But the most prominent is the new act on labour market activation. This provision in the unemployment benefits legislation reduces benefit payments by 4.65 percent in cases where over a three-month period unemployed persons do not work enough or participate in programmes that would help them finding a job. There will be a check every 65 days of unemployment, with the risk of this penalty if a worker is not undertaking work-related training or working at least 18 hours. Meanwhile a citizens’ initiative has started to cancel the act.
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[close]An analysis conducted by trade union confederation TUC predicts that 2018 will be a poorer year than previous years for pay in Britain, where inflation has consistently outpaced wage growth in recent months. Inflation has surpassed 3%, largely fuelled by a dramatic fall in the pound in the aftermath of June 2016’s Brexit vote. The analysis, based on forecasts of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), expects that pay is to fall by 0.7% in 2018 after accounting for inflation. The forecasted pay downgrade is in line with earlier reports published by several thinktanks (see our November Newsletter) and a report of the independent Resolution Foundation.
Read on: in English … The Report of the Resolution Foundation (with graphs and figures): in English …
[close]On the brink of the New Year, a bank analyst says average gross wages in the country may grow by 9% in 2018. There is also a possibility of a two-digit increase. The most rapid increase will be observed in industries with highest activity and labour market frictions – like the construction sector. Another expert predicts wage growth will be 7.6% in 2017, 8.2% in 2018 and 7.2% in 2019. In the third quarter of 2017, the average wage reached 925 euro, which is 7.5% more than a year ago. The country plans to increase the minimum wage from 380 to 430 euro, with a non-taxable minimum at 200 euro.
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[close]European-wide threatened walkouts formulated by Ryanair crews in Germany, Ireland, Britain, Italy, Spain and Portugal in long-running rows over pay and conditions led to the unprecedented step of offering union recognition. The management said that the main reason to recognise unions was the fact that the airline was facing the prospect of compensating 150,000 passengers in Christmas week and possibly more after that as a result of the looming industrial action. The move prompted unions to suspend their strike plans, averting the threat of major upheaval over the busy holiday period. The Irish trade union Impact called off the threat of a strike at Irish airports after Ryanair pledged in writing to recognise the organisation. However, German trade union Cockpit decided to launch a ‘warning strike’ after a first round of talks with Ryanair broke down.
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[close]Emergency call service workers in Andalucía are striking over the Christmas and New Year period. The union that called for the strike has promised the fulfilment of minimum services. The telephone operators are acting in favour of better working conditions. They say that the ongoing subcontracting practices have deteriorated these conditions. The union is demanding that a non-binding law proposal approved by the Regional Parliament be put into practice in order to improve the situation.
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[close]The government has sacked another 2,756 public sector workers as it continues it purge of people it claims supported last year's failed military coup. A pair of government decrees published in the Official Gazette said those fired in the latest round of dismissals include 637 military personnel, 360 gendarmerie force members and 150 academics. Critics say the government crackdown is just an excuse to silence political opposition.
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