Collective Bargaining

A person driving without permission for the company Uber received the first ever valid fine. He will have to pay €200, as stems from the ruling issued by the district court in Bratislava. The court doubled the original fine imposed by the city of Bratislava. The driver was stopped by the police, claiming that he did not have his vehicle marked properly; the vehicle was missing the taxi inscription. The car lacked the name of the taxi service provider, an indication of the basic fare and a fixed taximeter. The Civil Association of Licensed Taxi Drivers stated that driving for Uber is providing a taxi service with the same rules that apply to other drivers.

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Retailer Istarski Supermaketi, the largest supermarket chain in Istria has announced an 25% increase of the average wages. The increase applies from 1 January 2018. According to the company, motivated workers are key for a successful business, ‘investing in people is always worth’. The management argues that, with employees in the shop being in touch with the customer, the abilities and satisfaction of the workforce is a crucial prerequisite for a flourishing company in the long-term.

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A majority of the workforce at the Volkswagen unit Autoeuropa (63%) rejected a preliminary deal on new working hours. It is the second time in a row that a preliminary agreement on a new shift system has been rejected. The Works Council aimed to restart the negotiating process with the objective of reaching a new agreement. However, the management announced shortly after that it had decided to unilaterally start with the new production schedule of 17 weekly shifts. The plan is to open the factory every Saturday for two shifts from the end of January 2018 onwards. The management promises to pay the work on Saturdays as overtime, thus with a 100% bonus, which was one of the workers’ major claims.

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In several articles, the impact of emigration of the skilled labour on the labour market is discussed. The authors reflect on the number of citizens abroad, most of them young, qualified professionals aiming to work. The total population is falling, whilst most of the emigrants are from the active age groups before starting a family. The effect on important parts of the economy are becoming manifest. The biggest opposition party Jobbik therefore has launched a proposal for a European ‘wage union’, with the aim to eliminate wage inequalities in the EU.

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Teachers in primary education went on strike on 12 December 2017. Several trade unions are cooperating in order to remind the government of the importance of primary education, because it is the start of their participation in society. The Netherlands are facing a shortage in primary school teachers. The unions are demanding a fair salary and a reduction in work pressure, making the job more attractive for future teachers. They want a salary similar to teachers in secondary schools, and reducing of the workload, for example by hiring educational support staff, smaller classes and less administrative burdens.

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An annual wage study, by Korn Ferry Hay Group (KFHG), suggests that Belgian companies are anticipating a more significant wage increase than in neighbouring countries during 2018. They are counting upon an increase of 3.1% in Belgian wages, compared to 2.5% in Germany and the Netherlands, and 1.7% in France. The cause of this could be automatic wage indexation and scale increases, and the low rate of employment for the over 55s, as well as labour market shortages.

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The ILO published its flagship report. The report reconfirms that policy areas particularly relevant to income security include labour market and employment policies, employment protection, wages (including minimum wages) and collective bargaining, and active labour market policies. According to the report, there is enough evidence that many of the current labour reforms (downwards revising of the minimum wage, limiting salary adjustments to cost-of-living benchmarks, decentralising and weakening collective bargaining, easing retrenchment and flexibilising employment protection procedures) will not generate decent jobs. On the contrary, in a context of economic contraction they are likely to generate labour market ‘precarisation’, depress domestic incomes and ultimately hinder recovery efforts.

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Doctors from over the country went on strike to gain attention for the growing demand for more doctors and other medical staff. The doctors protested outside the Ministry of Economy and Finance in Rome. All the major public doctors’ unions joined the strike in protest against the 2018 budget bill. They are demanding a renewal of the collective agreement with the government and they want more doctors, specialists and other medical staff to be hired. Hospitals now rely on temporary workers, but would benefit from hiring permanent staff.

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Trade union Etyk made public that the Bank of Cyprus has offered to help members of provident funds recoup losses suffered in the 2013 banking crisis, a scheme announced by the government, but only in exchange for introducing a new salary regime. The country’s largest bank informed its workers about its intention to introduce a remuneration scheme which ‘will pin down’ the earnings of the vast majority of its workers and their prospect of getting promoted, saving the bank up to 20 per cent on its payroll. The union said that the government’s interference in the bank’s labour affairs is causing a lot of concern and indignation, whilst the ultimate aim of the bank is to drastically reduce labour costs.

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The statistical office published an analysis of the development of the labour costs in the 3rd quarter of 2017. Compared to the 3rd quarter in 2016, labour costs per hour worked in industrial, construction and service enterprises (including individual enterprises), seasonal adjusted, increased by 7.9%. The increase was observed in all economic activities, the largest in financial and insurance activities (12.4%), information and communication (12.1%), real estate activities (10.5%), administrative and support service activities (10.3%), professional, scientific and technical activities, wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycle (9.7% each).

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