Collective Bargaining

The trade unions UGT, CC.OO. and CGT are planning a strike of the garbage collection staff of the region Madrid from 6 November 2017 onwards. The workers’ representatives of the garbage collection workers called for an indefinite strike due to the refusal of their employers to advance in the negotiation of a new collective agreement. In a press release, the three unions explain that the mediation held at the Labour Institute of the Community of Madrid ended without any agreement between the bargaining table of the collective agreement and the companies awarded the service. According to the unions’ representatives the companies only want to cut back on the working conditions of the current collective agreement.

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Social partners are engaged in a debate about the integration of the so-called sharing economy into the legal codex so that companies like Uber and Airbnb can be absorbed into the Scandinavian welfare model. The government is putting forward a number of measures designed to fold the business concept into its tax and labour laws. It is estimated that about one-fifth of Danes have either offered or consumed the kinds of services provided by Uber and Airbnb, a proportion that is bound to increase. The social partners agree more needs to be done. According to the unions, the government’s new sharing economy strategy says a lot about taxation and a little about workers’ rights. The aim is to give the sharing economy room to grow.

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Low-paid workers are permanently stuck in low-paid jobs, and social mobility will stall without action. This is concluded in the ‘Great Escape?’ report of the Social Mobility Commission, carried out by the Resolution Foundation. It explores trends in low pay over recent decades and examines the factors linked to low pay and progression. Low pay is endemic in the UK and there has been little progress in the number of people managing to escape from poorly paid jobs. Just 1 in 6 low-paid workers (17%) managed to permanently escape from low pay in the last decade. Meanwhile, a quarter of low-paid workers remained permanently stuck in low pay and nearly half (48%) fluctuated in and out of low pay over the course of the last 10 years.

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A berry entrepreneur faces human trafficking charges at Central Finland District Court in a criminal trial which is expected to last months. The head of the firm is accused of bringing Thai nationals in and forcing them to work under conditions which violated human dignity. The head of the berry company faces possible penalties of a three-year prison sentence and paying compensation of some 60,000 euro to the company's former workers. The berry picking company housed the visiting pickers in shipping containers or in buses and the pickers' passports were seized when they arrived. The workers were forced to pay for necessary items like accommodation, transportation and the required berry-picking tools.

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Trade union SIPTU welcomed the enacting of a Sectoral Employment Order (SEO), which sets minimum rates of pay in the construction industry as an ‘important first step’ for workers in securing decent terms and conditions. The SEO establishes legally binding minimum rates of pay for the various grades of construction worker. These are for the craft grade €18.93 per hour, for technical operatives (Grade A/Category 2) €18.36 per hour, skilled and semi-skilled operatives (Grade B and C/Category 1) €17.04 per hour and for new entrants €13.77 per hour.

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A campaign by doctors to overturn a court ruling they see as landmark for the way patient care is conducted has gained the support of the Danish Nurses’ Association (Dansk sygeplejeråd, DSR). The viral campaign, which uses the hashtag #detkuhaværetmig (‘it could have been me') spread on social media as junior doctors and senior colleagues throughout the country oppose a court ruling convicting a junior doctor of negligence, due most probably to working pressure constraints.

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The Electrical Workers’ Union said it was planning a one-week strike at companies including steel makers and elevator firms due to a dispute over wage-setting and collective agreements in the industry. The union said about 1,000 workers would go on strike in companies including Caverion, Konecranes, Kone, Meyer, Outokumpu, Boliden and SSAB, Archtech, Ovako and Valmet Automotive. The strike is scheduled to begin on 1 November.

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In several sectors, the trade unions have negotiated improvements of the minimum wage. Trade union IG BAU and the construction employers signed an agreement that leads to an increase of the minimum wage in the sector. The agreement comes into force on 1 January 2018 and expires 31 December 2019. The basic minimum hourly wage for the whole country will increase to 12.20 euro. In agriculture and horticulture, the sectoral minimum wage is settled at 9.10 euro, starting 1 November 2017. The WSI-institute has prepared an update of the current minimum wage levels.

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The US e-car pioneer has agreed to an improved salary structure and job guarantee until 2022 for the workers at Tesla Grohmann Automation. The engineering firm that was acquired by Tesla in 2016 supplies Tesla with critical components to Model 3 production including battery assembly lines for electric cars. Trade union IG Metall had planned to go on strike at a critical time when the California-based electric carmaker was scheduled to begin first production of the Model 3. Tesla quickly responded to the instability within the company by offering incentive packages to workers that can roughly lead to a 30% increase from current levels. The new remuneration structure, retroactively effective from 1 October, guarantees staff ‘a fair and competitive salary’ and includes a pay raise for apprenticeships.

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The government, business representatives and trade unions signed an agreement, declaring to raise wages, cut taxes on labour and encourage collective agreements. In the signed paper it is said that the principles will be implemented in accordance to good will, honesty, confidence and constructive dialogue, with another separate agreement to be signed on higher wages. The document envisages boosting ‘a positive image of business’ and ensure balanced participation of labour force from third countries in the country’s labour market, with optimised terms and procedures of handling immigration formalities.

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