Collective Bargaining

Trade unions and the management of brewery AB InBev, with plants in Louvain, Hoegaarden and Jupille, finalised their negotiations and concluded a collective agreement. The deal improves the job security and guarantees the pay level in case of future restructurings. In case of closures, workers have the right to receive their wage during a period of 36 weeks. During the negotiations, the trade unions had considered strike action, but with this deal they abstained from further industrial action.

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A Global Labour Column is dedicated to the ILO Global Wage Report from a wage inequality perspective. Minimum wage legislation and collective bargaining have a central role to play to reduce inequality between and within enterprises, as various studies have shown. But differences in the way collective bargaining is organised have different effects. When collective bargaining is at the company or workplace level, the effect is restricted to wage inequality within enterprises. When collective bargaining takes place at the national, industry or branch level in multi-employer settings with coordination across levels, a larger proportion of workers is covered and inequality is likely to be reduced both within and between enterprises. The extension of collective agreements by governments to all workers in a particular sector can reinforce these effects.

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Statistical office Statec provided the latest findings for work and social cohesion. The findings show a near €7,000 difference in the monthly average standard of living between the country's 10% most affluent (€7,891/month) and 10% least wealthy individuals (€984/month). And while 28% of those who were at risk of falling into poverty in 2013 are no longer in that situation, 30% of the citizens have experienced poverty at least once between 2013 and 2016. The age bracket which experienced the longest lasting poverty is between 18 and 24.

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The statistical office published its latest labour market data and a report on the income distribution over the year 2016. The number of unemployed persons aged 15 years and older increased by 119,000 to 3,443,000 persons in the period of July 2017 compared with the same period of 2016. The unemployment rate stayed at 10.7%. In 2016 the annual average equivalised household disposable income was 19,139 TL (4,348 euro). Ankara was the region having the highest annual average equivalised household disposable income.

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Thousands of workers marched through the streets of Bratislava on October 14. They marched for earlier retirement, organised by the countrywide metallurgy and engineering trade union KOVO, pointing out that the current scheme does not cap the retirement age. Thus, those who today are 30 years of age may retire only after reaching 68 or even later. They see this as too late and call for capping the retirement age at 64.

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A strike launched by the Norwegian Foodworkers' Union NNN at fish processor Norse Production ended on 12 October 2017 with the company signing a collective bargaining agreement for the fish processing sector. With union recognition secured, the local union will now be able to negotiate additional improvements with local management within the framework of the sectoral agreement. Other trade unions prepared for support action in solidarity with the NNN as the company dug in and attempted to employ strike-breakers. Industri Energi gave notice of sympathy action to block delivery of shipping material. The transport workers' union made preparations to halt transport and the NNN was prepared to shut down all salmon production.

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The trade unions have prepared a list of ten requirements for the future government to fulfil during its mandate. One of the requirements is to raise the minimum wage to 50 percent of the average wage within the next four years. According to the head of the Czech Confederation of Trade Unions, the unions will present the requirements in the coming days. The government decided in August 2017 to increase the minimum wage by 11 percent to 12,200 crowns as of 2018. That should be about 40 percent of the average wage, which reached 29,346 crowns (1146 euro) in the second quarter of 2017.

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Firefighters have started their protest against the frozen income in the system and the inadequate policy of the government. The workers insist on a wage increase by at least 15% in 2018. The trade union of firefighters and rescuers stated that the planned BGN 55 million in the Ministry of Interior budget for next year's salaries in the sector is insufficient. If the request is not met, joint protests with the police are considered, during the EU presidency in 2018.

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According to the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV), civil servants remain significantly better paid than private sector workers, with their average wages 38% higher than their counterparts in the private sector. The average monthly net wage in the public sector is 1,075 euro compared to 777 euro in the private sector, according to figures made public in SEV’s bulletin, which underlined that the gap between the two is widening rather than closing. In a report conducted by the civil servants’ trade union ADEDY an increase in permanent staff in the civil services is signalled over the 2017. An additional 1,293 staff were hired between August 2016 and August 2017, bringing the total number to 566,022. Another finding was that most civil servants – 80% of the total – take home a net monthly salary of less than 1,300 euro. Half earn up to 1,000 euro a month, 44% take home between 1,000 and 1,500 euro and 3.6% net between 1,500 and 2,100 euro.

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Trade union FNV reached a deal for new rules under the ABU-collective agreement (temporary agency collective agreement), which includes guidelines on fair pay and security for temporary workers. Temporary work agencies are required to provide accurate and complete information on wages, surcharges and expenses as per the lender. And if the salary is not correct, temporary workers can claim money retroactively if the correct information is not provided. Temporary workers will also receive one more day of holiday (25 instead of 24). The ABU-agreement will run from 5 November 2017 until 1 June 2019 and applies to 700,000 temporary workers. A second temporary agency agreement (with the Association of Mediation and Employment Agencies NBBU) that applies to 70,000 other temporary workers also runs until 1 June 2019. The FNV tries to merge both agreements in future.

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