Collective Bargaining

The public-sector trade union JHL is preparing the demands for the upcoming round of collective bargaining by surveying members and activists over the key elements for negotiation across the 60 agreements that cover various sectors and companies. Most of the agreements expire in January 2018. This round will be without a national framework agreement negotiated with employers. However, the union will be in close discussion with other members of the SAK confederation with a view to setting some common demands.

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It looks as if a long-term demand of the trade unions will be fulfilled; the parliament is about to vote on the equal treatment of workers and staff workers (the so-called ‘Angestellte’). The proposal for a unified pay system (and also a unified dismissal procedure) is the result of a two-year preparation by a group of experts. The proposed system will not lead to higher expenses for the employers. Trade union confederation ÖGB criticised the employers that still opposes the introduction of a more harmonised definition of workers.

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The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled in a case of a Specialist Hospital that had notified its workers of a change in the calculations of a years of services award scheme without having consulted the employee representatives. The hospital considered that, in the light of the economic difficulties it faced, it had to make the proposed amendments. The national courts had decided to turn to the CJEU. In a landmark decision, the CJEU ruled that an employer is obliged, in line with the EU Directive 98/59 on collective redundancies, to consult with employee representatives when the employer intends, to unilaterally amend working conditions. The directive on collective redundancies provides employee representatives with information and consultation rights.

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In a study, commissioned by the European Commission, on support to jobseekers who want to become self-employed or start their own business several interesting findings are presented. The main concern for unemployed people wanting to start their own business is the lack of income security. Continued low income means that the self-employed cannot build up the necessary reserves for the future. They are likely to fall into poverty if the business fails or when they reach retirement age. The risk that this situation might occur is markedly higher where people have been pushed into self-employment. Another report, published by Eurofound, reveals that a quarter of all the self-employed belong to the groups of economically dependent, vulnerable or concealed workers. Most of these workers are self-employed for the lack of a better alternative. Their situation is characterised by economic dependence, low work autonomy and financial vulnerability.

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Baggage handlers and other Swissport staff at Belfast City Airport have voted in favour of industrial action, according to union Unite. The ballot produced a clear vote in favour of action, as sixty per cent of our membership in the airport voted for strike action in a secret ballot conducted over the past weeks. Workers are determined to defend their Unite the union-rep who was dismissed by management as part of a sustained campaign targeting him for his trade union activities.

Read on: in English … statement by the union (in English) …

A study, dedicated to working time, reveals that a third of full-time workers on direct employment contracts work overtime. High wage earners put in longer hours than other income groups. Workers with earnings over PLN 3,999 (around 930 euro) work on average 50 hours per week. However, it is the self-employed who work the hardest, with an average 55-hour working week.

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The trade unions have been involved from the scratch in an interesting automation process at Evian. Evian unveiled a carbon-neutral bottling site in the French alps. The plant is not new, but rather the culmination of a six-year effort to modernise a facility Evian has since 1965. The management had 28 consultations with the local unions during the six-year construction project, all of which came back with a favourable result. According to the management, this shows that you can achieve a lot when the people are part of the project. The modernised factory includes multiple automation upgrades, but rather than issuing mass layoffs, the company was actually able to bring on new workers. With a broad-sweeping retraining initiative designed to empower employees 600 out of 1,200 jobs could be modified.

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Trade union CNV and the FNV backed Riders Union have started talks with the Deliveroo management about whether or not all the company’s cyclists are or should be self-employed. Earlier on the company had declared all workers to be self-employed, as the self-employed model best suited the flexibility its cyclists wanted. The unions criticise this move and claim that the company is evading its responsibilities.

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About 70 workers from U.S. military bases at Ansbach, Katter Bach and Hildesheim went on strike to demand higher wages. Members of the trade union Verdi held a protest at Katter Bach after rejecting a 1 percent pay increase offered by the U.S. The union is asking for a 5 percent pay raise for the roughly 300 German workers at the three bases. The demand is based on compensation for workers for inflation, productivity and the years when wages weren’t increased. If planned negotiations fail more strikes could be called.

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Under the current tourism minister demands from the Union of Cabin Crew and the Airline Pilots Association (ALPA) have led to a tight deadlock. The government threatens with the closure of Air Malta and re-open with new staff, under a cheaper collective agreement, if the trade unions stick to their demands. The unions have formulated a demand for a 10% wage increase for the cabin crew and the pilots are asking 30%. In the meantime, a new state-owned company was set up for the ground handling operations. An agreement with the General Workers' Union, which represents some 400 to 500 ground handlers, guarantees the employment conditions of all employees.

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