Collective Bargaining

The three main public-service trade unions in the health sector participated in the first round of negotiations with the ARAN employers' organisation over renewing the collective agreement covering 550000 health workers. As well as ensuring that the basic pay agreement foresee for a monthly increase of on average €85, across the public sector, the unions are particularly concerned to address issues around work organisation and working time. They also emphasise that after eight years without any negotiations, there have been many changes in the sector in terms of service provision and staff responsibilities that need to be addressed.

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A study listing 30 countries across the continent (including Russia and the Ukraine) ranks the Luxembourg cleaners as the best paid in Europe, with an average hourly wage for cleaners of 13.87 euro. Next in the list, just under a euro less, are Belgium at 13.89 euro, Finland at 12.27 euro, and the Netherlands at 11.71 euro. At the bottom of the listing is the Ukraine, with an hourly wage of 0.62 euro.

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A case study, published by the OECD, analyses the management and implementation of policies in the Drava and South-East regions of Slovenia. It provides a comparative framework to understand the role of the local labour market policy in matching people to jobs, engaging employers in skills development activities, as well as fostering growth and economic development opportunities. The first chapter provides interesting data on wage developments since the start of the economic crisis and other economic indicators.

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The Social Economic Council (SER) published an executive summary of its advice on poverty, launched in March 2017. Despite the economic upswing and all efforts thus far, many children – some 8 to 12% of the child population – continue to live in poverty. Strikingly, 60% of these children have working parents. The SER argues that all children should have access to assistance that compensates for poverty, for example by supporting their participation in sport and cultural activities. This policy should be supplemented by more structural measures that focus on minimum wage earners and tackle the root causes of poverty.

Read on: in English … the report (in Dutch) …

Think tank Social Justice Ireland stated that the national minimum wage does not allow people to live ‘what is considered a minimum socially acceptable standard of living’ and said that the planned increase in 2018 won’t change this. The national hourly minimum wage currently stands at 9.25 euro and is expected to rise to 9.55 euro. The Living Wage Technical Group raised what it considers the minimum hourly pay rate a worker needs to cover basic cost of living expenses from €11.50 to €11.70 in July 2017. The organisation published data in its Employment Monitor that underpin the increase of low-paid work.

Read on: in English … the Employment Monitor (in English) …

The transport section of trade union confederation CCOO called for a rail strike, following on from a strike at the beginning of the summer, to protest restructuring on the rail network. The union said to have no other choice, but to strike again after a breakdown in negotiations with the Ministry of Public Works, Renfe and Adif. The union claims that since 2005, the workforce employed by the two companies in charge of the rail network has been depleted by 6,000 workers. It calls for more jobs, better rail quality standards and improved pay.

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Asylum service employees on short-term contracts have launched a two-day strike to protest what they say are months-long delays in their salary payments. Their trade union says they have not been paid for two or three months. Together with the strike, the union planned a protest in central Athens. The country’s asylum service faces a huge workload due to the increase of applications from refugees and migrants.

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Since the spring of 2016, employers in several sectors, like construction, shipbuilding and tourism, report difficulties to find suitable employees. Therefore, the Employers’ Association urged the government to increase quotas for foreign workers. The trade unions believe that the problem is being exaggerated and that it can be solved by increasing wages and improving vocational training. The unions argue that this will motivate citizens to actively seek work and to stay in the country instead of going to work abroad. The trade unions are not against foreign workers entering the market, but they fear that this could be used as a method keeping wages low and permitting poor working conditions.

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The trade union Unionen and its international federation IUF signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Systembolaget, the Swedish state-owned alcohol retail monopoly. While Systembolaget operates only in Sweden, it has an international supply chain. The MoU arose from shared concerns about working conditions in the Systembolaget supply chain, especially agricultural raw materials. Under the agreement there will be regular meetings to exchange information and address concerns raised by the IUF. The MoU recognizes that Systembolaget and the unions have a common interest in improving working conditions in the alcohol industry and its supply chain, including the right of workers to exercise their rights to be in a trade union and to negotiate collectively.

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A Eurofound research report describes the main factors that influence in-work poverty. It explains how in-work poverty evolved in the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2008. Chapter 3 describes the social situation of the in-work poor compared with the working-age population, looking at subjective well-being, mental well-being, accommodation and living environment, and relationships and social exclusion.

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