Collective Bargaining

Employees of national telecoms company PT have organised several actions. The PT trade unions said the fight is necessary to avoid a complete catastrophe within the company. A strike action in July involved workers of the various companies within the PT group and was the first in ten years. Employees are protesting against the transferring of workers contracts to service providing companies. A delegation representing employees in which several unions were represented handed in to the cabinet office a document on the situation at the privatised telecommunications company, stressing that some 1,400 jobs have been lost there in the past two years.

English: http://www.theportugalnews.com/news/pt-employees-call-on-government ...

Trade union joint statements (Portuguese): http://www.sindetelco.pt/wp-content ...

http://www.sindetelco.pt/wp-content ...

The statistical office released its yearly evaluation of hourly wage levels across dozens of professions. The ranking only looks at hourly wages, not salaries and other forms of remuneration, so it only reveals part of the whole earned-income picture. Hourly wage earners working in the private sector earned an average of 15.98 euro in the last quarter of 2016 (up 1.1% compared to the same period in 2015). The data indicate that the pay gap between men and women in terms of average hourly wages went down slightly, and stands at an even 3 euro. Men earned an average hourly wage of 16.49 euro in late 2016, women earned 13.49. The 2017 statistics show a stronger increase of the wages in some sectors (like construction and manufacture).

English: http://www.tilastokeskus.fi/til …

https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/average_hourly_wage_in_private_sector ...

Around 230 employers have been named for underpaying their workers the National Minimum or Living Wage. This will lead to a record of £2 million back pay for 13,000 of the country’s lowest paid workers. As well as paying back staff the money owed, employers on the list have been fined a record £1.9 million by the government. Retail, hairdressing and hospitality businesses were among the most prolific offenders. The link leads also to an excel sheet with all 233 businesses that underpaid workers

English: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/record-2-million-back-pay-identified …

The Koninklijke Marechaussee, a military policing force that is responsible for border security, has initiated working to rule actions in their campaign for an improved collective agreement. As military personnel don't have the right to strike, working to rule is one of their few options to push their employer. The officers work within the margin of applicable laws and rules; this normally causes delays. Talks between the trade unions and the Ministry of Defence reached a deadlock in April, when 90% of union members rejected the Ministry's final offer.

English: http://nltimes.nl/2017/08/15/schiphol-officers-threaten-labor-actions

In an open letter to the company's CEO, the pilots' union said EasyJet was stuck in an ‘infernal spiral’ which put both crew and passengers at risk. According to the pilots the budget airline easyJet's cost-cutting measures are threatening passenger safety. The union said that managers were scheduling 'unrealistic' flight plans, asking pilots to do more flights than logistically possible - even to the point of exceeding legal safety limits. As a result of this planning, ‘the employee is reduced to a cost, and the passenger to a profit’. During a meeting between the union and the management a temporary solution to the issues raised was reached.

English: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/aug/15/easyjet ...

The trade union confederations have fiercely criticised a proposal from the opposition in parliament to introduce a new form of employment. The opposition Alliance came with the proposal to combine work with training and education, to a lower cost for the employers. The government joined the trade union criticism, by stating that an introduction by legislation is not the way forward. This could undermine a fundamental labour market principle, with wage negotiations being carried out between the employers' organisation and the trade unions.

English: http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel ...

Security staff at the Barcelona airport started with rolling strikes over low pay and poor conditions. An emergency meeting between the strike committee and Eulen, the security contractor, failed to reach an agreement, although both sides claimed it ‘had gone well’. The airport was partly privatised in February 2015 and unions say that standards have fallen as the company tries to increase shareholder value. Workers have rejected a new deal offered by the regional Catalonian government and have called an indefinite strike. The workers say that understaffing and a basic monthly salary of 900-1,100 euro forces them to work overtime. The trade unions that call for pay increases and the hiring of additional staff, have announced more industrial action on other airports in September.

English: https://elpais.com/elpais/2017/08/16/inenglish …

https://elpais.com/elpais/2017/08/14/inenglish ...

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/04/barcelona ...

Seven transport unions say they support the Finnish Locomotive Drivers' Union's strike, which is protesting government plans to open the country's railroad monopoly to competition. The unions do not plan to join in the 30-hour strike but have said that they are prepared to take other measures in order to reverse the government's plans. The plans include the creation of three companies to control the rolling stock, real estate and maintenance of the railways, along with plans to open services to competitive tendering and other operators to enter the market.

English: https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/train_drivers …

https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/seven_transport_unions_voice_support ...

The trade unions in education have referred to the government’s commitment to the Protocol on Professional Pathways, Careers and Remuneration that ensures public servants a decent standard of living. In a joint letter, the signatory trade unions recall that at the meeting of the Joint Council of the Public Service on 10 July 2017, the Minister for Budget, Public Accounts and Civil Administration announced on behalf of the government, in respect of the Protocol, that ‘the public finances situation compels us to examine the timetable for the implementation of the Protocol and the staggering of its introduction’.

English: https://www.ei-ie.org/en/detail/15311/france-education-unions ...

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has published the main findings of its research on inequality in a report: ‘Living standards, poverty and inequality: 2017’. The report includes findings on changes in inequalities between and within regions (Section 1), and what can be learnt about changes in income and the persistence of low income by examining data that follows the same people over time (Section 2). In another report, the Institute explores the intergenerational income persistence. The adult pay gap between those born into wealthier families and those from less well-off parents is widening. The average weekly income of a 42-year-old male in 2012 whose parents where in the top quintile of earners when they were 16 was around £1,300 in today's money, versus £680 for those whose parents where in the bottom quintile of earners, a gap of 88%. A 42-year-old in 2000 from a top quintile income background had an average income (again in today's money) of around £1,000 versus a bottom quintile income background of £720, a gap of 47%.

English: https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/9541

https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/9584

The report on living standards and inequality: https://www.ifs.org.uk/uploads/publications/comms ...

The report on intergenerational income gaps: https://www.ifs.org.uk/uploads/publications/wps ...

Webpage with related publications: https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/9540