Collective Bargaining

The salaries of teachers are set to rise by 6 percent from 1 September 2017. Further 6-percent increases are planned for September 2018, for September 2019, and by January of 2020. This is the conclusion of the agreement between the government, trade unions and the Association of Cities and Towns of Slovakia. The increase in salaries of employees in nursery schools, primary art schools, free time centres and school clubs will be paid by towns and villages, the rest will come from the Education Ministry. The planned increases will happen only if the trade union of teachers signs a memorandum with the government on refraining from organised strikes. Otherwise the salaries will increase by 6 percent only, from January 2018.

English: https://spectator.sme.sk/c/20610786/teachers-salaries-to-rise-by-6-percent ...

News agency Reuter writes that with employment rates at record highs, and workers demanding wages closer to western levels, the cheap-labour model in CEE-countries that has driven growth since the fall of communism is on the way out, thanks to effective trade union action. Currently wages are rising faster than in Western Europe, but the disparity is still substantial, according to the trade unions. Manufacturers share less of their income with workers in Central and Eastern Europe than they do in Western Europe. In the EU, wages on average accounts for 47.5% of economic output, according to Eurostat - but while that figure reaches 50.9% in Germany it drops to just 40.4% in the Czech Republic.

English: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-easteurope-economy-analysis ...

Wage data: http://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com …

The wage index, which is calculated by Statistics Iceland, shows that wages in June increased by 1% compared to the month before, and the 12-month increase in wages has been 7.3%. Inflation stays low and, consequently, the purchasing power continues to grow. The real wage index, which tracks the purchasing power of wages, peaked in 2007, after having risen continuously since 1994. The 2008 financial crash caused real wages to drop significantly, and between 2007 and 2010 the purchasing power of wages dropped by 11%. Since 2010 real wages have been on the increase again, reaching the pre-crash peak in 2014. From May 2014 and spring 2017 the purchasing power of wages has increased by 19%.

English: http://www.statice.is/publications/news-archive/wages-and-income …

http://icelandmag.visir.is/article/purchasing-power-continues-grow …

The partners in collective bargaining in the retail sector agreed on a new pay scheme that starts 1 December 2017. Main characteristic is the improvement of pay for newcomers. The minimum monthly wage increases to 1600 euro gross. It took three and a half years to come to an agreement. The old agreement had a long list of occupations, with functions that no longer exist. The partners formulated a scheme of 8 function groups (two categories of basic assistant workers, four categories sales personnel without and with managerial tasks and two categories plant managers and directors), to be implemented until December 2021.

German: http://www.vienna.at/mehr-fuer-einsteiger-weniger-fuer-aeltere …

A study of the conditions for atypical employees, commissioned by trade union confederation LO, reveals that the number of the temporary workers has been stable since the turn of the millennium, but the number of part-time workers has increased. Furthermore, atypical employees are experiencing increasingly poorer conditions and rights. They stand a much greater risk of not getting pay during sickness, pay when taking time off to care for a sick child, pay during maternity/paternity leave or the collective agreement-guaranteed sixth week of paid holidays.

English: http://www.publicnow.com/view ...

The report (in Danish): https://lo.dk/wp-content/uploads ...

Overworked nurses are dealing with seemingly unending lines of patients at the Kuopio University Hospital (KYS) in central Finland. The nurses have risen up in rebellion, as they say the hospital administration refuses to acknowledge that there is a staff shortage. Since the spring, the nursing staff has no longer agreed to come in for extra shifts when scheduled workers fall ill. Intensive care of the patients has suffered due to the lack of replacements, a service lapse that the nurses have consequently reported to the regional administrative authority in the form of 17 complaints or statements. The closure of several municipal emergency care units in the outlying areas is another reason KYS has become so crowded.

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

Finnish: http://www.iltalehti.fi/kotimaa ...

The OECD published its biannual survey with thematic chapters on skills and the integration of migrants. The country’s economic performance is robust thanks to its services sector, its fiscal policies and openness to global talent. The pace of job creation is strong and benefits not only residents but also cross-border workers and immigrants. To reduce reliance on the financial industry the government should further develop its long-term strategy focusing on new digital technologies and renewable energy. Supplying the skills needed in new sectors will require further improvements in the education system, with a focus on lifelong learning. Better alignment of skills with labour market needs would entail reorienting labour market policies from supporting job creating towards funding training programmes to facilitate the reallocation of labour.

English: http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd …

Public transportation workers in the cities of Rome and Naples went on strike on 20 July 2017 against plans to privatise the sector. The strike convened by several trade union organisations was initially conceived for 24 hours throughout the national territory, but its scope was reduced after negotiations between representatives of trade unions and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transportation. The most recent of two national public transportation strikes taking place this year occurred on 6 July, also protesting against the eventual privatisation of the sector and in defence of the right to strike, whose limits are currently under discussion in the Senate for essential public services such as transportation.

English: http://www.plenglish.com/index …

A 2% pay increase in September 2017 will be implemented only to state employees, but not to other public services workers. It will be the first time in recent history that salaries of state employees and public services workers will be calculated from a different base with divergent benefits. Since the number of state employees is just one-third of the number of public services workers (60,000 vs 180,000) this decision is cheaper for the state budget, but it can cause serious social unrest. The three salary increases in 2017 for state employees are part of an agreement between part of the trade unions and the government, which is an ‘implementation plan’ for an agreement signed in 2009, when state employees and public services workers agreed for their base salary to be reduced due to the economic crisis. The government offered the same agreement to public services workers, but it simultaneously demanded that they should fully renounce the benefits for 2016 and all the other increases, which their trade union representatives did not accept.

English: http://www.total-croatia-news.com/business ...

On 1 July 2017, approximately 2,000 three-month contract notices between doctors and the private health insurer Dôvera began to lapse. Dôvera representatives said that they were willing to negotiate within some conditions, including that the increased payment by the insurer be seen in better-quality services for patients. Doctors insist on requirements for more funding for surgeries and are threatening to terminate their contracts with health insurers. Doctors have fixed-term contracts with health insurers, who pay them for examinations, treatments and other services based on the number of services performed. The Association of Outpatient Medical Workers (ZAP) is also dissatisfied with the contract terms with the state-owned Všeobecná zdravotná poisťovňa (VŠzP), with whom new contract addendums are currently being negotiated. If negotiations fail, the doctors are also planning to terminate their contracts with VŠzP.

English: https://spectator.sme.sk/c/20608000/doctors-have-not-reached-agreement ...