Trade union FNV won an important battle in the court room. The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in favour of four care workers sacked in a prepacked bankruptcy deal. The FNV had initiated the case after the four lost their jobs when childcare group Estro went bust in 2014 and restarted directly after as Smallsteps. In total, 1,000 of the 3,800 workers lost their jobs. A lower Dutch court had asked the CJEU several questions. The CJEU had to decide whether the EU transfer of undertakings directive must be interpreted as meaning that the protection of workers is maintained in a situation, in which the transfer of an undertaking takes place following a declaration of insolvency and in the context of a ‘prepack’ prepared before the declaration of insolvency and put into effect immediately after that declaration. The CJEU concluded that a ‘prepack’ procedure does not satisfy all the conditions laid down in the EU transfers of undertakings directive and that, therefore, there can be no derogation from the protection scheme provided for under the directive.
English: http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2017/06/european-court-tears-up …
The judgement (English): https://curia.europa.eu/jcms …
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Trade unions OGBL and LCGB had to go a long way before they could reach an agreement; the negotiations for the hospital sector with the FHL Hospital Federation took 2 years. The collective agreement leads to substantial improvements for all 9,000 hospital workers. It includes direct wage increases (2.2% from 1 January 2017), one-off payments in the course of 2017 and better pay scale with improved career paths (entering into effect in October 2017).
English: https://www.wort.lu/en/luxembourg/hospital-sector-new-collective-agreement …
Union message (French): http://www.ogbl.lu/syndicat-sante/cct-fhl-une-bataille …
Cleaners, porters and security staff at several hospitals are to stage a series of strikes in a dispute over pay. Workers are planning a three-day strike from July 4, followed by a seven-day stoppage starting on July 11 and then a 14-day strike from July 25. Further action will be planned for August and September. A Unite regional officer said that the workers have voted for strike action by a massive majority because they have seen their real living standards drop year on year. They are demanding a 30p-per-hour wage increase. The manager of the contractor Serco said the company has increased salaries for over 230 team members and benefited over 110 permanent staff by an average of 3.5%.
English: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/news/hospital-workers-vote-for-strikes …
Port operator APM Terminal said it will cut 160 staff at its Gothenburg terminal, the largest in Scandinavia, as labour disruptions had caused container volumes to drop by 25 percent over the past year. The company blames the Swedish Dockworkers’ Union for the consecutive blockades and nine strikes for over a year resulting in several shipping lines no longer calling (at) Gothenburg. The Swedish Dockworkers’ Union’s (SDU) call for the strike in a campaign that aimed to represent its members in negotiations with the company. Around 85% of the workers at the port are members of the union. The company, which employs 450 people in Gothenburg, wants to secure a no-strike agreement with workers. Since 10 May, the company has locked out SDU members from working the night shift and refuses to hold direct talks with the union.
English: http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/apm-terminals-to-cut-160-staff …
Shop stewards at state-owned oil company Neste have called off a planned work stoppage to protest government plans to reduce its stake in the firm. The industrial action would have suspended deliveries of fuel for a week. The decision to cancel the demonstration was made after worker representatives met with company officials. At present the state owns some 50.1% of the firm's stock via the Solidium holding company. Unions were protesting against legislative changes that would allow the state to bring down the stake in Neste to 33.4%.
English: https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/work_stoppage_called_off …
A trade union report on income differentials and inequality describes how the gap between the lowest and highest wages has widened in 2016. Trade union Unia analysed the wages in 40 large companies. The management pay increased on average beyond 7%. The ordinary workforce received a sober 0.7% pay increase. The consequence is that the wage ratio changed from 1 to 1150 in 2015, to 1 to 1165 in 2016. Top earners are the managers in the food processing and chemical sectors.
French (summary): http://www.unia.ch/fr/medias/communiques …
Italian (summary): http://www.unia.ch/it/attualita …
German (report): http://www.unia.ch/uploads …
Public sector workers with the lowest wages gathered in front of the Government Palace to demand an immediate across-the-board 8% pay rise as the necessary first step in the ongoing pay talks with the government.
English: https://english.sta.si/2400934/lowest-paid-public-sector-staff-seek-pay-rise …
In the mining company Enefit Kaevandused, an agreement was reached between the management, the miners' and energy workers' independent trade union and the Narva Energy Trade Union (NETU). In another Eesti Energia subsidiary, Enefit Energiatootmise AS, NETU also signed an agreement. The collective agreement of Enefit Kaevandused is to last until 30 June 2018. Wages will be increased with 5%. Benefits will remain unchanged for the most part, however there will be slightly fewer additional days off. The collective agreement signed by Enefit Energiatootmise AS and the NETU is to expire on 31 December 2018. In this agreement, all existing benefits will remain in place and the basic wage of trade union members will increase 4% on average in addition to the increase already given at the beginning of 2017. At the start, the miners' and energy workers' independent trade union asked for a 7% wage increase. NETU managed to retain all existing benefits.
English: http://news.err.ee/603106/eesti-energia-signs-collective-agreements …
Some 9,400 teachers and school administrators will be out of work when a new school system is introduced on 1 September 2017, a unionist has claimed but the education ministry accused the union of giving 'false data'. A further 22,000 people are set to have their hours cut when the government does away with middle schools and replaces them with an earlier system of eight-year primary and four-year high school, said the head of the Teachers' Union. But the education ministry said in a statement that the changes aim to ensure that teachers keep their jobs. The planned sweeping changes have seen thousands of people take to the streets in protest since they were first floated in 2016.
English: http://www.thenews.pl/1/9/Artykul/312573,Thousands-of-teachers-to-lose-jobs …
Crane operators have served notice of strike action in pursuit of pay rises worth up to 15%. Trade union Unite, which represents over 90% of the crane operators, is planning a series of strikes in the next few weeks. The claim for a pay rise comes as the construction industry has rebounded in the last few years after collapsing when the property bubble burst. The union said construction growth has hit a 15-month high and activity in the sector has risen in each of the last 45 months. Unite said around 77% of its members turned out to ballot, with over 90% voting for industrial action.
English: http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/crane-strike-threat-looms …