The OECD published its annual report on jobs and employment. Each edition reviews recent trends, policy developments, and prospects. A statistical annex provides data on unemployment rates, incidence of part-time employment, employment/population ratios, and activity rates. Included are data on expenditure on labour market programmes, average annual wages, and earnings dispersion. The chapter (4) that is dedicated to collective bargaining assesses the degree of centralisation, the articulation between different bargaining levels and the use of derogations and opt-out clauses. Collective bargaining still has an important role, although the share of workers whose terms of employment are set through collective bargaining fell during the past three decades. A summary is available in English, French and Spanish.
English: http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/employment/oecd-employment-outlook …
http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd/employment …
Summary: http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/download …
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The trade union FNV and CNV reached an agreement with the DHL management that will lead to more direct labour. The parcel delivery company has committed itself to an increase of the share of the workforce that has permanent contracts up to 80%. The unions see this as a confirmation of their position that delivery companies can do without outsourcing and flexjobs. The collective agreement that applies to 1200 workers also leads to a pay increase with 5.6% in two years and an on-off pay of 500 euro. Trade union FNV used during the negotiations the outcome of a survey, organised in the summer of 2016 among the workforce.
The agreement (in Dutch): https://www.fnv.nl/site/nieuws …
Survey (English): https://www.fnv.nl/site/alle-sectoren/sectoren/transport-en …
Dutch: http://nos.nl/artikel/2177999-doorbraak-voor-vakbond-meer-vaste-banen …
The 2017 issue of the OECD Employment Outlook presents a comparative scoreboard of labour market performance that provides an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the labour market. Job quality could be improved in the country. This includes both earnings quality (the level and distribution of earnings) as well as labour market insecurity. With regards to the latter, the country should aim to improve the coverage of its unemployment benefit system to provide greater protection to the unemployed.
English: http://www.oecd.org/portugal/Employment-Outlook-Portugal-EN.pdf
Some six thousand members of trade union Kristal-İş won a significant victory after staging a remarkable work-in at nine Şişecam glass factories across the country. The union announced an intention to strike on 24 May, after failing to agree the wage offer from their employer. To support the employer, the government banned the strike, citing national security concerns. The workers resolved to stay in their factories until their demands were met. They maintained their three daily shifts, and at the end of the shift, pitched tents on the factory grounds or slept in the canteen. After thirteen days of action, the company agreed to meet with workers’ representatives. After three rounds of negotiation, a comprehensive two-year collective bargaining agreement was signed between the union and the employer. The agreement includes shift bonuses for night work, holiday, travel and clothing allowance, and a significant wage increase. Low paid workers got the highest increase, with the average being 16.3%.
English: http://www.industriall-union.org/turkish-glass-workers-win-large-increase …
A report of the statistical office describes that more than 14 percent, or one out of seven people in the population were at risk of poverty in 2015. Nearly 9 percent were at persistent risk of poverty. This means that they were at risk of poverty in 2015 and during at least two out of the three preceding years. The percentage of people who were at persistent risk of poverty varies widely among different groups. Among single women with children, the proportion was 27%, while among cohabiting adults without children, the proportion was only 3%. Among children aged 0–19 years, the proportion was almost 12%.
English: http://www.scb.se/en/finding-statistics/statistics-by-subject-area/household-finances …
The association of general practitioners, or family physicians as they are called in the country, has called an indefinite strike starting 3 July after the Health Ministry rejected a proposal to set up a reconciliation panel. The Association of Family Physicians said that the decision to strike was taken already in May but that before announcing the action the association offered the Health Ministry to form the reconciliation commission to find a compromise solution to the medics' pay issues. During the strike, the family physicians will not be providing government-funded health care services, except for emergency services. The association is determined to continue the strike until the government meets the medics' demands. The government still has no plan for raising salaries for the family physicians, medical nurses and assistants. The medics are also upset about some extra duties they will be expected to perform after the health care reform.
English: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english …
Nearly one in seven employees is the victim of legal abuse of one kind or another at the hands of their employer, according to a study issued by the Ministry for National Economy’s Department of Employment Supervision. The most common abuses affect working hours, rest period and extraordinary work. The number of illegally employed workers, which stood at 6.8 percent five years ago, increased to 10.3 percent in 2016 and is currently at 10.7 percent, a five-year increase of 57 percent. The number of employees being paid under the table for agricultural companies tripled since last year and now stands at 16 percent. The construction industry continues to have the highest rate of illegal workers. The lighter sanctions issued after the economic crisis in order to support SMEs do not prevent companies from violating their employees’ rights. Most employers know that even after a serious offense, they can avoid paying a fine.
English: http://budapestbeacon.com/news-in-brief/ministry-says-60-percent-more …
After the energy firms operating offshore agreed on a wage deal for 2017 with the two largest trade unions representing oil and gas workers, the talks with Lederne, a third union representing some 13% of oil and gas workers or about 1,000 people, continued (see the May CBN). A wage agreement was reached that ended the threat of a strike. The Norwegian Oil and Gas Association (NOG), which negotiated on behalf of energy firms, had warned that a strike by the Lederne trade union would have cut oil and gas output by 443,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The five fields that were under threat of strike are operated by Statoil (STL.OL), Shell (RDSa.L) and Eni (ENI.MI). The last strike of oil workers in 2012 lasted for 16 days and cut the country's output by about 13 percent and its natural gas production by about 4 percent.
English: https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-norway-oil …
http://www.nasdaq.com/article/rptnorwegian-union-threatens-strike …
A report of the Hans Böckler Foundation analyses the link between wage policy and trade. According to the authors, a macroeconomically-oriented wage policy would have fuelled stronger domestic growth, as well as having a significant positive impact on income distribution (i.e. a higher wage share). It would also have strengthened the public finances, thereby increasing the leeway for the government to introduce fiscal stimuli. The report includes a link to a statement of Gustav Horn, one of the authors.
English: https://www.boeckler.de/pdf/p_imk_report …
An interim report from the Unpaid Britain project at the Middlesex University London, entitled The Weighted Scales of Economic Justice, reveals that employers withhold £1.2 billion in wages and £1.5 billion in holiday pay from workers every year. The researchers also found that there were 23,000 occasions on which unpaid or delayed wage payments made workers were left without food. Some types of unpaid wages occur repeatedly (‘little and often’), including failures to provide holiday pay, unpaid hours of work and unauthorised deductions. Sectors most likely to abuse workers (including failing to pay wages) are identified as ‘sports activities, amusement and recreation’; ‘food and beverage services’; ‘other personal services’; ‘employment activities’; ‘accommodation’, to which, based on other London related considerations, are added ‘arts and entertainment’; and ‘construction’.
English: http://www.mdx.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf …