At the moment that the number of people working without guaranteed hours or baseline employment rights has grown by 660,000 (27%) over the past five years, more and more questionable labour relations and methods to bypass the basic rights for workers are coming to the surface in court cases. The first results are that companies have to defend their contract models. For instance, food courier firm Deliveroo announced that it will remove a clause in its contracts that prevents its workers from disputing their self-employed status at employment tribunals, after its legality was questioned by a group of MPs. However, companies like Uber, Hermes, Amazon and Deliveroo continue to defend their business model against criticism.
English: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england ...
http://www.bbc.com/news/business ...
http://www.personneltoday.com/hr/court-appeal-self-employed-plumber-worker-rights ...
https://www.tuc.org.uk/workplace-issues/basic-rights-work/insecure-work ...
Search results
Find articles
The International Labour Organization (ILO) published, in cooperation with the European Commission, the report Inequalities and the World of Work: What role for industrial relations and social dialogue? According to the findings of the report, EU countries with coordinated bargaining systems have been successful at preventing the growth of inequalities on the labour market, while the erosion of collective bargaining in other EU countries has led to an increased number of low-paid jobs or increasing inequality among the workforce.
English: http://ec.europa.eu/social/main ...
The report: http://ilo/EC ...
UK workers gave their employers £33.6 billion of free labour in 2016 by doing unpaid overtime, according to analysis of official statistics published by the TUC. More than 5.3 million people put in an average of 7.7 hours a week in unpaid overtime during 2016. This is equivalent to an average of £6,301 they have each missed out in their pay packets. To mark the day, the TUC is asking workers to take a proper lunch break and leave on time. The TUC has designed a calculator at www.tuc.org.uk/unpaidovertime for workers to find out how much more they would get paid each year if their unpaid overtime was paid at their usual rate.
English: https://www.tuc.org.uk/workplace-issues/work-life-balance/employment-rights ...
An investigation by trade union FNV at the 16 branches of retailer Primark led to complaints from hundreds of employees and former employees. The union launched the investigation into the working conditions at the clothing chain after workers in Groningen had complained about intimidation, heavy workloads, ignored health complaints and being watched in staff areas. Some 1,186 of the 4,800 Primark staff participated in the online survey and the results have prompted the union to initiate talks with Primark to improve working conditions. The complaints came from across all the 16 branches.
English: http://nltimes.nl/2017/02/14/union-flooded-complaints-primark ...
http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2017/02/primark-staff-belittled-and-intimidated ...
The federal statistical office produced 2014 data on the middle-income group, the group that includes all persons living in a household with an equivalised gross income of between 70% and 150% of the median equivalised gross income of the year observed. The analyses are based on the results of two surveys: the Household Budget Survey, which is more appropriate for longer time series and financial analysis, and the Statistics on Income and Living Conditions for the quality of life in the middle-income group. Overall, the percentage of the population belonging to the middle-income group remained relatively stable from 1998 to 2014. It was at its highest (61.3%) in 2009 and its lowest (56.8%) in 2013.
English (with graphs): https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/en/home/statistics ...
Last September the management of Caterpillar announced at a works council meeting the plan to close its headquarters at Gosselies, Charleroi, in April 2017, and make all 2,200 workers redundant (see our CBN archive). The trade unions have started to mobilise the workforce in an attempt to negotiate a decent social plan. The unions participate also in talks about a future reconversion and regeneration of the premises and the current location at Gosselies. After a period of tough negotiations, a draft social plan that will be balloted was reached. The draft includes the conditions for dismissal as well as provisions that guarantee the continuation of production and delivery until the final closure.
French: https://www.rtbf.be/info/regions/detail_caterpillar-le-referendum ...
Archive (in Dutch): http://www.hln.be/hln/nl …
Archive (in French): http://plus.lesoir.be/65856/free-tags/caterpillar#
General Motors and the PSA Group are in advanced discussions to combine PSA with GM's European Opel activities. If concluded successfully, the talks lead to a going together of Opel with PSA. Information about the deal reached the workforce relatively late, after the talks were announced in the media. An Opel acquisition would see GM exit Europe, while transforming PSA Group into Europe's second-largest carmaker - behind VW - with a 16% share of the European market. The deal could have giant employment consequences (with losses up to 6000 jobs in Germany). PSA management has guaranteed that in the new configuration at least four plants in Germany will stay open and that there will be no dismissals till the end of 2018. Trade union IG Metall and the works council are relatively open for the deal, as they see more chances to go ahead after a separation from GM. The UK trade unions are less positive about GM walking away from the UK plants and workers, as the possible deal could lead to substantial job losses or even closures at the Vauxhall plants that are also involved.
English: http://www.industriall-union.org/ig-metall-and-opel-european-works-council ...
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/feb/15/unite-leader-len-mccluskey-warns ...
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-opel-m-a-psa ...
http://www.bbc.com/news/business ...
German: http://www.rp-online.de/wirtschaft/unternehmen/die-ig-metall-macht ...
https://www.welt.de/wirtschaft/article162195278/Opel-Deal-soll-in-drei-Wochen-stehen ...
The authorities have ordered, through a decree published on February 2017, the dismissal of nearly 4,500 civil servants in the latest wave of a purge after the July's 2016 attempted coup. The Official Gazette stated 4,464 people had been fired, including 2,585 employees of the education ministry, 893 members of the gendarmerie and 88 workers at the public television channel TRT. The dismissal included 330 academics who were members of the Higher Council for Teaching (YOK). Most of the recent dismissals are not covered by severance pay, and retirement bonuses have been cancelled. In addition, the state has transferred the money due to the workers to a state account. The dismissals in the public sector have initiated a fiercely protest. The global public sector union PSI started a solidarity campaign.
English: http://www.world-psi.org/en/solidarity-dismissed-unionists-turkey
https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/34366291/turkey-sacks-another-4-500-civil-servants ...
In a decision that marked victory for Filipino seafarers who worked for inland shipping, a Rotterdam court ruled that officers of the employment agency Gyron Crew are guilty of human smuggling and fraud. A fine of €65.000 was imposed against the agency while 2 officers were meted with penalties of imprisonment of 5-15 months and 2 years’ probation. The public prosecution service filed an appeal of the decision, asking that the additional charge of human trafficking be reconsidered by the court. While the court dismissed the charges for human trafficking for lack of sufficient evidence, it made a pronouncement that Gyron has taken advantage of the vulnerable positions of the seamen and the accused officers contributed to the unsuitable working conditions of the seafarers. Gyron Crew recruited seafarers from the Philippines using two different employment contracts: one with a high salary in euro and another with a much lower salary in US dollars.
English: http://interaksyon.com/article/137211/dutch-employment-agency-illegally-recruited ...
Retailer Lidl has announced its plans to significantly increase employees’ salaries. As of March 2017, the average monthly wage of cashiers in Lidl will reach 24,897 crowns (921 euro), which is an increase by 18%. The starting wage will increase by nearly a quarter, to 23,333 crowns. Prague will offer slightly higher salaries than the rest of the country, with the average monthly wage there starting at 24,000 crowns. Lidl is the only chain which makes its wages public. Other supermarket chains, including Globus, Kaufland and Albert, refuse to publish their employee’s salaries.
English: http://radio.cz/en/section/business/lidl-sets-store-by-above-average-sector-pay