The Centre for European Reform published a critical analysis of the strength and weaknesses of the economy and labour market. Contrary to much of the received wisdom, the UK has not been one of Europe’s economic stars over the last 15 years. In terms of economic growth per head, the performance has been in line with France. The citizens are no richer relative to the EU-15 average than they were 15 years ago, and the average worker has to work more hours than the EU-15 average to achieve that income. Productivity performance has been woeful, falling to just 90% of the EU-15 average. Wages have risen by much less than their French and German counterparts over the last 15 years. Moreover, the country is highly dependent on London and its environs. Apart from London, just one region (the south-east) has a GDP per capita in excess of the EU-15 average. The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) report confirms the assessment. Productivity has been ‘unusually weak’ since the recession, slowing to just 0.1% per quarter since the end of 2008 compared with 0.5% in the decade prior. This has made the recovery from the downturn more fragile than in any other economic depression over the past 50 years. Growth in 'quality' was just 1.4% in 2015, its slowest rate since 2011, which points towards an increase in the proportion of jobs that are low-skilled and low-paid.
English: http://www.freightweek.org/index ...
The ONS-report: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/economicoutputandproductivity ...
The CER-report: http://www.cer.org.uk/sites/default ...
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An agreement concluded by four unions in the metal sector (CFE-CGC, CFDT, FO and CFTC) and the employers (UIMM) was not approved by the CGT. The deal was reached after a dialogue that started in October 2015. The signatures had agreed to keep the possibility open for a signature from the side of the CGT until 5 October. Part of the agreement is the renewal of the legal base, the introduction of innovative practices and flexible working time patterns over a three years’ period. The CGT said its proposals in the field of job security, wages and production chains were not taken serious in the course of the negotiations.
French: http://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-eco ...
https://ftm-cgt.fr/display ...
The OECD has published its 8th edition of Society at a Glance, a biennial overview of social indicators. The overview provides a rich variety of data and graphs on general items like employment, (household) income, migration and demography. Part 5 of the report is dedicated to equity indicators (income inequality, poverty, living on benefits, social spending and recipients of out-of-work benefits). Special attention is given to the position of youngsters on the labour market, with 15% of the youth population being neither in employment, education nor training in 2015, about 40 million young people. Young people with no more than lower-secondary education account for over 30% of this group.
English: http://www.oecd.org/social/society-at-a-glance ...
Read online: http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd/social ...
The Eurydice network published an annual report on teachers’ and school heads’ salaries and allowances in Europe for the period 2015-2016. It analyses statutory salaries and allowances for teachers and school heads in 40 European countries and regions and looks into how they have changed as compared to 2014/2015. The report points out that in about 30 out of 40 surveyed countries, the minimum annual statutory salaries for teachers are lower than the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita. In most of the countries where an increase took place, it amounted only to 1-4% (Spain and the UK: 1 %, Serbia and Macedonia: 4%), while in some countries the increase was just a compensation for inflation (Germany) or a lagged effect of the reforms implemented several years earlier (Slovakia: reforms in 2009, Hungary: 2012, Estonia: 2013).
English: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/fpfis/mwikis/eurydice ...
The government will buy 15 new high-speed trains as part of a plan to save a historic manufacturing site from closure and rescue hundreds of jobs. The plant belongs to Alstom, a partially state-owned engineering company that has global reach — it will build high-speed trains in the U.S. and makes trams and subway lines around the world. Alstom had announced that it would close the plant, a closure that would have led to 400 job cuts and redeployed employees to other sites in the country.
English: http://www.france24.com/en/20161004-france-buys-fast-trains ...
For many years, the Education, Science and Culture Trade Union of Slovenia (ESTUS) has consistently pointed out and appealed to the government and the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport that the situation of teacher assistants has been deteriorating. The government has recognised the teacher assistants’ low salary; nevertheless, the situation has worsened. Therefore, ESTUS called for a protest action in front of the government headquarters in Ljubljana. 2,500 teacher assistants from across the country gathered. With this protest, having waited for 8 years, ESTUS called the government to immediate negotiations and to fulfil the commitment to guarantee quality education based on decent working conditions of those providing education in pre-schools and other education institutions.
English: https://www.csee-etuce.org/en/news/archive/1625-slovenia-decent-pay ...
Trade union LANV has a webpage (in German) that provides an up-to-date overview of all current collective agreements that are concluded in several sectors. Also featured are the applicable minimum wages, the pay scales and the working time arrangements in force. The webpage has an archive and it signals ongoing negotiations.
German: http://www.lanv.li/GAV/GAVinLiechtenstein.aspx
After more than three years of negotiations, a collective bargaining agreement was signed for the agri-food industry, bringing a 0.9% increase in basic gross pay. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) stated that the deal ensures social peace and hence further growth and development. The trade unions and the Cooperatives' Association were a bit more reserved and pointed to several issues that still needed to be tackled, such as better pay for workers. The trade unions announced fresh negotiations to start in spring 2017, after operating results are in, to tackle issues such as travel and meal allowances. According to the trade union's data, the lowest pay in the sector is now 462 euro gross, which is upgraded by company contracts. The average gross monthly salary is estimated at roughly 1,150 euro.
English: http://www.sloveniatimes.com/collective-agreement-for-agri-food-industry-signed
ING bank’s decision to shed 12% of staff in favour of digital investment prompts threat of strike action from workers. ING’s plans to shed 7,000 jobs and invest in its digital platforms to make annual savings of €900m by 2021 has drawn swift criticism of the Netherlands’ largest financial services company from unions. The Unions in the Netherlands and Belgium have been highly critical on this decision, especially taking into account that the Dutch government kept ING afloat with bailout money. In Belgium, the unions were informed at a works council meeting. They called the announced measures beyond all proportions.
English: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/oct ...
http://deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws.english/News ...
Based on Eurostat data the Macroeconomic Policy Institute (IMK) regularly analyses the development of labour costs and unit labour costs in Europe. In a recent report IMK presents labour cost trends in the private sector, disaggregated for private as well as public services, and in manufacturing industry, for a selection of European countries, the Euro Area and the EU. A special focus is put on the effects of the statutory minimum wage of € 8.50 per hour, introduced at the beginning of 2015 in Germany, on the increase in labour costs. Subsequently, the report examines the development of unit labour costs in Europe and its impact on price competitiveness.
English: http://www.boeckler.de/pdf ...