Trade union UHM submitted to the government a new budget proposal for an increase in the annual statutory bonus received by workers, to be based on basic wage and paid by through a cheque from the Treasury. According to UHM, the scheme, if adopted, would affect over 75,000 workers. Earlier on, the General Workers Union had recommended all public holidays which fell on a weekend to be given back to workers. Cutting those public holidays was a measure introduced in 2005, when economic growth was slow. The UHM's proposal offers the government an alternative to that re-introduction.
English: http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2016-09-12/local-news/UHM-proposes .
http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2016-09-12/local-news/GWU-MEA-agree .
Search results
Find articles
The Education, Science and Culture Trade Union of Slovenia (ESTUS), along with other trade unions, non-government organisations (NGOs), and consumer associations presented a warning letter addressed to members of the national Parliament. The parliament will have the final say and vote on the official position of Republic of Slovenia regarding the conclusion of the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). The unions warned of possible consequences of the negative listing approach in the liberalisation of services, affecting the organisation and provision of public services, including education.
English: https://www.ei-ie.org/en/news .
Bravo and BRV are two garment producing companies that operate (since 2010) mainly as suppliers of Industria de Diseno Textil, S.A. (Inditex). The two companies shut down their operations at the end of July 2016. Most of the 155 workers of these companies did not get any wages for 4 months before the shutdown. Moreover, they have not get any severance and notice payments, which are legal rights of workers according to the labour law. The trade union of textile workers, Bagimsiz-Sen, which has members in the companies, is taking the necessary legal measures on behalf of the workers against Inditex to demand the due remaining payments. The union legal representatives have filed an official application demanding the company to fulfil its obligations concerning wages, severance and notice payments, so far without success. Inditex signed a Global Framework Agreement with IndustriALL Global Union to protect the rights of workers in its supply chain. Refusing to pay outstanding claims regarding wages (and severance and notice payments) by a supplier firm of Inditex is an open violation of the provisions of that Global Framework Agreement.
English: http://www.bagimsizsen.org/155-turkish-textile-workers-are-victimized . /
Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that 903,000 workers are on a zero-hours contract compared with 747,000 in 2015. The number of workers saying they are on a zero-hours contract for their main job has increased by over 20% in one year. Women and young people aged between 16 and 24 are revealed to be more likely than male and older workers to be on zero-hours contracts, and almost one third (31%) of those on the contracts want to work more hours than they are currently provided. Furthermore, the statistics understate the number of jobs that are held under zero-hours contracts, as some workers may not be aware of their status and others may hold a casual job as a secondary means of income. The Institute of Employment Rights has been tracking the growing problem of casualised labour, releasing the booklet Re-Regulating Zero-Hours Contracts. It explains how the rise of such contracts is contributing to a weakened and unproductive economy, as well as how the government's approach to providing welfare for unemployed and disabled people incentivises people to take poor quality jobs, and businesses to create more of them.
English: http://www.ier.org.uk/news/ier-calls-changes-law-after-zero-hours-contracts .
The report: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork .
Older people in Iceland are suffering shortages and have problems to make end meet. The elderly citizens' association Grái herinn organised a demonstration in protest against cutbacks in income and what they call `a lack of interest among the political class in issues concerning them'. A statement from Grái herinn indicates that wages for older people need urgently to be raised and welfare cutbacks scrapped.
English: http://icelandmonitor.mbl.is/news/politics_and_society .
The Federal Labour Court has ruled that third parties, which are indirectly affected by strike action, are not entitled to damages. In a global labour column, the decision is commented. According to the author, the decision is tremendously important beyond German borders in upholding workers' right to strike. The ruling was made after strike action by air traffic controllers at Stuttgart Airport in March 2009 against the airport operator. Business was affected and several airlines claimed for damages, but the court, basing its judgement on common principles of tort law, ruled against the claims for compensation that were being made by the affected airlines.
English: http://column.global-labour-university.org/2016/09/reingard-zimmer-trade-unions .
Union leaders and representatives from across the country called for an increase in 2017 of minimum wages in the private sector to 11,500 crowns (425 euro) a month from the current level of 9,900 crowns (366 euro). A meeting was organised in Prague by the Czech and Moravian Confederation of Trades Union, the biggest association grouping trades unions in the country, under the overall banner End Cheap Labour.
English: http://radio.cz/en/section/news/union-groups-call-for-hike-in-minimum-wage .
There might come a wage indexation before the end of 2016, as consumer prices inch closer to the threshold for wages to be indexed. According to data analysts Statec, the indexation segment, as the inflation-pegged wage rise is known, could be applied to earnings and pensions as soon as the end of 2016. The consumer price index rose by 1.16% from July to August 2016, whilst the inflation rate, which had stabilised at 0% in July, increased 0.2% in August. This brings the six-month average increase to 2.2% since the last time wages were indexed, close to the 2.5% threshold needed for a wage adjustment.
English: http://www.statistiques.public.lu/en/news/economy-finance/prices .
While official figures show unemployment to be at its lowest point since 2009, the `in-work' figure includes many working part-time or only informally. Statistics on employment count every person who worked for at least one hour during a surveyed week as being `in-work'. The methodology explains part of the marked jump in employment that the Prime Minister presented in the summer of 2016.
English: http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/sharp-drop-in-jobless-rate-masks .
The situation on the labour market worsened for youth in August compared to July, but overall the unemployment rate remained virtually unchanged. Job vacancies increased sharply in comparison to August 2015. By the end of August, 435 unemployed people had registered with the Labour Market Service (AMS FL). The unemployment rate in August 2016 (2.2%) remained unchanged compared to July. Youth unemployment increased in August by 19 people - or 35.8% - to 72 people between the ages of 15 and 24 compared to the previous month to reach 3.1%.
English: http://www.liechtenstein-business.li/en/news-detail/article/arbeitslosenquote .