Wood Group workers on Shell's North Sea oil and gas platforms are challenging their employer in a dispute over 30% pay cuts. Trade unions RMT and Unite said that the strikers are determined to kick off the action in response to an attack on pay and working conditions. The strike follows a massive 99.1% vote in favour of strike action by Unite and 98.5% by RMT members. Recent changes have seen workers move from a two-week working cycle to a three-week working cycle, which means working extra weeks offshore for the same salary. Wood Group employees used to enjoy the same conditions as Shell employees, but they have seen these undermined.
English: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland .
http://www.itfglobal.org/en/news-events/news/2016/july/north-sea-oil-strikers .
http://www.industriall-union.org/uk-oil-and-gas-workers-to-embark .
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The trade unions have welcomed the approval of a government bill that is meant to fight gang-masters and the exploitation of migrant day labourers, notably in reaction to near-slavery conditions in farms and vineyards. The unions are confronted with men and women that are submitted to exploitation, blackmail, wages of three euro an hour, working up to 13 hours a day, precarious lodging and no services. A decisive round in the Lower House is still ahead. The bill goes back to a protocol that was signed and backed up by the trade unions CGIL, CISL, UIL and several grassroots organisations. The protocol speaks about coordination between local police, labour inspection and other officials to root out and punish exploiters.
English: http://www.gazzettadelsud.it/news/english/207025/senate-oks-anti-gangmasters-bill .
Ride sharing enterprise, Uber, faces court action on behalf of drivers who claim they should receive basic worker's rights. The legal action is being brought on behalf of trade union GMB. GMB argues that Uber does not currently ensure that its drivers are paid minimum wage or that they receive paid holiday. Uber does not provide its drivers with the rights normally afforded to workers, claiming instead that they are `partners'. Lawyers claim that there are breaches of employment law, but also serious health and safety issues as Uber does not ensure its drivers take rest breaks or work a maximum number of hours per week.
English: https://www.leighday.co.uk/News/2015/July-2015/Uber-faces-UK-legal-action .
Statistics Sweden published information about the wage level and salaries in the private sector, and changes over time, with detailed tables explained in English. Wages have been reported since the 1940s. Total average hourly wages for manual workers in May 2016 were SEK 163.00 excluding overtime pay and SEK 165.40 including overtime pay. This reflects an increase of 0.9 percent, in both cases, compared to May 2015. The average monthly salary for non-manual workers in May 2016 excluding variable supplements was SEK 37 530 while it was SEK 38 420 including variable supplements; an increase of 1.0% and 0.9%, compared to May 2015.
Swedish (with an English summary): http://www.scb.se/Statistik/AM .
Teacher unionists have initiated a popular initiative known as AHVplus, which aims to offer increased pensions to educators. Citizens will have to go to the polls on 25 September. The initiative, involving relatively modest additional costs for employers and employees, would help to ensure a larger pension in the long term. The AHV is an insurance for old age or the bereaved, designed to support people when they can no longer work due to old age (pension) or when their provider dies. A `Yes' to the AHVplus initiative corrects the trend whereby teachers and most employees pay more and more to pension funds but receive fewer retirement benefits for a longer period of time.
English: https://www.ei-ie.org/en/news/news_details/4054
Malta has taken steps to deny visa extensions for North Korean workers, on the back of international reports that the foreign nationals were effectively handing over some two-thirds of their salary to the autocratic regime at home. The news was reported by various human rights organisations and NGO's. Malta and Poland are two EU countries on a list of countries that employ forced North Korean labour, and the authors said that neither country had responded to questions about their findings. The human rights group EAHRNK has urged both countries' governments to investigate the cases.
English: http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/68046/under_international_pressure .
http://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/events/2016/07/conference-slaves-to-the-system .
The report: https://www.eahrnk.org/articles/policy-and-research/the-will-of-the-state
The trade unions representing highway workers have called of a strike after a provisional deal on a national agreement could be reached. After 36 hours of negotiations, the renewal of the agreement was within sight. The deal will result in a three-year national contract for approximately 15,000 workers, expiring on 31 December 2018. It includes wage increases and higher benefits for workers.
English: http://www.gazzettadelsud.it/news/english/206745/highway-workers .
Health workers will be staging two days of protests from July 28, though doctors are not participating in this latest call for industrial action. Five districts, including the Algarve, will be affected by the strike action for a period of 48 hours, while the remaining districts will join in the action from July 29. The strike is being called by the trade unions to demand that all workers are given 35-hour working weeks, paid overtime and that additional human resources are hired to assist existing staff contingents at hospitals and health centres.
English: http://www.theportugalnews.com/news/health-workers-launch-strike-action .
Statistics Austria updated the data on the wage development in 2014. A final table reveals that median gross hourly earnings (excluding overtime) in the private sector amounted to €13.87. Compared to 2010, gross hourly wages rose nominally by 8.5% or 2.1 percent per year. Adjusted for inflation, median gross hourly earnings decreased slightly since 2010 (2010-2014: -1.1%, -0.3% per year). The distribution of earnings by economic activities also shows that gross hourly earnings differ considerably among sectors. The highest earnings were found in electricity (?22.60), financial and insurance activities (?20.40) as well as in information and communication (?19.37). With €15.19 per hour, earnings were traditionally higher in industry and construction than in services with €13.12. The lowest earnings were observed in accommodation and food service (?8.67). In all economic sectors examined, (median) gross hourly earnings of women were lower than those of men. Overall, women earned €12.23 and men €15.09 per hour, which means that women earned 19.0% less than men (2010: 21.1%) did.
English: http://www.statistik.at/web_en/statistics/PeopleSociety .
http://www.statistik.at/web_en/statistics/PeopleSociety/social_statistics .
The government is planning to raise doctors and nurses' salaries by 10% for three successive years in order to stabilise the sector and put an end to the ongoing brain drain. The head of government said the pay hike for next year had already been settled and the government would seek to secure in money in 2018 and 2019 as well, if it won another term in office. The healthcare system is plagued by an increasing age of doctors and the departure of fresh graduates of medical schools abroad.
English: http://radio.cz/en/section/news/pm-says-doctors-and-nurses-should-see .
http://www.praguemonitor.com/2016/07/07/ageing-doctors-brain-drain-plaguing .