Collective Bargaining

The IMF's handling of the euro area crisis has been controversial, notably the way the fund handled the crisis in Greece. In a very critical report of the Independent Evaluation Office the criticism is summarised in three broad strands: first, the programs `only served to raise debt and demanded excessive fiscal adjustment', second, the financing was `used to repay foreign banks' and third, `growth-killing structural reforms, together with fiscal austerity, have led to an economic depression.' The criticisms specifically targeted the handling of Greece because that country experienced a much deeper contraction of output than did any other euro area country.
English: http://www.ieo-imf.org/ieo/files/completedevaluations .
The full report: http://www.ieo-imf.org/ieo/files/completedevaluations/EAC .

In a report of the Independent Evaluation Office the IMF's handling of the euro area crisis is assessed. In Annex 3 of the Portugal report all structural conditionality measures for the country are listed. The list once more makes clear that, although the main goals were debt restructuring and fiscal consolidation, several indirect or even unrelated measures (pension and labour market reform, abolishment of extension mechanism, reduction of severance pay) were dictated by the Troika.
English: http://www.ieo-imf.org/ieo/files/completedevaluations .
The complete evaluation: http://www.ieo-imf.org/ieo/pages/CompletedEvaluation .

The PSA Group signed a New Momentum for Growth agreement with five of the Group's six trade unions: CFE/CGC, CFTC, CFDT, FO and GSEA. According to PSA, improved dialogue and relationships with the unions built on trust will give the Group a competitive edge. The goal is `to transition from a collective bargaining culture to one that involves collectively building the Group's future by sharing and discussing strategy ahead of the curve to support the transformation process'. PSA is stepping up its efforts to retrain 1,000 workers for internal positions per year. A proactive youth employment scheme has been introduced with the goal of employing 2,000 young people a year under the new intergenerational contract to invest in staff for the future. PSA also plans to recruit 1,000 new members of staff on permanent contracts over the course of the agreement, 50% of whom will be hired as juniors as part of the youth employment initiative.
English: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home .
French: http://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2016/07/08 .

Tata Steel has halted plans to sell the Port Talbot steelworks and is working on keeping its UK business as part of a joint venture with the German conglomerate ThyssenKrupp. Tata Steel UK's 11,000 workers meet the announcement with mixed feelings. While the Port Talbot steelworks in south Wales is closer to its survival, Tata warned that the deal could still fall apart. One of the problems is the sustainability of its pension scheme. The scheme restructuring needs to be enshrined in law. The scheme has a deficit of £700m and liabilities of almost £15bn. The government has drawn up a plan with trustees and unions that would see the scheme spun off into a shell company and the inflation-linked annual increase benchmarked against the consumer price rather than the retail price index, potentially saving billions of pounds in future liabilities.
English: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jul/08/tata-stops-port-talbot-plant-sale

Around thirty employees of the Mungos demining company hold daily protests in front of the Parliament after strikers did not secure a meeting with the Interior Minister. The strike of the Mungos workers began after the process of collective bargaining stopped and after union demands for higher wages were rejected. The strikers point out that there is enough money since the demining process is financed from both the state budget and EU funds, and about 500 million kuna have been appropriated in 2016 for the demining efforts.
English: https://www.total-croatia-news.com/item/12936-demining-technicians-to-protest .

The OECD Employment Outlook 2016 (a range of country findings appended) shows that labour markets are recovering from the crisis and employment is set to return to pre-crisis level in 2017. However, wage growth remains weak and the global economy is stuck in a low-growth trap. Productivity growth has stagnated over the past years and many workers who lost their jobs in manufacturing and construction during the crisis have regained employment in the services sector in jobs that often do not match their skills and are low-paid.
English: http://www.oecd.org/newsroom/job-market-recovering-but-wage-growth .
Report and country findings: http://www.oecd.org/employment/oecd-employment-outlook .

The Lower House of Parliament (Sejm) has voted through draft legislation raising the minimum wage for casual and self-employed workers to PLN 12 (2.73 euro) per hour as of 2017. The bill includes regulations that have to prevent the abuse of civil law contracts, while protecting employees at the lowest wage levels. Employers who are caught paying their workers less than the national minimum could face fines of between PLN 1,000 and PLN 30,000 (225 and 6,700 euro). The bill is now forwarded to the Senate.
English: http://www.thenews.pl/1/12/Artykul/260624,Polish-parliament-votes .

The ITF is asking all its dockers' unions to send a letter to the managing director of stevedoring services company Transiidikeskuse AS. It is a response to a request from the Estonian Seamen's Independent Union (EMSA) that wants to be recognised and to enter into collective bargaining negotiations. Other demands are the return of a dismissed union rep back to work and his recognition as the properly elected shop steward.
English: http://www.itfglobal.org/en/news-events/news/2016/july/dockers-support .

As protesters marched through Paris, the lower house of Parliament passed without a vote a controversial labour proposal, which would give companies more power to dismiss workers and extend working hours. Now, the bill goes to the Senate and then returns to the lower house for a final decision later this summer. The trade unions organised an 11-hour march against the proposal. The adoption of the watered-down legislation comes after months of protests. Prime Minister Manuel Valls used a constitutional manoeuvre known as the `49-3 decree' that forced the bill through Parliament without debate, telling Socialist members of Parliament that doing so was necessary because left-wing members had threatened to vote it down.
English: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-politics-protests .

Ground services staff at Paphos airport stopped work after negotiations on collective agreements collapsed. All ground services were affected including passenger service crews, luggage handlers, drivers and despatchers. The work stoppage, coordinated by the SEK, PEO, and DEOK unions, at Larnaca airport on 4 July lasted 90 minutes. At issue in the dispute are allegations by Swissport and LGS workers that collective agreements are not being observed. SEK union's representatives told that they were forced to take action following a 14-month period of negotiations with the two companies that got nowhere. Employers were demanding that workers be paid normal rate when working on holidays, and unilaterally withheld pay increments. According to the unions, the two companies are demanding reductions in salaries and in provident fund contributions. The unions do not rule out escalating measures, though workers are willing to enter a dialogue as long as employers withdraw their demands.
English: http://cyprus-mail.com/2016/07/06/two-strikes-paphos-airport/

Czechia