The president of the Fiscal Council - an independent state body reporting to the National Assembly - stated that fiscal consolidation and reforms are being halted without first achieving the objectives for the recovery of the economy. He pointed out that the three-year government's plan contains no credible measures that would reduce the current 3.7 percent deficit in order to reduce the public debt. According to him, the lay-off of more employees is not a measure that will bring success. On the contrary, it is necessary to keep salaries and pensions under control, that is: `frozen them' in order to move toward the recovery of the economy in the next three years. He added that reforms of public enterprises had barely begun in 2015.
English: http://www.b92.net/eng/news/business .
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Following an agreement made between IndustriALL Global Union, its affiliate Birlesik Metal-Is, representing the overwhelming majority of workers at the Oyak plant, and Renault management, workers at the plant were to hold elections on worker representation on 29 February. The agreement, which includes the composition and duties of a Social Dialogue Committee (SDC), was the result of discussions on employee representation and the right to hold elections. However, the Renault management cancelled the elections just days before they were scheduled to take place, hiding behind the argument of having pressure from the ministry of labour and social security who had labelled the elections illegal. In addition, the car giant immediately dismissed ten workers, including two spokespersons.
English: http://www.industriall-union.org/turkey-renault-dismisses-workers-using-police .
The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) has summarised a report that focuses on all forms of labour exploitation, which are criminal. The underlying research assessed different forms of severe exploitation and the related risks of workers moving within or into the EU, both EU-citizens and third country workers, not the form of labour recruitment. Article 31 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights recognises a worker's right to fair and just working conditions regardless of his or her status as an EU citizen or a third-country national and of whether the worker is in a regular or an irregular situation of residence.
English: http://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra-2015-severe-labour-exploitation_en.pdf
Summaries in different languages: http://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2016/severe-labour .
The head of country's second-largest trade union Ver.di has said that the union is ready to strike for higher public sector pay. Ver.di, Germany's second biggest trade union, representing over 2 million workers, demands a 6 percent pay increase for public sector workers. Ver.di had a combative 2015, calling strikes among post office workers, kindergarten teachers and workers at sites of U.S. online retail giant Amazon.
English: https://global.handelsblatt.com/edition/380/ressort/politics/article/union-boss .
The unemployment rate stabilised in February 2015, while the actual number of jobseekers fell by over 400. Compared to the same month a year ago, it marked a 6 percent fall, benefiting all age groups, particularly those aged 30 and under. The proportion of jobseekers in this age bracket fell 8.7 percent over a year, while the unemployment rate among the 50+ age group fell 2.7 percent. Another positive sign was the fact that the proportion of long-term unemployed (12 months and more) fell by 4.1 percent over a year.
English: http://www.wort.lu/en/business/february-2016-luxembourg-unemployment-rate .
Elevator company Schindler announced that it will downsize its factory staff at Ebikon in canton Lucerne. It is likely that the jobs will be outsourced overseas. The company said that the strong growth in the Asian market and high production costs in Switzerland prompted the move. More and more orders are being processed abroad, according to Schindler, which meant that the workers were not being utilised to full capacity. The job cuts are expected to take effect by the end of 2017. The company plans to achieve some of the downsizing through internal transfers and early retirement but stated that redundancies cannot be excluded. Consultations with workers representatives have been initiated. Trade union Unia condemned the restructuring and demanded that the company stop relocating jobs abroad.
English: http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/manufacturing-costs_elevator-company-schindler .
Social partners have agreed on a broad labour market pact. The `so called' competitiveness contract pact is a result of a long negotiation process. One precondition for the pact becoming effective is that the government abandons its plans, announced in September 2015, to impose serious restrictions on collective bargaining rights, holidays and wages through legislation. The agreed pact will make the annual working time 24 hours longer on existing wages. The holiday pay for those working in the public sector will be cut by 30% for the next three years. Employees' pension insurance contribution will be raised by 1.2%. The unemployment insurance payment for the employees will also be raised by 0.85%. In addition, the pact will see the existing collective agreements last an additional 12 months and freeze wages for this period. Finally, the pact includes a new crisis clause to help businesses overcome extraordinary difficulties. The position of the unions regarding the deal is not homogeneous, as four major member unions of the blue collar union confederation SAK have walked away from the labour market deal. The board of SAK has provisionally accepted the pact and is hoping that government will now roll back its proposals for further spending cuts and tax hikes.
English: http://heikkijokinen.info/en/trade-union-news-from-finland/976-a-broad-labour .
http://yle.fi/uutiset/sak_gives_provisional_green_light .
The Doctors' Union Federation Sanitas has asked the government to increase the salaries in the public healthcare sector by 25% in 2016, according to the negotiations from 2015. The salaries already rose by a quarter on October 1, 2015, through an emergency ordinance. The unions are now expecting the second growth of 25%.
English: http://www.romania-insider.com/unions-salaries-in-romanias-health-sector .
An industrial dispute with pilots centred on staff employed by an international recruitment firm which hires pilots for SAS, Scandinavia's largest airline. Global Employer Company (GEC) takes on workers for the British low-cost carrier Flybe, which in turns makes them available for SAS flights. The pilots' union, Svensk Pilotförening (SPF), announced that it had reached an agreement with the international recruitment firm. The deal struck includes an agreement on pensions and increased flexibility regarding scheduling and holidays. SPF stated that it's very important for its members' long-term health that there is a collective agreement which secures a good working environment. The agreement over pay and conditions for cabin crew has put an end to two days of strikes affecting more than a thousand passengers flying on domestic SAS routes as well as some services to Finland.
English: http://www.thelocal.se/20160226/strike-chaos-averted-after-swedish-pilots-sign-deal
The government and the social partners started the long-awaited tripartite negotiations. The negotiations aim to tackle some of the challenges facing the labour market. Trade union confederation LO expressed her content that the negotiations finally have been launched. Next to the first item on the agenda (integration - see the item above), there are three priorities on LO's agenda: education, health and safety at work and social dumping. According to LO, this is where action is needed in order to find solutions to ensure that in 10 to 20 years from now, the workforce is equipped to meet the requirements of the future labour market. LO is looking for agreements to make it more attractive for young persons to opt for vocational training - and provide them with a guarantee for an apprenticeship. The aim is also skills upgrading - for both skilled and unskilled workers. Finally, LO wants agreements that uphold the Danish model and the tradition for letting the social partners define the terms and conditions of the labour market through collective agreements.
English: http://www.lo.dk/English .