Collective Bargaining

Nearly 6 years after the Airbus general strike of 2010, the 'Airbus 8' workers and trade union members of CCOO and UGT were finally acquitted on 17 February 2016. Eight trade unionists were charged and persecuted up to a surrealistic eight years and three months in prison for participating in strike actions on 29th September 2010. Getafe's criminal court recognised the lack of evidence against the trade unionists' charges. None of the `Airbus 8' will be sentenced for the picket action. Nevertheless, Article 315.3 of the Penal Code still needs to be repealed, as backed by social partners and progressive political voices.
English: http://www.industriall-europe.eu/news/list3 .

Former employees of the bankrupt national carrier Estonian Air turned to court in the matter of their representation on the bankruptcy committee. On 15 January 2016 the first general meeting of the creditors of Estonian Air took place, where creditors elected a bankruptcy committee. The association of pilots think that the composition of this committee makes for a massive overrepresentation of the interests of the government. They contest the result of the election, and turned to court to have it declared void.
English: http://news.err.ee/v/economy .

The next indexation of wages and pensions (see the January Newsletter) could be pushed back to 2017, after the statistical office STATEC reviewed its forecasts for 2016. According to its latest forecasts, inflation is expected to reach 0.2 percent in 2016, because of the `collapse of oil prices' and 1.6 percent in 2017. Statec made a high and a low scenario for the future oil price and inflation. According to the high scenario, the next indexation would fall in the fourth quarter of 2016 while a further decline in oil prices would postpone indexation in the second quarter of 2017.
English: http://www.wort.lu/en/business/inflation-luxembourg-s-next-index-wage-rise .

More than a thousand taxi drivers blocked a central Madrid boulevard, beeping horns and setting off firecrackers, to protest plans to open the country to greater competition from ride-hailing and car-sharing services. Uber and other companies such as Cabify face demonstrations from taxi drivers worldwide for operating services which match private vehicle owners with customers. Uber cannot currently operate in Spain while authorities decide their legal status, though other collaborative economy services, such as accommodation company Airbnb, are operating.
English: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-spain-uber-protests .

A planned partnership between the airlines Meridiana and Qatar Airways could result in some 900 jobs losses. The Sardinia-based carrier has asked the trade unions to agree to the job cuts as part of the partnership deal with the Gulf airline. Workers at Meridiana, which flies to and from the island of Sardinia and other destinations in Italy and abroad, have been in a state-funded layoff programme for over a year.
English: http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-italy-airline-qatar ...

The government approved a draft amendment that would enable it to raise pensions more if their indexation under the valid law were too low, but maximally by 1.7 percent a year. According to the current law, pensions are regularly raised as from January by one third of the previous growth of real wages and prices. These indicators were low in the period preceding the 2016 increase.
English: http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/zpravy/czech-government-changes-rules .

Young Italian workers are among the worst paid in Europe, according to the 2016 Global 50 Remuneration Planning Report. The report ranked the average salaries paid for full-time, entry-level jobs - those usually aimed at recent graduates or people who have recently finished specific training courses. Among the 15 European nations ranked, Italy came last - paying an average gross salary of €27,400 a year. The country's inability to pay its young workers competitive wages is one of the key factors driving the 'brain-drain'.
English: http://www.thelocal.it/20160217/young-italian-workers-are-among-the-worst-paid .

A Eurofound report looks at EU- and national-level social partners' involvement between 2001 and 2014 in the European Semester Process, the EU's annual cycle of economic policy guidance and surveillance. The report assesses the role of the national social partners during key junctures of the Semester - the National Reform Programmes and adoption of the country-specific recommendations (CSR) - with a special focus on employment and social policy aspects. The issues addressed include the arena of wage-setting and collective bargaining - where the social partners expect their autonomy to be respected. Observers note that some CSRs go directly over the heads of national social dialogue in pushing for reform of collective agreements.
English: https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/sites .

Dock workers organised a two-day strike to protest against the sale of the country's two biggest ports, which Athens has promised to international lenders, disrupting operations at cargo terminals. The sale is strongly opposed by port workers who fear job cuts and higher export cost for Greek products. About 500 dock workers gathered outside the entrance of Piraeus port's sole cargo pier in Athens to protest against the plan.
English: http://www.businessspectator.com.au/news/2016/2/16/european-crisis/greek-port .

The National Statistical Institute (NSI) revealed in a quarterly report on households' income and expenditure that the average income per member of a household increased by 2.9% on the year for the fourth quarter of 2015, reaching BGN 1,262 (645 euro). The average spending per household member edged down by 0.7% year-on-year, reaching BGN 1,162 (594 euro) for the October-December period of 2015.
English: http://www.nsi.bg/sites/default .