Collective Bargaining

Brewer InBev has announced an investment of 49.8 million euros in the Liege region's Jupille brewery. The initiative was supported by a grant of approximately 4 million euros from the Walloon authorities, and was set up thanks to social dialogue within the company. The ministry of economics stated that the collaboration of all involved, management, workers, and trade union representatives, helped establish a positive atmosphere leading to this investment and to the creation of new jobs in Liege.
English: http://www.brusselstimes.com/business/4927/inbev-investment-walloon .

Polish workers at a south Iceland guesthouse were subjected to exploitation that is tantamount to human trafficking, according to trade union officials. Two Polish women in their thirties came to Iceland in July 2014 and soon thereafter started working at the guesthouse. The mistreatment they received is now considered a gross violation of the collective bargaining agreement for workers in this industry, and the matter is with the police. The two women, who were unaware of their labour rights and not informed by their employer, were made to work 10 hours per day, seven days a week, for a salary far under the legal minimum wage for such work. The guesthouse owner urged them to not get a personal identification number, as required by law, telling them that to do so would result in their wages being taxed. The women reported the subject to the trade union and the officials filed immediately charges with the police.
English: http://grapevine.is/news/2016/01/15/foreign-workers-at-guesthouse-exploited/

Workers at Exxon Mobil's 300,000-barrels-per-day Antwerp refinery have cancelled a planned walk-out on 15 January after agreeing to a proposed deal from the company. The workers had originally planned to strike in December 2015. .
English: http://www.reuters.com/article/exxon-mobil-refinery-strike .

Luas staff will strike on 11 and 12 February, and a week later on 18 and 19 February - both Thursdays and Fridays. Trade union Siptu confirmed three of four groups of workers, who balloted overwhelmingly to take industrial action, said their preference was to strike for 48 hours at meetings this week. A majority of the 180 drivers, 37 revenue protection officers, and eight revenue protection supervisors backed the 48-hour option. The fourth and final group of staff - 16 control room officers - will work to rule. Drivers are seeking a pay rise. Siptu would not give a complete list of all its demands, but said drivers want a pay rise in the region of 30% over five years, with a similar increase being sought by other staff. Workers have also sought improvements in annual leave, bonuses, pensions and income continuance.
English: http://www.herald.ie/news/commuter-chaos-looms .

The official statistical office has published a wide-ranging overview of data combined with several detailed tables. Included is a population projection for the years 2015-2060. The section on the 2014 wage statistics signals that a total of 52.2 per cent of all employees were employed full-time throughout 2014. Annual per-capita gross pay varied significantly depending on social position. The average gross income achieved by male white collar workers was 63,411 euro. The corresponding figure for female white collar workers was 40,512 euro. Male officials received an average gross income of 58,976 euro and female officials 57,195 euro. Male civil servants under contract enjoyed gross earnings of 46,865 euro, their female counterparts 41,363 euro. Among blue collar workers, men drew an average gross wage of 33,764 euro, women 23,970 euro. In 2014, the per-capita gross pay of men employed full-time throughout the entire year was 48,579 euro, and for women 37,847 euro.
English: http://www.statistik.at/web_en/publications_services ...

According to the State Employment Agency, the registered unemployment level has increased by 0.3% compared to the previous month to reach 8.7% of the economically active population of Latvia at the end of December 2015. In November 2015, the registered unemployment level was at 8.4%. At the beginning of December, 79,153 persons were registered as unemployed with the Employment Agency, whereas at the end of November there were 81,780 unemployed. In October and September, the registered unemployment level in the country was at 8.3%. Among the regions, the Riga Region had the lowest unemployment level at 5.4%, while Latgale province registered the highest with 18.5%.
English: http://www.staffingindustry.com/eng/Research-Publications/Daily-News/Latvia .

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) judged that a firm that read a worker's Yahoo Messenger chats sent while he was at work was within the company's rights. The worker, an engineer in Romania, claimed that his employer had breached his right to confidential correspondence when the firm accessed his messages and subsequently dismissed him in 2007. The Court dismissed the man's request, saying that it was not `unreasonable that an employer would want to verify that employees were completing their professional tasks during working hours'. Judges stated he had breached the company's rules and that his employer had a right to check on his activities during working hours. It was reasoned that such policies must also protect workers against unfettered snooping. Countries that have ratified the European Convention on Human Rights have agreed to abide by the ECHR rulings that involve them.
English: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology .
The judgment : http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng .

The jobless rate grew to 6.2% in December 2015, a 0.3% increase from November's 5.9% rate, according to the Czech Employment Office. At the end of December 2015, the number of unemployed grew to 453,118; this was despite the unemployment rate seeing an improving trend throughout the year of 2015. The Office states that this change is typical for the end of a year as it is the effect of gradually ending seasonal work. Compared to the same period last year, the jobless rate actually decreased from 7.5% in December 2014.
English: http://www.staffingindustry.com/eng/Research-Publications/Daily-News .

Trade union representatives have reacted angrily to cuts unveiled by the US company General Electric, calling them an `earthquake' in the country's workplace. General Electric has announced plans to shed 1,300 jobs in Switzerland as part of an overall plan to cut 6,500 positions across Europe after acquiring the energy business of French company Alstom. The trade union fears that the rapid dismantling of the Alstom operations - the cuts amount to almost a quarter of its workforce - so quickly after GE's takeover is a symptom of the arrival of `the American style of management'.
English: http://www.thelocal.ch/20160113/ge-announces-plans-to-slash-1300-swiss-jobs

Trade union and civil society campaigners have welcomed the latest moves towards a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT). In December 2015, Finance Ministers from ten EU countries agreed on the scope of the tax, which if successfully implemented, would create money for the public sector and curtail the power of the financial industry. According to the (ETUC a Financial Transaction Tax is important for workers primarily to give public finances a much-needed boost for investment to tackle unemployment, generate growth, make Europe more competitive and deal with the refugee crisis. December's decision was the latest step in the negotiations, which have been ongoing since the financial crisis - and subsequent bank bail-outs.
English: http://www.equaltimes.org/campaigners-welcome-steps-towards ...