Collective Bargaining

The statistical office published new data (with tables and graphs for 2015). In the third quarter of 2015, the labour cost index - wages and salaries in the non-agricultural market sector excluding household services - rose at the same pace as in the second quarter of 2015 quarter-on-quarter (+0.1% in seasonally adjusted data), as year-on-year (+1.5%). Average working hours remained stable year-on-year. Wages decreased in manufacturing, energy and construction. An increase was registered in water supply and services.

English: http://www.insee.fr/en/indicateurs . 

Commenting on figures published in December by the Office for National Statistics, which show that the number of days lost through strike action fell by 74 % between October 2014 and October 2015, the TUC stated that the figures highlight once again the flimsiness of the government's case for pushing through its Trade Union Bill. Days lost to strike action are just a tiny fraction of what they were in the 1980s. And they account for a miniscule 0.0035% of all working days between October 2014 and October 2015.
English: https://www.tuc.org.uk/industrial-issues/days-lost-strike-action-fell-74 .

1,200 staff members at Irish Life postponed the one-day strike scheduled for 17 December. The trade union Unite made the announcement saying the decision follows overnight talks during which the union received commitments from Irish Life ahead of talks at the Labour Court. A dispute has been ongoing since the beginning of November 2015, over a new pay model. Unite have revised their strike dates to January 20 and February 17, unless the issues have been resolved.
English: http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/1200-irish-life-workers-defer-strike-action .

Doctors across Italy went on 24-hour strike on 16 December 2015 despite the government amending its budget for 2016 to allow for new doctors to be hired. The doctors' unions say the government has reneged on its health budget plan for 2016, cutting more than €2 billion from a sum previously agreed on by regional and local administrations. They argue that the move would be detrimental to the quality of the health service. The government has presented an amendment bill, which will allow regional authorities to hire new medics on temporary contracts ahead of holding selection competitions for permanent hires from June 2016. Still, doctors have said this is only one of many issues the sector is facing and will persist with strike action in protest over the general condition of the health service.
English: http://www.thelocal.it/20151215/italys-doctors-to-strike-against-budget-cuts

TUI members in Institutes of Technology have voted by a margin of 92% on a turnout of 56% to engage in a campaign of industrial action in order to tackle a number of crisis issues. The sector has been subject to severe funding and staffing cuts at a time of a huge increase in student numbers. The union representatives urge the Minister for Education and Skills to engage meaningfully with them on negotiating a number of issues. In the absence of meaningful negotiations, the union considers that strike action before the general election is inevitable. The Institute of Technology sector is in crisis. Funding was cut by 35% (?190m) between 2008 and 2015. Over the same period, student numbers rose by a staggering (32%) 21,411 while lecturer numbers actually fell by 9.5% (535). This had a direct, detrimental effect on the quality of service to students and the working conditions of academics. As a result of the fall in lecturer numbers and the steep rise in student numbers, lecturer workload increased significantly. Findings of a survey carried out by TUI (April 2015) show that lecturers are experiencing high levels of work related stress as a result of cutbacks and rationalisation measures in the sector.
English: http://www.tui.ie/news-events/third-level-members-vote-overwhelmingly .

Negotiators in the private social and care sector came to an agreement. Trade union vida and GPA-djp concluded with the employers a 1.35% pay increase for the 100,000 workers as from 1 February 2016. The collective agreement includes an improvement of the on-call bonus with 5.6%, a harmonisation of the inconvenience pay (for heavy, dirty or complicated work) and a change of the applied wage scale rhythm (a higher level is applied every 3 instead of every 5 years).
German: http://www.oegb.at/cms ...

Employers in the local sector offer a two-year deal of 1% each year, with more for lower paid staff to match national living wage. Union members will be consulted in 2016 on the employers' pay offer, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Following negotiations with the unions, the Local Government Employers made their final offer concerning a pay deal that would cover the two years from April 2016. For the lowest paid (those on spinal points 6-17) this would mean a pay rise of between 6.6% and 1.01% the first year, and between 3.4% and 1.3%the second. Those on spinal points 18-49 would receive 1% in year one and the same again the following year. The increases at the bottom end of the pay scale are designed to meet the employers' legal obligations to comply with the Chancellor's `national living wage' (that will be £7.20 an hour from April 2016 and £9 an hour by the end of the Parliament). The employers refused the unions' demand that other workforce terms and conditions such as annual leave and sick pay be protected. However, they agreed to a joint review of term-time working for school support staff if their pay offer were to be accepted.
English: https://www.unison.org.uk/news/article/2015/12/local-government-members .

Eurofound published a report that presents a broad picture of temporary employment across the EU27 between 2001 and 2012 and maps the recent evolution of temporary employment, before and after the economic crisis (based on Eurostat data). The report calculates the wage gap between temporary and permanent employees and analyses the wage gap within companies. The report also identifies the main determinants of temporary employment in terms of personal, company and job characteristics and examines the most relevant labour market transitions for temporary employees. The study finds evidence of segmentation in a number of European labour markets, whereby temporary employees have poor pay and labour market prospects, while permanent employees enjoy high levels of job security and opportunities for career progression.
English: http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/report/2015/labour-market .

The parliament decided on a bill that will see the legal age of retirement with social security go up to 67 in 2022 and to 68 in 2030. The earlier retirement reform in 2011 settled the principle of life expectancy adjustment of the retirement age, to be increased every 5 years. After the adoption, the law comes into force on 29 December 2015. For all citizens born after 31 December 1962 the pension age will be 68 years.
Danish: http://www.ft.dk/RIpdf/samling/20151/lovforslag .

For the first time since records began the westernmost state Vorarlberg has the highest disposable income per capita of €23,300. This is attributed to its strong manufacturing industry and the fact that many people from Vorarlberg travel to Switzerland to work. Households in Tyrol are also doing relatively well with a disposable income of €22,100, due to its strong service and tourism industry which has seen employment rise in the region. A growing population and high unemployment rate has seen average earnings in Vienna steadily decrease since 2011; the capital has the lowest level of disposable income after Carinthia.
English: http://www.statistik.at/web_en/press/106064.html