Workers in the public sector will have the right to receive an important increase of their wages as of 1 January 2016, based on an agreement signed in 2009. The government and the trade unions agreed on a six percent pay raise as soon as the official data of the Central Bureau of Statistics show the average GDP growth of two or more percent in two consecutive quarters. The GDP growth in the second quarter of 2015 was 1.2 percent, and in the third 2.8 percent, the average of these two consecutive quarters is exactly 2 percent. If the final data which will be published in early December confirm that the rate of GDP growth in the third quarter was 2.8 percent, teachers, doctors, police officers, social workers, administration employees - 240,000 public, state and local employees - should receive a raise of six percent starting 1 January.
English: http://www.total-croatia-news.com/business/1614-early-christmas-for-240-000 .
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The 300 wealthiest families and individuals in the country have a net worth of 595 billion francs ($581 million), six billion francs more than in 2014, according to a report by Swiss business magazine Bilanz. The chief economist of the Swiss Trade Union Confederation calculated that the top 300 collectively earned almost as much (95 percent) as all the average wage earners in Switzerland put to together.
English: http://www.thelocal.ch/20151127/wealth-of-300-richest-swiss-rise
German: http://www.20min.ch/finance/news/story .
Even before telecom operator Proximus and the trade unions have started the negotiations for a new collective agreement the news was spread that the company wants to reduce the workforce with 7% by using an early retirement scheme for elderly workers. Both partners have denied that there is such a proposal. However, at the same time it is clear that the trade unions are open to discuss such a scheme. A similar proposal that was discussed early 2015 failed and was never implemented.
English: http://www.telecompaper.com/news/proximus-plans-early-retirement .
French: http://www.lalibre.be/economie/actualite/departs-a-58-ans-chez .
Dutch: http://www.standaard.be/cnt ...
The Trade Union of Education and Science Employees announced that 24,546 education and science workers went on strike, 80% of the union members, plus a large number of education and science employees who are not members of the union. The union has put forward the following demands: allocation of 9 million euro for improving the remuneration system for all those employed in education, especially in preschools and small schools, and, second, sufficient funding for higher education and science.
English: http://www.baltic-course.com/eng/legislation .
Three employers' associations withdrew from the 2015-2016 social pact talks after parliament passed changes paving the way for weekend and nighttime bonuses to workers on the minimum wage. Only one employers' association remains a partner in the pact, which was reached in February.
English: https://english.sta.si/2204349/employers-withdraw-from-social-pact .
The statistical office has published updated figures on the earnings and labour costs. These figures play an important role in collective bargaining, the debate on equal pay, various contractual adjustment, and general analysis of the standard of earnings on both a national and an international level. The average wage increase for all industries was 1.5%, with real estate, finance and other business services well beyond that level. The cultural sector had the poorest outcome, followed by trade and transport. The data also provide graphs with the average hourly earnings for age groups, men and women, and with the total labour costs.
English: http://www.dst.dk/en/Statistik/emner/loen-og-arbejdsomkostninger
It is reported that the trade unions and the management of the energy group Enel have concluded what is called an `intergenerational' deal on early retirement. The plan is to give early retirement to 6,000 workers and hire 3,000 young people.
English: http://www.ansa.it/english/news/business/2015/11/27/enel .
http://www.thelocal.it/20151118/enel-to-hire-2000-staff-in-italy
The Democratic Coalition stated that the alarming high emigration rate could only be reduced by increasing minimum wages sustainably in the long term. The party has prepared a programme to annually increase the minimum wage at least until it reaches the living wage. The proposal is a reaction to recent statistics showing that the number of citizens leaving to work abroad has been on the rise in recent years. The Central Statistical Office's (KSH) Demographic Research Institute found that the young and highly educated are the primary groups leaving. The research found that single citizens are more likely to seek work abroad and that they are more likely to go to the UK, whereas skilled workers and the elderly more likely go to Germany.
English: http://www.politics.hu/20151127/dk-calls-for-minimum-wage-increase .
http://budapestbeacon.com/public-policy/hungarys-brain-drain-young-and-highly-educated .
Staff at financial services provides Irish Life, which specialises in pensions and life insurance, have walked off the job in an on-going pay dispute. Irish Life has said it will change its pay structure, essentially instating performance pay and ending its pay indexation policy. In protest, trade unions organised four two-hour walkouts. The unions object to the decoupling of wages from profits and inflation, which they fear will lead to significant losses of purchasing power in the long term. The unions demanded consultations, mediated by the labour court arbitration office. Irish Life accused the unions of not having fully informed members on the last wage offers, but indicated it would be willing to accept arbitration.
English: http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/1126/749500-unite-members-irish-life/
It looks as a breakthrough has been reached in an ongoing dispute at Lufthansa. The cabin crew union UFO organised a weeklong strike, stranding 4,700 flights and over half a million passengers. The actions constituted a series of strike in a conflict that started over two years ago, as reported in various newsletters. In the run up to the strikes, Lufthansa took legal action and was originally granted an injunction by the Dusseldorf court, which was later overruled by the labour court in Darmstadt, which considers the strike legitimate. The latest news is that the cabin crew called off a strike originally planned for late November, a step toward ending the dispute that brought on the airline's longest-ever disruption. To avoid further protests, trade union UFO said it needs to reach a deal with Lufthansa by 2 December, the date of a so-called employment summit between the airline and unions including representatives of pilots and ground crew.
English: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-25/lufthansa-cabin-crew-union .
http://www.dw.com/en/new-court-ruling-in-favor-of-striking-lufthansa-cabin-crew-union .