The gender pay gap in the Czech Republic is the third largest in the EU. Women earn on average 22% less than men do, which is substantially higher than the 16% EU average. Commissioner Jourova pointed towards discrimination, occupational segregation and family responsibilities as causes of the large gap. The pay gap is largest for highly educated women.
English: http://praguemonitor.com/2015/11/03 .
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Workers at the Canadian-owned Çayeli mine, the largest copper and zink mine in the country went on strike over a pay dispute on 30 October. Trade unions and management have been negotiating a new 3-year collective agreement without success. To reinforce their wage demands, workers have now called a strike. Trade unions said the mine has been profitable and its outlooks for the next three years were good, justifying a substantial wage hike for its workers. During the strike, the mine will operate only on levels required to guarantee environment and safety.
English: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and .
http://www.dailysabah.com/nation/2015/10/31/strike-begins-at-turkeys-largest-copper-mine
Trade unions and management at Swedish garment retailer H&M have closed a global framework agreement (GFA) on working conditions and health and safety. The agreement explicitly encourages the unionisation of shops and plants across the supply chain, securing H&M management's promise to safeguard workers' rights in contracts with third parties. The agreement pays special attentions to health and safety in the garment industry and grants workers the right to refuse labour under unsafe conditions.
English: http://www.industriall-union.org/industriall-global-union-and-hm-sign .
Trade union FNV achieved a legal victory against home care organisation Meavita, which went bankrupt in 2009. The organisation was declared bankrupt two years after a major merger and years of financially risky behaviour, leaving employees without redundancy pay and their annual leave and pension reservations. The court has now judged that management and overseers are legally responsible for and culpable of the bankruptcy caused by their mismanagement. In weeks to come, workers will present claims of financial losses, asking to be compensated.
English: http://www.epsu.org/a/11795
Dutch: http://www.fnv.nl/sector-en-cao/alle-sectoren/zorg-en-welzijn .
The main trade union confederations, CC.OO and UGT have initiated a campaign to lobby for the update of the inter-professional minimum wage progressively to 800 euro after the general elections in December 2016. They argue that such an increase will reduce the structural differences with the EU and will be a step forward to achieve their objective of fixing the minimum wage at 60% of the average wages.
Spanish: http://www.ugt.es/Publicaciones .
In response to the stronger Swiss franc, making products more expensive in the export market, employers have started increasing work hours. While no overt protests have been organised, employee representatives have expressed concern at the developments. Employers increase standard working hours without increasing salaries to make their products cheaper, effectively constitutes a pay cut in hourly wages.
English: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/11/01/swiss-working-hours-increase .
The VKA public sector employers' organisation and trade union Ver.di have reached a pay deal for workers in childcare and other social services. Childcare workers will receive pay hikes between €93 and €138 per month; workers in other social services will receive wage increases between €30 and €80. The pay deal was reached after a long process of negotiations, including arbitrated talks and strike action. Trade union Ver.di has called the deal a step towards improving pay in female dominated occupations.
English: http://www.epsu.org/a/11799
German: http://www.verdi.de/themen/geld-tarif/soziale-berufe-aufwerten .
Postal operator bpost has announced that it has reached an agreement with the majority of its staff representatives over the company's new organisational model. In an official statement bpost said that this agreement was `essential' for the future of the company, adding that it will give the postal operator the opportunity to achieve its ambitions in the e-commerce and parcel delivery market. The new measures will come into effect on 1 January 2016.
English: http://postandparcel.info/68987/news/bpost-reaches-agreement .
In the magazine for its members, the trade union LANV has published the demands for the upcoming negotiations in the private sector. Most agreements expire by the end of 2015. The union asks for a wage increase between 0.5 and 1.5%. Furthermore, wages should be paid in Swiss Francs. For workers beyond the age of 50 years the union wants to obtain on a 5th week of holidays.
German: http://www.lanv.li/Portals/0/Content/Mitteilungsblatt .
After a series of strikes, reported in last month's newsletter, a wage deal was reached on 28 October that will cover large parts of the public and private sector. Workers organised large-scale industrial action over the last months, demanding pay hikes in order to maintain purchasing power. Wages went up twice as much as in neighbouring countries, but inflation increased three times as much, leaving Icelandic worse off than their Nordic peers. An alliance of public and private sector employers, as well as the SFR Union of Public Workers, the Union of Nurses' Aides and the Police Federation of Iceland signed an agreement effectively tying wages to the inflation rate. The agreement runs through 2018 and will both guarantee stability in term of purchasing power for workers, as well as avoiding a situation in which wages raise faster in some sectors than in others.
English: http://icelandreview.com/news/2015/10/28/unions-strike-deal-state