Following employee protests this summer, with large numbers of workers threatening to quit, retail company Auchan has announced it will be raising wages by 10%. The company said that labour shortages and high personnel turnover make the raise necessary to avoid workers going to work abroad or for competitors. The raise at Auchan is expected to have broader implications on private sector bargaining, which is coming up on a new round of negotiations in January. Media reported earlier that there are tens of thousands of vacancies in the private sector that are not being filled, blaming the mismatch on low wages. Meanwhile, public sector wages are speculated to increase by 10% as well.
English: http://dailynewshungary.com/wages-to-be-raised-in-retail/
http://dailynewshungary.com/tens-of-thousands-of-jobs-vacant-in-hungary/
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Parliament accepted a new law making it obligatory for taxi drivers to have certificates proving they have an employment contract with the firm they drive for. Critics have said the law is meant to keep out Uber drivers, who are not employed by the company. However, proponents said Uber is already illegal, because they drive cars that are not registered as taxis. Taxi drivers have welcomed the stricter regulation, saying it will address malpractice in sector.
English: http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=171183
Parliament is discussing a youth employment policy that would subsidise employers who hire young people without work experience. Under the plan, employers have to employ workers under the age of 30 on indefinite contracts to qualify for a subsidy of one time the gross minimum wage and an exemption from social security payments on the particular employee for the first 18 months. Employers will have to keep the young workers on for at least 36 months, or risk having to pay back the subsidies.
English: http://www.romania-insider.com/romania-pay-companies-hire-youngsters/.
According to calculations by Statistics Austria, average wage and salaries increased by 2.6% for employees of trade enterprises and by 2.2% for employees in services enterprises in the first half of 2015. The number of persons employed declined by 0.2% in trade but rose by 1.0% in services. Average hours worked by employee decreased by 0.3% in trade and by 1.7% in services, compared to the same period in the year 2014.
English: http://www.statistik.at/web_en/press/104771.html
German: http://www.statistik.at/web_de/presse/104770.html
Immigration officers, organised by the GWU, have announced industrial action. The officers will open their immigration booths half an hour late, not wear uniforms or answer phone calls, but they will be checking passports. The industrial action follows a government announcement that it will not be negotiating working conditions of immigration officers until a court case on the matter has been suspended.
English: http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2015-10-03/local-news/.
Workers of the Press Delivery Agencies and ZAVEL Food Industries went on strike on 1 and 3 October respectively, demanding payment of accrued wages. The food workers additionally demand the cancellation of announced lay-offs at the company, whereas the press workers demand the signing of a new collective agreement. Both groups of workers organised picket lines to reinforce their demands. The press workers' picket line was successful, after an employer attempt to block it in court was overruled. ZAVEL food called the police when the picket line was being formed, leading to arrests of trade union leaders.
English: http://pamehellas.gr/index.php/en/homepage/92-press-releases/.
http://pamehellas.gr/index.php/en/component/content/article/92-english-categories/.
Teachers at schools and universities have gone back to work, despite none of their demands having been met by the government. Teachers in primary schools, secondary education and universities went on strike demanding higher pay. High school teachers held out for one week, with primary schools and universities ending actions a few days before that. The strike did not achieve its goal, which one trade union leader said was because of ill timing. The unions have announced to re-table their demands in thirty days, but refuse to speculate on the possibility of another strike.
English: http://www.total-croatia-news.com/politics/1044-strike-in-schools-and-universities.
Workers at the National Gallery have reached an agreement over wages and working conditions, following a 100-day strike. As reported in the March newsletter, workers at the National Gallery initiated industrial action after management announced that 400 of the total 600 jobs would be outsourced. The agreement that was reached on 2 October includes guarantees for staffing levels and rosters, unchanged working conditions for existing staff and comparable conditions for new staff. The National Gallery will also continue to pay the London living wage. A senior PCS trade union representative, who was fired on the eve of the strike, was reinstated.
English: http://www.world-psi.org/en/uk-pcs-celebrates-national-gallery-agreement
In an interesting paper, published by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Thorsten Schulten analyses the perspective for collective bargaining. Greece has experienced a deep decline in industry-wide collective agreements since 2011. This has been accompanied by radical decentralisation alongside a veritable dissolution of collective bargaining in large parts of the economy. So far, the Syriza government's proposals for the restoration of an effective collective bargaining system have failed because of the political resistance of the Troika. In particular, non-trade union representations of employees were permitted, extensions of collective agreements were prohibited and the favourability principle with regard to the hierarchy of collective bargaining levels was abolished.
English: http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/id-moe/11624.pdf
Workers at retailer Real, subsidiary of Metro group, rallied outside the headquarters of Metro headquarters to protest against the retailer's unilateral decision to end the existing collective agreement. The company has been struggling with falling sales and Metro has repeatedly sought to sell it. Workers are outraged the company is now trying to cut back on wages and working conditions and demand a real social dialogue.
English: http://www.uniglobalunion.org/news/german-retailer-faces-real-problems.