Unit labour costs (ULCs) in the OECD area rose by 0.5% in the first quarter of 2015, the same rate as in the previous quarter. In the Euro area, ULCs increased (by 0.3% compared to 0.2% in the previous quarter), driven by a slight upturn in labour compensation costs (0.5% compared to 0.4%), with labour productivity growth holding steady at 0.2%. Labour productivity fell in the United Kingdom (minus 0.3%).
English: http://www.oecd.org/std/labour-stats/ULC_2015Q1_Eng.pdf
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Ryanair was summoned before a labour tribunal in Copenhagen on June 15 to defend the practice at the centre of a long pending controversy (see also earlier Newsletters): its hiring of Denmark-based pilots and cabin crew on Irish labour contracts. Ryanair says the arrangement, which it uses in other countries, is legal and that its employees `enjoy high pay [and] job security'. Critics say it allows Ryanair to avoid rules on wages, social benefits, and worker protections required by Danish laws. The tribunal is reviewing the case.
English: http://skift.com/2015/06/23/denmark-and-ryanair-continue-to-tussle .
Only a deal on pay and work conditions could avoid strike action by over 10,000 Icelandic craftsmen. If talks had not been successful, union members would down tools on 23 June causing significant disruption in various sectors of the Icelandic economy. However, the trade unions and the employers' organisations concluded a last minute agreement on pay and working conditions that covers union members of six unions in different fields, including hairdressing, bookmaking, food production, electrical work, marine engineering and metal technology. Strike action - scheduled to begin a few hours later at midnight - was called off.
English: http://icelandreview.com/news/2015/06/23/industrial-workers-sign-agreement .
Employees of the Federal Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers Fedasil at 5 asylum centres have staged a 24-hour strike. The unions called their members out on strike in protest against cuts. The industrial action took place at the reception centres in Jodoigne (Walloon Brabant), Kapellen, Broechem (Antwerp province), Poelkapelle (West Flanders) and Klein Kasteeltje in Brussels. The action was being taken against Fedasil plans to save 20 million euro. The trade unions admit that savings need to be made, but the announced cuts are being implemented without consultation.
English: http://deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws.english/News .
The 162 year old Clerys department store in Dublin was closed within hours, leading to 460 job losses. On 11 June, the department store's US owners sold Clerys and its stock to a joint venture, which announced court appointed liquidators within hours. All 130 people employed by Clerys and a large part of the 330 employed by 50 concession holders will lose their jobs. The sudden closure and unexpected job losses sparked large scale unrest and protests, which intensified when it became clear that workers will receive no more than the statutory minimum in terms of redundancy pay. Government officials have announced to be considering a legal change, as the highly undesirable procedure in which employees of over 40 years were fired within a day's notice, is currently not against the law.
English: http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0616/708399-clerys-jobs .
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/over-12-000-people-sign-petition .
Tens of thousands of people marched in London, Glasgow and elsewhere in the first major protest against the government's plans for five more years of austerity. Estimates of the size of the rally in central London varied between 70,000 and more than 150,000. Several thousand more gathered in Glasgow's George Square and smaller demonstrations were reported in other cities, including Liverpool and Bristol. Protesters denounced public sector cuts, the treatment of the disabled and the vulnerable through welfare cuts, and the NHS-privatisation.
English: http://www.equaltimes.org/uk-250-000-march-to-end-austerity ...
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/20/tens-thousands-rally-uk-protest .
19.2% of the population are reported to have been at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion in 2014, according to the EU-Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) compiled by Statistics Austria. 414 000 persons or 5% of the population were facing a severe financial situation because they have been at multiple risks of poverty or social exclusion - two or more of the sub indicators of the Europe 2020 social strategy applied to them. Two thirds of all persons at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion (1 105 000 persons) have been affected for the last two years or longer.
English: http://www.statistik.at/web_en/press/102909.html
German: http://www.statistik.at/web_de/presse/102889.html
Issue 7 of the Queries journal is dedicated to the growing inequality in our societies. The issue includes essays and columns of Joseph Stiglitz, Antonella Stirati, Gary Dymski, Richard Wilkinson and others. Stiglitz signals that the ratio of wages to productivity is going down and the ratio of CEO pay to worker pay has gone up. The bargaining power of workers has declined as unions got weaker. Moreover, their bargaining power has been further weakened by the asymmetric rules governing globalisation. Corporate governance laws provide relatively little check on abuses of corporate power by CEOs. His recommendations that could help to reduce before tax and transfer inequality are: higher minimum wages, stronger unions, better education, better anti-trust and corporate governance laws and stronger law enforcement.
English: http://www.queries-feps.eu .
The FNV trade union is taking legal action against transport company Vos for unfair competition and for exploiting its Romanian and Lithuanian drivers. The union wants Vos to pay its foreign drivers back pay and compensation, arguing they should fall under the Dutch pay and conditions deal. Vos is using its foreign drivers via a Romanian subsidiary Vosescu, which, the union claims, is effectively run from the Netherlands. In addition, some drivers say they are being pressured into breaking the rules on rest periods.
English: http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2015/06/union-takes-transport-firm-to-court-in-support-of-romanian-drivers/
The difference in pay between senior board members and ordinary workers has widened considerably over the past two years, according to the Volkskrant newspaper. The paper bases its claims on an annual research project into wage developments at 129 large Dutch firms. It found that company chairman earn an average of €1.5m, while the average worker has a gross salary of €76,000. This means bosses are earning 20 times the average salary, compared with 16 times the average two years ago.
English: http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2015/06/wage-gap-between-bosses-and .