Collective Bargaining

The negotiators in the paper branch reached an agreement that guarantees the purchase power of the 9,500 workers in the sector. From 1 March 2015 the minimum wages increase with 2%, whilst the apprentice pay will increase with 3%. Further improvements were agreed in the payment of travel costs and the compensation for inconvenient work. The deal includes a further harmonisation between white and blue collar workers of the waiting period for service anniversaries and years of service.
German: http://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTS ...

Trade union action at Greif Enterprises, an American packaging company, has led to the direct employment of more than 1,200 contract workers after an agreement was reached between the union DISK-Tekstil and the company. DISK-Tekstil has made the struggle against sub-contracting a priority and through their strategic work managed to put an end to the sub-contracting system in place. In line with the collective agreement signed between DISK-Tekstil and Greif FPS management the sub-contracting issue was resolved at four plants in total.
English: http://www.industriall-union.org/turkey-remarkable-achievement-for-precarious ...

Dockers at the new Rotterdam Gateway (RWG) terminal initiated a protest over the lack of a collective bargaining agreement. Unlike other companies at the port, RWG refuses to negotiate a collective agreement with port workers, who are represented by the FNV Havens union. Meanwhile, the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) is calling for all-party talks on the future of the Port of Rotterdam - `a giant among the world's ports'. According to the ITF the port should be a model of good industrial relations with agreements signed with the union representing its workers, despite widespread concern about the future.
English: http://www.portstrategy.com/news101/world/europe/rocky-rotterdam-dispute

The statistical office published figures on earnings in manufacture, information/communication and construction. Full-time employees in manufacturing had average monthly earnings of NOK 42 500 (or 4835 euro) as per 1 October 2014, excluding overtime pay. This is a year-on-year increase of 2.7%. Full-time construction workers had average monthly earnings of NOK 39,500 as per 1 October 2014; a year-on-year increase of 2.9%. Craft workers, the largest group in construction, had average monthly earnings of NOK 36,000; a year-on-year increase of 2.6%. Electricians, with average monthly earnings of NOK 37,100, reached a year-on-year increase of NOK 1,300 or 3.6%. In contrast, woodworkers and cabinet-makers had average monthly earnings of NOK 33,300. This corresponds to a year-on-year increase of NOK 400 or 1.2%.
English: http://www.ssb.no/en/arbeid-og-lonn/statistikker/lonnbygganl
http://www.ssb.no/en/arbeid-og-lonn/statistikker/lonnikt
http://www.ssb.no/en/arbeid-og-lonn/statistikker/lonnind

During a manifestation organised by the public sector trade union KKDSZ a large crowd protested against the impoverishment of Hungarian culture and those employed in it. The participants backed up the demands formulated in a petition: the immediate start of wage negotiations among authorised representatives of the Ministry of Human Resources, the Ministry of National Economy and trade union KKDSZ. The basis for the wage negotiations should be that the lowest paid worker receives a monthly net wage at least equal to the subsistence amount, and that wages increase proportionally based on qualification, experience and responsibility.
English: http://budapestbeacon.com/featured-articles/1000-budapest-protesters-say ...

The trade union of health and social care workers has decided to hold protests as a response to the insufficient state funding for healthcare. The trade union also decided to restore the social dialogue with the State Emergency Medical Service. As a result, a joint task force will be established in order to solve issues related to security of the Service's medics while on duty.
English: http://www.baltic-course.com/eng/markets_and_companies ...

The government is examining a joint wage rise and tax relief package for workers as part of a new social partnership deal with employers and trade unions. The aim is to open discussions on what arrangements could be put in place to keep industrial peace and prevent pay claims after the Haddington Road deal expires in 2016. But dialogue on any type of tripartite pay deal has yet to begin.
English: http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/wage-hikes-and-tax-relief-on-the-cards ...

Lufthansa management and cabin crew have agreed to mediation in their dispute over retirement benefits, as the risk of further costly labour strikes looms over the carrier. Lufthansa tries to cut costs to compete with low-cost carriers including Ryanair and easyJet as well as with Gulf carriers such as Emirates. The pilots staged 10 separate strikes over an early retirement scheme in 2014, costing the airline close to 200 million euro in operating profit. The cabin crew workers recently threatened to walk out again in the coming weeks if no agreement was reached.
English: http://www.labour-reporter.com/articleview/23301-lufthansa-cabin-crew-seek ...

According to the Economic Mirror the labour market situation continues to improve. The number of employed persons rose again in October 2014, being up 6,294 year-on-year in the first ten months. Visible year-on-year growth was observed in some private sector activities, which also recorded higher indicators of economic activity than a year earlier. Companies nevertheless remained cautious about hiring, more than half of total growth thus being the result of an increase in employment activities leasing labour, mainly in the construction and manufacturing sectors according estimates. Wages and other personnel expenditures (including social contributions) were slightly higher year-on-year.
English: http://www.umar.gov.si/fileadmin/user_upload/publikacije ...

The minister of transport and communications addressed the members of the European Commission in order to request for additional evaluation of the German law on minimal wages entering as of 1 January 2015. According to the minister the law creates additional financial and administrative burden for road carriers. The Commission was requested to ascertain a compliance with EU law. In addition, the minister expressed his concern that a number of restrictive measures were introduced in recent years, creating more barriers for free movement of goods and services. As an example the legislation implying restrictions for a regular weekly rest on board of the vehicles adopted by France and Belgium was mentioned.
English: http://www.baltic-course.com/eng/transport ...