In a short period of time two reports have pointed to a funding crisis in the pension system. The Cour des Comptes state audit body raised the alarm on private pensions, followed by a report from the pension watchdog COR that monitors the system's evolution. The Cour des Comptes state audit body concludes that the shortfall in the system of private-sector supplementary pension provision risks growing faster than forecasted. The audit body reveals that the initiatives taken by the social partners have contributed to important reserves that could be acquired between 1998 and 2008. However, the sustainable growth of the funds has been obstructed since the crisis started.
English: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/12/15/uk-france-deficit-pensions ...
French: https://www.ccomptes.fr/Actualites/A-la-une/Garantir-l-avenir-des-retraites ...
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Retailer Stockmann has completed negotiations with the staff of Seppälä and announced that a total of 70 jobs will be reduced at the head office and warehouse of the struggling fashion chain. The traditional retailer stated that it will downsize the Seppälä-operations to concentrate solely on its best-performing stores in Finland and Estonia. Seppälä pulls out of the Latvian and Lithuanian market entirely in the course of 2015.
English: http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/business/13090-70-employees-face-the-axe-at-seppaelae ...
In recent months the industrial relations in the oil and affiliated trades have hardened. In Rowan, an oil company, the management has refused to step into local wage negotiations. The trade unions are considering a strike that could hit onshore employees. The Industri Energi union has made clear that it can't accept a dictate regarding pay in 2014, where there is a clear negotiations right. According to the union the management move is in breach with a deal between the union and the Norwegian Shipowners' Association.
English: http://www.aftenbladet.no/energi/aenergy ...
Data published by the statistical office show that in the 3rd quarter of 2014 the unemployment rate slowly decreased to 25.5%, compared to 26.6% in the previous quarter, and 27.2% in the 3rd quarter of 2013. The number of employed persons increased by 1.4% compared with the previous quarter, and by 1.5% compared with the 3rd quarter of 2013. Unemployment among women (29.2%) is considerably higher than among men (22.6%), whilst the unemployment rate for youngsters (the age group 15-24 years) stays high (49.5%).
English: http://www.statistics.gr/portal/page/portal ...
After the case of the ABB shop steward dismissal was resolved the trade unions criticised the hardening attitude of employers that is challenging the whole labour market negotiation system. The reason for the hardening climate at workplaces is economic insecurity. Employers are dismissing employees, changing the organisation, increasing outsourcing and trying to replace collective agreements with less costly ones. Thus, shop stewards are put in a very difficult position. The growing demand for more effective production and increased stress also creates challenges in terms of occupational health. All this is creating a negative trend and atmosphere at workplaces.
English: http://heikkijokinen.info/en/trade-union-news-from-finland/666-dismissal-of ...
http://www.jhl.fi/portal/en/jhl_info/news/?bid=4797
Workers at automobile club ACL went on strike after 2 years of collective agreement negotiations failed. ACL, which offers a broad range of services to car owners, and trade unions met with an arbitrator in an attempt to unlock the sluggish negotiations, but did not reach an agreement and workers went on strike. Trade unions LCGB and OBGL asked for a 1% wage increase per year, which ACL management rejected. The new agreement will be valid retroactively from 1 January 2013, until the end of 2015. The agreement foresees a one-off bonus of 400 euros paid to workers on New Year's Day 2015. Employees covered by the agreement will also get a 1% pay rise on 1 January 2015.
English: http://www.wort.lu/en/business/automobile-club-strike-acl-and-unions-reach ...
Bus drivers of the Famagusta company called off a strike over pay-related grievances. Drivers started their action in protest at frequent delays and the risk of not receiving their 13th salary in time for Christmas. They also demanded the bus company to make its payment to the provident fund and other funds, which had not been made since May. The company said it was waiting for the transport ministry to give the money because even without a strike, the company did not have any fuel to run its service. In a statement workers called off the strike as a goodwill gesture, anticipating that the employer would pay their Christmas bonus before Christmas.
English: http://cyprus-mail.com/2014/12/18/famagusta-bus-strike/
Car manufacturer TCPA, which produces Toyota, Peugeot and Citroen models, has announced it will dismiss up to 500 agency workers from March 2015 onwards. The company said the job cuts are in response to falling demand. TCPA employs 3,700 workers, including 800 agency workers.
English: http://www.radio.cz/en/section/news/carmaker-tpca-to-cut-hundreds-of-jobs-in-march
In a staff discussion note on youth unemployment in Europe, recently published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the IMF acknowledges that the critical cause of the surge of youth unemployment was the dramatic collapse of output, explaining up to 70 % of the job destruction for young workers in vulnerable crisis countries. However, this does not lead to the vision that a reversal is needed of the IMF and Troika policies that have been applied over the last five years, including the lowering of worker's protection and cuts in social spending. The paragraph Unclear effects of collective bargaining dedicated to collective bargaining is a mixed soup of neo-liberal wishful thinking and economic reasoning without strong evidence. The paper states, for instance, `Firm-level bargaining tends to limit wage increases beyond productivity levels, thereby having less of a negative impact on overall employment and unemployment'.
English: http://www.equaltimes.org/the-imf-s-lack-of-vision-on-youth ...
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs ...
The trade union for nurses and midwives INMO has won an interesting case for two of its members. The public sector employer HSE refused 2010 salary scales to two nurses who returned from working in the UK Public Service to work in Ireland and instead placed them on new entrant salary scales. The INMO appealed the decision via the Labour Relations Commission, the Labour Court and latterly the EU Commission as a breach of Article 45 TFEU that settles the fundamental right of EU workers to free movement in the EU.
English: http://www.inmo.ie/Home/Index ...