Collective Bargaining

Workers at the Ugljan island shipyard fear for the future of their jobs after the European Commission demanded the government cut subsidies to its four largest shipyards to meet fair competition standards. Rushed privatisations left the shipyards with lower production capacity, leading to the bankruptcy of the Kraljevica shipyard and the shedding of thousands of jobs.
English: http://www.equaltimes.org/croatia-s-shipyard-workers-face ...

PSA Peugeot Citroen is preparing to cut another 3,450 jobs in 2015 as the troubled carmaker pursues a recovery plan. The cuts, to be achieved through a combination of early retirements, voluntary buyouts and internal transfers, will be presented to the trade unions during a works council meeting that will address staffing plans under a labour deal struck with unions last year. Some 1,500 of the affected workers are said to receive early retirement, with a further 550 offered buyouts and 1,400 transferred to new positions.
English: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/19/us-peugeot-cuts ...

Up to 680 of the total 3,200 workers at the Ford Craiova plant will be laid off due to low demand. The car maker has launched a voluntary leave programme that employees can sign up to. A spokesperson confirms that layoffs will follow if not enough people volunteer.
English: http://www.romania-insider.com/ford-starts-voluntary-leave-program ...

Geneva drivers of streetcars and busses have organised a one day strike, halting virtually all public transport in the capital. The drivers are protesting against budget cuts and expected job reductions. Members of the union voted 93 percent in favour of the work stoppage to protest an "austerity" budget for transit and the planned reduction of 100 jobs.
English: http://www.thelocal.ch/20141119/strike-grinds-geneva-public-transit-to-halt

Over a thousand workers gathered in front of Parliament to protest against a new law that would increase taxes on fringe benefits from 35.7% up to 51.17%, while at the same time lowering the maximum possible annual amount of this allowance paid by the employers. As the fringe benefits constitute a substantial part of many families' incomes, the higher tax would lead to a loss of purchasing power across the board. During the protest, the leader of the ruling Fidesz party promised to vote against the law, which was defeated in Parliament two days later.
English: http://www.industriall-union.org/hungarian-workers-protest-against-austerity

Two hundred miners have occupied the offices of the EU's largest thermal coal producer, Kompania Weglowa S.A. (KW), in Katowice. The occupation followed news that KW will liquidate the firm, threatening the jobs of 46,000 workers. KW has been facing financial problems for years and is already subject to a social plan in which its workforce reduces by 26,000. However, even with the reorganisation the company has been unable to gather the funds needed to keep it in business. The miners demand to speak to representatives from the labour ministry, which has refused to bailout the company, as well as payment of owed wages. The occupation ended after six days, when the ministry agreed to talks and subsequently gave union representatives guarantees in respect of the company and other mining companies in difficulties.
English: http://www.industriall-europe.eu/news ...
http://www.industriall-union.org/200-polish-miners-occupy-company-headquarters

Workers at the Defence Support Group, which is in charge of maintenance and repairs of Defence equipment, organised a four day strike over a wage offer of 1%. The main sites affected by the industrial action were Bovington, Dorset; Catterick, North Yorkshire; Colchester, Essex; Donnington, Shropshire; Stirling and Warminster, Wiltshire. The workers are angry about a wage offer that falls below the inflation rate as well as anxious about their jobs after announcements that the group will be privatised next year.
English: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-30074422

After the government refused to exempt teachers from public-sector salary reductions, the trade unions in education have cut classes from 45 to 30 minutes in a strike. The new budget, adopted on October 22, includes wage cuts of 10% across the board in the public sector. A spokesperson of the unions said teachers were well aware of the difficult economic situation, but wanted the burden of the crisis more equally distributed. While the average salary in the public sector is 70,000 dinars (585 euro) a month, in education the average salary is 42,000 dinars (342 euro).
English: http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/175663/serbia-teachers-strike-over-pay-cuts ...

Steel workers at AST steelworks, a subsidiary of the Germany based ThyssenKrupp, have blocked the highway between Milan and Naples, demanding clear answers to the question what will happen to their jobs. The workers already took to the streets this summer, as reported in the July newsletter, when 100 million cuts and up to 550 layoffs were announced. In the meantime, the workers are still uncertain whether they will lose their jobs and which plants will be shut down.
English: http://www.gazzettadelsud.it/news/english/116273/Striking-AST-steelworkers-block ...

In the middle of ongoing negotiations over a bargaining system, a shop steward at ABB factory in Helsinki was fired for instigating illegal walk-outs. The Metal Workers Union and Swiss based power and automation technology company ABB have been in negotiations over reforms of the company's bargaining system. The trade union and several media reacted outraged to the dismissal for unwarranted reasons. Two days after the dismissal, the union announced that the case had been resolved, but did not disclose the details of the deal.
English: http://heikkijokinen.info/en/trade-union-news-from-finland/666-dismissal-of ...