A study published by the Friedrich Ebert foundation reveals that so far minimum wages in many European countries are set at rather low levels and are thus insufficient to prevent income poverty. Thorsten Schulten, the author, pleads for a European Wage Policy that leads to an agreement on a European Minimum Wage Norm. Such Norm could establish minimum wages as a certain percentage of national median or average wages. This European Minimum Wage Norm according to which all national minimum wages should at least be equivalent to 60% of national median wages would affect about 28 million workers or 16 per cent of the overall European workforce. It could contribute to a better coordination of wages in Europe.
English: http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/id-moe/11008.pdf
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The number of workers placed under reduced working hours increased for the third month in a row. At a meeting of the official committee that deals with the applications (the `comité de conjoncture') 23 businesses were granted their request to cut working hours in a bid to save costs. The state will compensate employees for the lost wages. In total, the companies employ 4,260 people, with 1,850 affected by the partial unemployment measure in November. While in August the number of workers on reduced hours was just 844 - a usual seasonal development - this rose to 1,023 in September and 1,123 for October.
English: http://www.wort.lu/en/business/chomage-partiel-labour-market-difficulties ...
Luxury hotels in Paris are being hit by a wave of strike over low wages. Chamber maids, valets, bartenders, cooks and other employees are protesting for better wages, arguing that hotels where rooms can cost more per night than their annual salaries, can afford to give them a better deal. Successes at two Parisian Hyatt hotels, where workers negotiated a better pay deal after days of full blown strike, have reinvigorated the protests at other luxury hotels.
English: http://www.thelocal.fr/20141022/paris-luxury-hotel-staff-strike-for-better-wages
Research institute FAFO has published an analysis of the Icelandic labour market in the frame of the NordMod 2030 project. The main characteristics of the labour market are a high level of union density, high labour force participation rate, long work hours, as well as late retirement. The trade union movement has a high level of organisation and also a high level of centralisation in confederations, with great capacity for cooperation and coordination. The existence of large umbrella organisations for both workers and employers in the private sector has made nationwide collective bargaining possible, with an active participation of the central government. In most cases collective bargaining takes place between the Confederation of Labour (ASI) and the SA-Business Iceland (SA). Bargaining rights however reside in individual unions.
English: http://www.fafo.no/pub/rapp ...
Up to 120 workers are expected to be laid off at Swedish owned electronic manufacturer Electrolux. Electrolux is closing down its Schwanden factory by the end of 2015. Company management made a statement blaming the closure on new Swiss regulations making it impossible to attain the "Made in Switzerland" label for its products. The announced closure follows several job cuts in the watch making industry, sprouting fears of an economic downturn.
English: http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/electrolux-plant-closure-highlights-job-fears ...
The ninth pilot strike since April at Lufthansa has grounded 1,511 flights and affected over 166,000 passengers. The pilots went on strike on 20 October over a raise in the early retirement age. Initially, the strike was limited to short and medium haul flights, but on Tuesday was extended to include long-haul flights. Lufthansa wants to increase the early retirement age, at which pilots can retire with up to 60% of their pay, which is currently at 55 years of age. The recurrent pilot strikes and the large scale rail dispute organised by a small corporatist union have initiated a public debate over the desirability of transport strikes and the introduction of a single union bill that limits the bargaining power of smaller unions.
English: http://www.dw.de/niche-unions-are-laming-germany ...
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz ...
All four education unions have announced they will join a teachers strike on 22 October. The teachers will organise a one-hour strike, followed by a one-day strike and possibly indefinite strike. The unions say teachers feel tricked into accepting wage moderation by false promised made to them while their situation continues to deteriorate. Whereas teachers earned 30% above the national average wage in 2008, they currently earn below average wages. Promised improvements of salary grades have failed to materialise, leading to the announcement of industrial action.
English: http://inserbia.info/today/2014/10/serbia-teachers-to-strike-on-wednesday/
A large scale strike forced 100 Delhaize supermarkets in Brussels and Wallonia to stay closed on 17 October. Warehouse workers walked off the job after proposals of far going pay cuts reached union officials. The pay cuts follow earlier proposals to cut 2,500 jobs, reported in the June 2014 newsletter.
English: http://supermarketnews.com/retail-financial/strikes-belgium-shut-down-delhaize ...
The trade union confederation `Podkrepa' and the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CITUB) have threatened with protests if a merger between the customs agency and the national revenue agency (NRA) is not called off. The merger is a political initiative to boost cooperation between the agencies, but trade unions have said it is merely a move to cover-up `wrongdoings by politicians' that will hurt workers.
English: http://www.novinite.com/view_news ...
The three trade union confederations have announced a joint national demonstration on 6 November, followed by regional strikes and a general strike on 15 December, to protest against the planned policy of the incoming government. The new coalition has formulated proposals that will endanger important workers' rights and provisions like the annual indexation of wages, with a wage freeze as a consequence, and an increase of the retirement age to 67 year.
English: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-2795107/Belgian-unions-plan-general ...