Collective Bargaining

Strike action by over 2,000 workers in Turkey has paid off as union Birleşik Metal İş won a major victory in securing a better deal for metalworkers. Some 2,200 workers at three companies and 13 plants across Turkey began strike action on 20 January. A breakthrough came following talks on 23 January between union representatives and management. The companies finally increased their offer and reached an agreement that will increase workers’ wages, social benefits and overtime pay, as well as provide other benefits.

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Police officers are planning a four-hour token strike on 3 February over the government’s failure to implement commitments made in the December 2018 agreement that had ended a protracted strike. The strike was announced by the Trade Union of Police Officers (SPS), one of the two unions in the force, which also invited the second union, the Police Trade Union of Slovenia (PSS), to join. The union claims that agreed pay raises and promotions have not been fully implemented.

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The trade union IG BAU announced that a new wage agreement with construction employers was reached which will increase minimum wages in the sector. The minimum wages for unskilled construction workers will increase by €0.35 to €12.55 per hour. The so-called second minimum wage (for skilled workers) will increase by €0.20 to €15.40 per hour in West Germany and to €15.25 in Berlin. The new minimum wage rates will apply from 1 April 2020.

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The Nordic Gender Effect at Work is one of the Nordic prime ministers’ most important projects for the advancement of gender equality. Gender equality politics have brought increased employment, improved family life and economic growth in the Nordic region. In Iceland, fathers take roughly 30% of the total available leave. Longer periods of leave mean they rely less on the mothers for help, and identify to a lesser degree with traditional male stereotypes.

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The European Employment Services (EURES) platform has addressed the issue of seasonal fluctuations in the labour market. Seasonal fluctuations in employment and unemployment, particularly in the construction and tourism sectors, are common in many European countries. The degree of fluctuation differs between member states and is linked to certain conditions such as statutory regulations and regulations under collective agreements, corporate practice, and the mobility and proportion of the foreign workforce in a particular member state.

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The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI), which represents some 19,000 members in secondary schools, colleges of further and adult education, institutes of technology and universities, announced a strike for 4 February 2020. The dispute centres around the big pay differences between those hired before and after 2011. New secondary school teachers earn 10% less in the first 10 years of their career than they would have before the recession-era cutbacks were implemented.

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In an interview, the President of the Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions of Serbia (CATUS) said that the last five years were extremely difficult for Serbian workers. The period has been marked by low salaries and pensions and a ban on new employment in the public sector. CATUS did its best, but is still not satisfied with the results. Workers exposed to employer pressure could not always find “shelter under the union’s umbrella”.

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Police, nurses, teachers and public administration workers have announced strike action across Portugal, threatening to bring the country to a halt. PSP and GNR police unions have stated that they will be holding monthly protests until the government responds to their demands. Their demands include the payment of a risk allowance, higher salaries, an increase in staff and a call for better personal protection equipment.

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Figures published by the Czech Statistics Office show that foreign workers made up 13% of the labour force in 2019. In 2010 it was just 6%, meaning the number has more than doubled over the last decade. This growth can be explained by the historically low unemployment figures in the same period.

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“Four Day Week Ireland” is a campaign advocating for a gradual, steady, managed transition to a shorter working week for all workers, in the private and public sectors. It aims to start a public conversation on the case for reduced working hours.

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