Municipal workers in Amsterdam staged a two-hour strike on 19 May to demand a new collective agreement with decent pay, clear employment agreements, steady jobs and more respect for their work. Protests in other cities are expected in June. All municipal workers fall under the collective agreement of the municipalities, which expired over a year ago. Trade unions have tabled wage demands of 2.5% in 2013 and 3% in 2014, in a long negotiation process.
English: http://www.nltimes.nl/2014/05/19/amsterdam-workers-strike/
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Trade union leaders in Sicily threatened to call a general strike if as many as 30,000 workers on the regional government payroll do not receive months of unpaid back wages. They called the situation in Sicily dramatic and are very worried about the grave social, economic and administrative crisis in which Sicily has plunged. The 30,000 workers depend on the regional budget and have been for months without salaries.
English: http://www.gazzettadelsud.it/news/92714/Sicily-unions-urge--general-mobilisation ...
Destatis, the official statistical bureau, published figures that show that the population is getting older fast, but the number of workers over 60 is rapidly outstripping that increase. Between 1991 and 2012 the number of workers over 60 still in work rose from 1.23 million to 3.18 million - a rise of almost 160%. The population of over 60's, meanwhile, rose by 34%. Probably the biggest cause behind this trend are labour market and pension reforms over the last two decades, which have seen benefits cut and retirement ages rise.
English: http://www.thelocal.de/20140519/elderly-germans-stay-on-in-jobs
The proposal to introduce a minimum wage was rejected by 76% of voters in a referendum. Under the plan, employers would have had to pay workers a minimum 22 Swiss francs (about 18 euros) an hour. The trade unions that initiated the referendum have always said that the proposed introduction of a minimum wage at that level was necessary for people to live a decent life. They argued that surviving on less than 4,000 francs a month is not possible because rents, health insurance and food are all prohibitively expensive.
English: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-27459178
http://www.thelocal.ch/20140515/pay-under-less-tha4000-a-month-challeng
Data from the statistical office CSU reveal that 18% of working Czechs live in poverty since their low pay hardly suffices for their subsistence. Some professions are the most threatened with poverty, primarily unqualified workers, such as cashiers in supermarkets, cleaning ladies and security agency workers. In the annual economy report 2013 the office notes that the sinking of real wage in the non-business sector lasts already more than 4 years in a row, 2 years in the business sector. The real wage in total for the economy fell year-on-year by 1.3 % in 2013, in the 4th quarter the lowering was by 2.9%; historically the deepest slump since the commencement of observation.
English: http://www.czso.cz/csu/2013edicniplan.nsf ...
http://www.praguepost.com/economy/39027-mfd-one-in-five-working-czechs-lives-in-poverty
The government signed a deal with the trade unions and representatives of the home appliance maker Electrolux to stave off the threat of closure for one of the company's factories and to save 1,200 jobs. Electrolux will invest around €150 million by 2017 and will suspend planned redundancies in exchange for tax breaks for the four plants affected in central and northern Italy. The trade unions stated that this deal `shows public money should be spent on firms that do not sack people and do not outsource'. The agreement has to be voted on by factory workers and provides for meetings every six months between trade unionists, company executives and government officials to monitor its implementation.
English: http://www.thelocal.se/20140516/electrolux
Tens of thousands of public sector workers joined the 15 May public sector strike to demand higher wages and an end to austerity. The strike was felt in schools, hospitals, airports, city transport, police stations and government buildings around the country. Air France reports that 115 flights were cancelled. Despite the turn out, government representatives reacted that there could be no wage increases before there is economic growth.
English: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.aspx?id=218611
Security workers at Amsterdam Schiphol airport have initiated industrial action against indecent working conditions. Hundreds joined a manifestation whereas others wore protest badges on the job. The workers are protesting against insecure contracts, being made to work long hours without sufficient breaks and irregular pay and hours. In a reaction, Schiphol management said it was ready to include decent working conditions in any new contracts with the security firms, but did not make any concrete commitments. Trade unions said they were happy with this promise, but would continue to monitor the situation carefully.
English: http://unionrenewal.blogspot.nl/2014/05/security-officers-at-schiphol-airport.html
The Turin Court of Appeal has condemned Fiat Industrial for anti-union behaviour. The case concerns a three year ongoing industrial conflict, reported in the October-December 2011 and August-September 2013 CBN newsletters, in which Fiat scrapped all labour contracts in its factories to reinstate the workers on longer shifts. Following strike action, Fiat then reached an agreement with several unions but not with Fiom-CGIL, which has been the most prominent opponent of the plans and represented the largest share of workers. Subsequently, Fiom-CGIL was excluded from the Special Negotiation Body (SNB) that was supposed to negotiate the Group's European Works Council (EWC). The judge ruled it is illegal to attempt to limit the right of association by only granting union representation to unions that sign collective agreements.
English: http://www.industriall-europe.eu/news/list2.asp?stid=203
Negotiations between pilots and Icelandair on a collective bargaining agreement were broken off. The International Transport Workers' Federation stated: `The company has had tremendous success over the last four years, resulting in substantial executive bonuses and an excellent return on investment for shareholders'. Therefore, the Union of Icelandic Pilots FIA says it is time the workers saw some financial benefit - but Icelandair management is declining to share. Following the collapse of negotiations between the airline and the Union of Icelandic Pilots the parliament passed a legislative bill on banning a strike. According to the bill, the Union of Icelandic Pilots and Icelandair have until June 1 to reach an agreement or the matter will be placed before an industrial disputes tribunal.
English: http://www.itfglobal.org/news-online/index.cfm/newsdetail/10445