Ahead of the EU leaders Spring summit that is traditionally dedicated to economic issues, the ETUC has stated that austerity has aggravated the crisis. Wages have fallen by up to 23% across the EU, poverty has surged, and workers are overtaxed, said trade union leaders, calling on citizens to vote for a `social Europe' in the May elections for the European Parliament. Austerity measures, Troika-led or not, have hit all European countries and the strongest blow was taken by real wages. According to ETUC figures, only 10 countries out of 28 have not seen a decrease in real wages, and therefore citizens' purchasing power.
English: http://www.euractiv.com/socialeurope/austerity-aggravated-crisis-euro ...
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A symbolic wage offer of 1% for council employees in England, Wales and Northern Ireland who earn more than 14,880 has led to an outraged reaction from the trade union side. The offer could affect more than one million staff and follows a 1% rise last year, after a three-year wage freeze. Those on lower salaries will be offered a "slightly higher increase", the Local Government Association said. Trade union Unison stated that council employees had already endured a `devastating three-year pay freeze and then a miserly 1% increase last year, representing a fall in pay in real terms back to the level of the 1990s'. The trade unions launched a joint petition for decent pay in local government.
English: http://www.unison.org.uk/news/local-government-unions-launch-petition ...
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk ...
According to the Labour Force Survey of Statistics Austria, the year 2013 was characterised by a small decrease in the number of employed persons (4,175 million; -8,600 compared to 2012) together with a substantial rise of unemployed (215,200; +26,100). The number of self-employed was approximately as high as in 2012 (2013: 555,000), while the number of employees dropped slightly by 7,100 after a rise of 53,000 in 2012 and 41,400 in 2011 (from 2008 to 2010 the number had not changed significantly).
English: http://www.statistik.at/web_en/press ...
German: http://www.statistik.at/web_de/presse ...
Trade unions members occupied the Opera Garnier in a protest over proposed changes to labour rules for theatre workers. Members of the coordinating body of the workers stated on their website that they occupied the building to demand the government and employers pay more heed to union proposals as they negotiate new labour rules for workers in the performing sector. Employers' organisation Medef had proposed abolishing special unemployment benefits that the workers currently enjoy as seasonal employees.
English: http://www.therepublic.com/w/EU--France-Opera-Protest
The figures published in the 4th Federal Poverty Year Book make clear that 15.3% of the citizens in Belgium were living in poverty in 2011. Meanwhile, more than one in five households said that they had trouble making ends meet. Certain groups such as one-parent families and the self-employed are represented in increasing numbers in the figures. Furthermore, poverty no longer appears to be a mainly urban problem, but is also present in rural areas where a large numbers of elderly people and one parent families live.
English: http://www.deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws.english/Economy/140320_Poverty_report
French: http://www.acco.be/download/nl/313527676/samplechapter/pauvret__en_belgique ...
Dutch: http://www.politics.be/persmededelingen/38221/
The European Social Model (ESM) played a key role in shaping European societies in the post-war years. The importance of this comprehensive set of social policies to promote inclusive economic growth, high living standards and decent working conditions was clearly illustrated in the first phase of the crisis, when elements like social protection helped cushion the impact in terms of growth, unemployment and poverty. After the adoption of fiscal consolidation policies during the financial and economic crisis the model came under pressure. But, according to the ILO the model is still key to overcome the crisis. The organisation published the country presentations of a Brussels conference dedicated to this theme.
English: http://www.ilo.org/brussels/meetings-and-events ...
http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/comment-analysis ...
http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/who-we-are/ilo-director-general/news-and-press ...
A report on active employment policies provides information on the 0.55 million euro subsidies to firms in a difficult situation. The state has funded the temporary shortening of working hours over the past 16 months. Social partners had advocating this for a long time; it was included in the set of proposals for the economic recovery on which a national tripartite agreement was concluded in 2010. Under the scheme, firms could get money for the training of employees who lack work over falling demand as well as wage contributions. Forty-one employers signed contracts from September 2012 until the end of 2013. The active employment policy tools were aimed at people seeking a job for more than five months, disabled people, graduates, people with small children and those aged above 55 years.
English: http://praguemonitor.com/2014/03/18/czech-state-spends-czk-15m-kurzarbeit ...
Workers at Irrigation Systems have started national protests, including a hunger strike, to demand their unpaid wages. Irrigation Systems has major financial difficulties and has been unable to pay its workers' wages for over four months. The company has large outstanding debts to several power distribution companies, who are now threatening to cut off electricity. While criminal procedures are underway against the former chief of Irrigation Systems, no solution has been found regarding the unpaid wages.
English: http://www.novinite.com/articles/158884/
http://www.focus-fen.net/news/2014/03/18/330263/three-workers-at-irrigation-systems ...
Due to the lack of progress in negotiations to finalise a new collective agreement public sector workers are planning a series of strikes in June which will affect daily life over a one-week period. National, regional and local civil servants and workers in regional security teams, social work centres and parts of the healthcare sector will take it in turns to down tools for a day.
English: http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2014/03/public_sector_workers_plan ...
The Confederation of Danish Employers DA and the trade union confederation LO concluded a deal that ends the bargaining round started in January 2014. The draft agreement for renewing more than 500 collective agreements in the private sector covers almost 600,000 employees. The current agreements, which were signed in 2012, expired on 1 March 2014. Usually, the negotiations in the industry sector mark the beginning of the new round of talks. These industry sector talks take place between the negotiation cartel, the Central Organisation of Industrial Employees (CO-industri) and the largest employer organisation, the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI). The outcome of the so-called Industry Agreement, covering 240,000 employees, sets the template for other groups in the private labour market under the domain of LO and DA.
English: http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/2014/01/articles ...