Rail unions went on strike on 12 December, saying the minister for transport has broken promises made last year. In October 2012, the minister promised to prevent the fragmentation of the network, to ensure that railways are financially viable, and to improve freight services. Unions, however, say national rail company SNCF is already implementing reforms ahead of a parliamentary debate about its future that will be held in the beginning of 2014.
English: http://www.itfglobal.org/news-online ...
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Public sector workers working shifts have gathered outside the Parliament to protest against a draft budget that proposes to cut half of their shift allowance. The workers, employed amongst others in power stations, ports, police stations, hospitals and telecommunications, say they work longer and more anti-social hours to keep vital services running. A trade union said the workers had already accepted a six day working week, acknowledging the worrying situation in the country, but said that losing the shift work compensation is a bridge too far.
English: http://cyprus-mail.com/2013/12/12/public-sector-workers-protest ...
Employers have reacted enraged at a plan by Social Affairs minister Asscher to raise the unpaid paternal leave provisions from two to five days. Employers' organisation VNO-NCW said the minister is `out of his mind' to add allowances while companies are struggling.
English: http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2013/12/employers_furious_at_unpaid ...
Trade unions and employers organisations in the transport sector have made known they will embark on a study visit to Norway and Finland to investigate their respective systems of declaring collective agreements universally applicable. Like the Danes, Swedish social partners have traditionally been against universal applicability, preferring to leave participation in collective agreements voluntary. In the transport sector, however, increased competition has prompted fears that the current system will undermine employers who offer decent working conditions. The social partners note that foreign transport companies, registered in other EU member states, are running domestic routes while paying inferior wages and disrespecting working hours in the collective agreement. Officially, cabotage rules only allow foreign companies to run limited domestic routes to avoid empty trucks returning home, but social partners report that these rules are often ignored. Unions and employers also report falling collective agreement coverage in the taxi business, as contacts for publicly funded transport (amongst others for people who are ill or disabled) are only awarded to the lowest bidder.
English: http://www.nordiclabourjournal.org/nyheter/news-2013/article.2013-12-10 ...
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) have condemned the latest brutal attack against a journalist by members of the Golden Dawn party, while also expressing their concern that police did not stop the incident. According to the IFJ/EFJ affiliate, the Journalists' Union of the Athens Daily Newspapers (JUADN), police were present at the meeting, but did not attempt to stop the attack. The trade unions stated that protecting journalists from such attacks is not just a matter of protecting individuals; it amounts to fortifying democracy itself.
English: http://www.ifj.org/en/articles/ifj-efj-condemn-latest-attack-on-greek-journalist ...
Figures from the European Commission show the gender pay gap in Romania widened between 2008 and 2011. The pay gap, measured as the difference in average earnings by men and women, increased from 8.5% to 12.1%. The increase in Romania goes against a European trend of a slow diminishing of the gender pay gap. The gender pay gap in Romania remains smaller than the EU average, which was 16.2% in 2011.
English: http://www.romania-insider.com/widening-of-romanias-gender-pay-gap-biggest ...
Zagreb Airport has recorded its seventh consecutive month of passenger decline on the back of a two day strike staged by its employees. The airport welcomed 151.760 passengers in November, a decrease of 8.2% compared to the same month last year. The number of flights operating to and from the airport was also significantly down. In the meantime, the French led consortium, Zagreb Airport Internatonal Company (ZAIC) that has taken control over the airport has planned to build a brand new passenger terminal.
English: http://balkans.com/open-news.php ...
On 9 December, the court sentenced an unlicensed gangmaster to seven years in jail for offences under the Gangmasters Licensing Act. The Act, which regulates the application of national labour laws to contracts of temporary workers in the agricultural and food processing sectors, was adopted in 2004 to combat widespread exploitation of migrant workers. The illegal gangmaster was found guilty of acting as an unlicensed gangmaster, possessing a licence belonging to another person, conspiracy to money laundering and physical assault on his employees. This is the first time an illegal gangmaster is jailed rather than fined for offences under the act.
English: http://www.staffingindustry.com/eng/Research-Publications/Daily-News/UK ...
Focus on the Gangmaster Licensing Act: http://www.ilo.org/dyn/migpractice/migmain ...
In an ongoing conflict in the Risavika port the Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) and the Transport Workers' Union (NTF) demand that the framework agreement for cargo-handling work (dockers) is applied. The conflict stems from the Risavika operator's refusal to sign a new agreement that will give the dockers in NTF rights to all work carried out at the harbour. The NTF calls the harbour employer's refusal to sign `a declaration of war' and claims the harbours and terminals like Risavika want to use `underpaid foreign seafarers instead,' to help with the vessel loading and unloading. However, Industri Energi, another trade union affiliated to confederation LO notes that the work at Risavika is carried out by union members. The key question is about which collective agreement that shall regulate wage and working conditions at the port.
English: http://www.newsinenglish.no/2013/12/09/dockers-fail-to-win-much-support/
http://www.industrienergi.no/modules/m02/article ... [close]
English: http://www.newsinenglish.no/2013/12/09/dockers-fail-to-win-much-support/
http://www.industrienergi.no/modules/m02/article ... [close]
The bank Nykredit announced its latest austerity plan entitled `NyKredit 2015'; the aim is to save half a billion kroner. A substantial part of the savings will come at a human cost, with 300 managerial and staff positions being cut. Nykredit already cut 125 jobs in January 2012. The employees stated that they are suffering for corporate incompetence. Once again, less than two years after the last round of layoffs, the workers are penalised for a lack of due diligence and co-ordination within the company.
English: http://cphpost.dk/news/nykredit-cuts-300-jobs.8054.html