Collective Bargaining

Support staff from higher education institutions walked off the job on 31 October to protest against falling real wages and a meagre pay offer in the current round of collective bargaining. Trade unions Unison, Unite and UCU commented that real wages have fallen by 13% since 2008. The workers, including cleaners, security, administrative and catering staff, have rejected a 1% pay rise offered by the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA).
English: http://www.unison.org.uk/news/strike-over-phantom-pay-rise ...
http://www.unitetheunion.org/news/unite-university-staff-strike-tomorrow ...

After the Cabinet announced a dialogue with stakeholders on labour conditions in the private sector the trade unions came out - one with strike action authorised - to say that whatever this dialogue may be, it better leave collective rights out of it. The dialogue, still expressed in vague terms, entails looking at overtime, holiday and shift allowances, wage increases and cost-of-living allowances, end-of-year and Easter bonuses, restructuring working hours, part-time employment, and newcomers' wages.
English: http://cyprus-mail.com/2013/11/01/collective-agreements ...

The harsh recession that followed the 2007-08 global financial crisis swept away many of the blue-collar jobs traditionally filled by men in Italy, the U.S. and other countries as well. But the trend is having a surprising side effect: Not only were women more likely to keep their jobs, but tens of thousands more are heading back into the workplace. The economic downturn is starting to push women into the workplace, even as traditionally male-dominated jobs disappear.
English: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles ...

The average wage earned by employees of the smallest companies corresponds to 68% of the average wage in businesses with more than 1,000 staff, an analysis made by Platy.cz has shown. The 15 positions in which wages in small companies are higher than in big companies include, for example, a building fitter, window dresser, confectioner and crane operator. In contrast, people in managerial posts earn relatively higher wages in big companies. The reason is responsibility for a bigger budget and/or for more regions.
English: http://praguemonitor.com/2013/10/31/average-wage-small-firms-reaches-68 ...
http://www.platy.cz/en

A study commissioned by the Chamber of Labour (AK) showed that going to work when sick can be branded a ticking time bomb. It resulted in damage created not only for the employee but also for the company. The main reasons why people went to work when sick were that there was a lack of cover when they were off sick, reward schemes for attendance, being motivated in their jobs and their relationships to colleagues. Respondents also said they feared the consequences such as losing their job when being off sick. AK sees the results as an argument to improve working conditions and as a plea for sufficient calculation of employees as well as a ban on rewards for attendance such as bonuses and vouchers for staff who work all year without taking time off sick.
English: http://austriantimes.at/news/Business/2013-10-31/50027/New_study_shows_dangers ...
German: http://media.arbeiterkammer.at/ooe/presseunterlagen/2013/PKU_KrankZurArbeit .

In protest at the right-of-centre government's draft state budget for 2014, which includes moves to farm out concessions to private investors, as well as reducing state subsidies for the sector, a series of actions is planned in the transport sector in the coming days. The Lisbon Metro closed in the run-up to a strike that the union representing its workers has scheduled on 31 October. Earlier on, Lisbon's metro system was shut down on 8 October for a strike for the fourth time this year. The workers were protesting against the austerity politics. Metro workers appear to be leading the way, as more public sector unions have announced protests for later this month.
English: http://www.timesunion.com/news/world/article/Lisbon-subway-shuts-in-anti-austerity ...
http://theportugalnews.com/news/lisbon-underground-to-close-from-1130pm-as-workers-strike ...
http://www.timesunion.com/news/world/article/Lisbon-subway-strike-heralds-new-wave ...

A study published during the conference Part-time in the Nordic region comes with figures that look at both men and women in full-time or part-time work across all of the Nordic countries. Part-time work lasting for more than ten years has larger consequences for the pension pay-out. But none of the part-time working women across all of the countries were paid less than 94% of what a woman in full-time work in the same occupation would get from her pension.
English: http://www.nordiclabourjournal.org/nyheter/article.2013-10-31 ...

The trade union ASTB is protesting against the new rail timetable, which comes into force on 15 December 2013, and which, ASTB says, will result in a reduction in break-times for train conductors. According to rail authority SNCB/NMBS, talks took place last week in a `constructive and serene' atmosphere, though no resolution was reached. ASTB is the smallest rail union, with about 500 members. However, its actions in the past have led to significant disruption.
English: http://www.xpats.com/union-threatens-train-strike-november-5

The negotiations in the metal sector resulted in a first agreement in the machinery and metalware branches (120,000 workers). After five rounds of negotiations the trade unions PRO-GE and GPA-djp concluded an agreement with the employers' organisation FMMI that does not link the wage increase with further flexibilisation of the working time (an employer demand). The lowest pay scales will increase as from 1 November 2013 with 3.2%, the higher with 2.5%. The new minimum wage in the agreement is €1,688.71. It was agreed to have separate talks about a new working time agreement, to be finalised before next summer.
English: http://www.industriall-union.org/austrian-metalworkers-reach-285-per-cent-wage-increase
German: http://www.oegb.at/servlet/Content ...
http://www.fmmi.at/presse-aktuelles/presseaussendungen ...

All pensions in Romania will increase by 3.75% in 2014 next year, prime-minister Victor Ponta recently said. However, this increase will not apply to employees with high salaries, but to those professional categories with low wages, such as residents and teachers who are at the beginning of their career.
English: http://www.romania-insider.com/romanian-pm-all-pensions-will-go-up-3-75-next-year ...