The government has threatened high school teachers with arrest if they go ahead with a nationwide strike that would disrupt university entrance exams. It is the third time in 2013 this government has invoked emergency law to force strikers back to work. The conservative-led coalition wants state high school teachers to put in two more hours of work each week and transfer 4,000 of them to remote parts of the country in order to plug staffing gaps. OLME, the teachers' trade union, says that under the plan, about 10,000 part-time teachers could be dismissed once their temporary contracts expire. Just before the strike, teachers backed down and organised a four-hour walk out instead of the forbidden strike.
English: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/17/world/europe/greece-teachers-abandon-strike ...
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/05/12/uk-greece-strike ...
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Parliament is considering a law which would require all teachers to join a new organisation whose task would be to represent educators in negotiations with the state. Under the proposal all school and kindergarten teachers who work in state-run institutions would automatically become members. Unlike most unions, there will be no membership fees. The organisation's officers and coordinators in each county will receive a modest state salary. The proposal is motivated with the argument that `the government has found it difficult to conduct negotiations with several different representative groups'. In practice the government has often clashed with the trade unions over issues such as wages and the takeover of local schools by the central government.
English: http://www.politics.hu/20130516/government-mulling-creation-of-single-mandatory ...
Air traffic controllers began a four-hour work stoppage, disrupting flights at the start of the tourist season. The strike was to show solidarity with the striking teachers forced back to work after the government exercised emergency powers.
English: http://www.news24.com/Travel/International/Greek-air-traffic-controllers-strike ...
The trade union Hava-Is, which represents 14,000 of the airline's 15,800 workers, accused Turkish Airlines of intimidation to undermine a strike in protest over pay and previous sackings. The union said its impact would increase as it gains momentum. There was a heavy police presence at Turkey's busiest airport, where Hava-Is members gathered to hold a protest. Nevertheless, the strike is potentially significant for Turkish Airlines, ranked Europe's fourth-largest by passenger numbers, since sustained action could undermine expansion plans at one of the world's fastest-growing carriers. The union has been negotiating salaries and rest periods for long flights, which do not meet international standards.
English: http://www.worldbulletin.net ...
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/14/world ...
A sudden strike action has spread at Romanian Post. 14 Post offices in Bucharest were closed down and workers in other offices are threatening to stop work. The workers interrupted work because they are unhappy that the Post leadership wants to impose a number of unpaid free days and reduce the work schedule for all employees. They complain that they have to deliver the mail in just one delivery round a day, down from two previously. Employees say one trip is too little for the high volume of mail to deliver. Another complaint is that the management is reducing the working hours, leading to a salary cut of 15 to 20%.
English: http://www.romania-insider.com/sudden-strike-action-spreads ...
The government has formally approved an agreement it reached with trade unions to cut public sector wages by up to 4.8% as part of budget austerity measures the country needs to avoid an international bailout. Wage cuts in the country's large public sector follow earlier pay reductions carried out by the previous conservative government.
English: http://online.wsj.com/article ...
A TUC study finds 58% of 18-24-year-olds found work in 2013, against almost 65% in 2009, leaving a shortfall of 395,000 jobs. As published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development the battle for work is exemplified by data showing that as many as 45 people are applying for every low-skilled job. Many employers overwhelmed with applications told the CIPD they would not even consider school leavers or the long term unemployed. The number of people looking for work rose by 70,000 between December 2012 and February 2013, according to the latest count, taking the unemployment tally to 2.56 million people, 7.9% of the labour force.
English: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/may/14/young-people ...
The Electrician and IT Workers' Union called a strike on 29 April of 80 members who seek to sign a collective agreement with IT infrastructure company Atea. On May 7, it expanded the action to 3,000 members at regional power companies that are customers of Atea. The LO-affiliated trade union has now brought 466 of the members out on a solidarity strike. The walkout not only affects customers of western Norway companies Lyse and Haugaland Kraft, but could lead to national blackouts. At the urging of the Labour Ministry, the parties have returned to work.
English: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/05/16/norway-power-strike ...
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/05/14/norway-power-strike ...
http://theforeigner.no/pages/news/electricity-strike-widens-blackouts-and-international ...
After five long years of negotiations in the private bus sector, unions have finally reached a positive agreement on pay. The trade unions OGBL, LCGB and FLEAA unions and employers in the sector signed a collective agreement for bus drivers and assistants. As of 1 June 2013, workers will see a wage increase of 1.6%. In addition there will be the introduction of detailed and transparent accounting of all wage calculations, especially regarding work hours and length of service.
English: http://www.wort.lu/en/view/after-5-years-of-negotiations-bus-workers-get ...
The turnover of the shadow economy has increased to 16% of gross domestic product (GDP), was reported in a study of the credit card company Visa. The report The Shadow Economy in Europe said that the share of the shadow economy in the Czech Republic is lower than Europe's average of 18.5% of GDP. It is however twice as high compared to the rate in neighbouring Austria. A Visa spokesperson said that a major decline in economic activity builds a hotbed for the grey economy as unemployment is rising and people are uncertain about their future.
English: http://praguemonitor.com/2013/05/13 ...
http://www.visaeurope.com/en/about_us/industry_insights.aspx