Real average wage growth has remained far below pre-crisis levels globally, going into the red in developed economies, although it has remained significant in emerging economies. Global monthly wages grew by 1.2 % in 2011, down from 3 % in 2007 and 2.1 % in 2010. While wages grew significantly in emerging economies, differences in wage levels remain considerable. Fluctuations were widest in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, partly as a result of the strong post-transition recovery in wages before the global economic crisis, and the severe contraction in real wages in 2009.The global trend has resulted in a change in the distribution of national income, with the workers share decreasing while capital income shares increase in a majority of countries. The drop in the labour share is due to technological progress, trade globalisation, the expansion of financial markets, and decreasing union density, which have eroded the bargaining power of labour. Wage growth suffered a double-dip in developed economies where it is forecast at zero per cent in 2012.
English: http://www.ilo.org/global/research/global-reports ...
Search results
Find articles
Most Europeans want public budgets for works, goods and services through public procurement to be spent `socially' and over half of EU Member States support the inclusion of social criteria in public contracts through a range of measures. Among all social considerations, the most important are the wages of workers hired by the contracting companies. In labour intensive industries wage costs are the most important cost factor and so they also play a major role in determining the price of the tender process. An EPSU comparative study of pay clauses in public procurement procedures in Denmark, German, Norway, Switzerland and the UK shows that pay clauses help avert downward pressures on wages. In the study it is concluded that establishing minimum standards through social and pay clauses prevents a race to the bottom.
English: http://www.epsu.org/a/9151
According to Statistics Austria, the number of employed persons increased to a total of 4,242 million in the 3rd quarter of 2012 (4,200 million in the 3rd quarter of 2011). The number of unemployed people rose to a total of 192,000 in the 3rd quarter of 2012, an increase of 31,300 persons compared to the 3rd quarter of 2011, resulting in a higher unemployment rate (not seasonally adjusted) of 4.3% (3rd quarter of 2011: 3.7%). Men and women were affected similarly by the increase in the unemployment rate (men: 4.3%, women: 4.4%).
English: http://www.statistik.at/web_en/dynamic/press/069008
The private sector wages increased by an average of 1.4% in 2012, according to new figures from Statistics Denmark. The bad news is that prices increased by 2.3%, marking the third year running that inflation outstripped the salary increase. On average, real wages have increased by 1.1% since the 80s and from 1990 until the crisis set in, employees enjoyed an uninterrupted period of rising real wages. In the meantime, the outflow of jobs from Denmark seems to be slowing according to numbers from Statistics Denmark and reports from the business sector.
English: http://cphpost.dk/business/wages-rose-last-year-prices-rose-even-more http://cphpost.dk/business/lost-jobs-starting-return
Trade union GSEE has made available an overview of public sector reforms in Greece via the European Observatory for Industrial Relations (EIRO). In the report, the GSEE outlines the pay cuts, reforms, the weakening of the position of collective bargaining and increasing dismissals.
English: http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/2012/02/articles/gr1202019i.htm
Lawmakers in the Greenlandic capital have voted in favour of relaxing regulations on local mining firms. The move, which will allow Chinese companies and other international groups to import cheap labour, comes as the increasing ice melt continues to expose the landmass' geology, which experts say is exceptionally rich in rare earths and other lucrative minerals. Opposition to the measure remains strong, not only within Greenland, but also from within the international community. Many cite ethical concerns about allowing companies to pay foreign miners' wages that are well below current minimums under Danish law.
English: http://www.icenews.is/2012/12/13/controversial-greenland-mining-labour ...
US based Opel owner, General Motors (GM), has announced it will halt the production of cars in its Bochum plant in 2016. While GM has not said it is closing the plant entirely, unions argue that the shutting down of the production of Opel implies the plant's closure. The end of production puts 3,300 jobs at the plant itself and 40,000 at various subcontractors on the line. Opel is the biggest single employer in the region.
English: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/dec/10/opel-shut-bochum-factory ...
http://www.equaltimes.org/news/germany-takes-latest-hit-in-auto-industry-crisis
A court in Groningen imposed a €250,000 in damages on Turkish steel braiding company Ha-Sa Insaat, performing work in the Dutch Eemshaven. Trade unions and employers organisations, who brought the case to court for alleged violations of the collective agreement in the construction sector, expressed their satisfaction with the judgement. Ensuring equal pay and working conditions at the Eemshaven construction site, where companies from many different countries deliver services, has been a union priority for years and recently its legal strategy has started to pay off.
English: http://www.bwint.org/default.asp?Index=4593&Language=EN
A report of the European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO) was published on reform and bargaining in the electricity sector. The report concludes that while the market has undergone drastic changes and employment has gone down, stable industrial relations have been maintained. In the last two decades, EU member states have liberalised their electricity markets, and sustainability concerns have shifted much of the market's growth towards renewable energies.
English: http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/studies/tn1202028s/index.htm
The Executive Council of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has endorsed a proposal to hold a series of major demonstrations on 9 February 2013 to demand a restructuring of the country's debt burden as a prerequisite for recovery and a necessary condition for the maintenance of social cohesion. Demonstrations are to be held in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Sligo, Limerick and Waterford and are timed to coincide with the EU Council of Ministers' meetings. Ireland will hold the EU Presidency for the first six months of 2013. The Executive stated that the policy prescription forced upon the Irish Government and people by the EU/ECB/IMF Troika is not the correct course.
English: http://www.ictu.ie/press/2012/12/12/congress-to-hold-major-protests ... http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/1212/breaking47.html