The annual trade union congress has voted in favour of plans for a co-ordinated general strike. The protests are a response to years of budget cuts in the public sectors while inequality is rising. Until now, trade unions have resorted to large-scale demonstrations rather than strikes.
English: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-19544483
Focus on general strikes in the UK: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/sep ...
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The labour court rules that the working week in local authorities will be increased to at least 34 hours for current personnel and 35 for newly hired or promoted staff. Local authorities announced their intentions to up working hours earlier this year but were taken to court by trade unions, who argued this would constitute a de facto wage cut, which is precluded under the Croke Park agreement. The ruling will affect over 5,000 employees in clerical, administrative, engineering, technical and related grades. They will see their working time increase by between 15 and 65 minutes a week - or between 3 and 13 minutes a day - depending on their current hours.
English: http://www.impact.ie/12/09/10/Labour-Court-introduces-minimum-34-hour ...
http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0910/council-staff-to-work-longer-hours.html
Lufthansa has announced it will quit temporary staffing without further pre-conditions in an attempt to stop the strikes and return to the bargaining table. The 200 flight attendants hired via temp agencies will receive permanent job offers. Earlier this month, unions at Lufthansa organised warning strikes leading to the cancellation of 50% of all Lufthansa flights and stranding over 100,000 travellers. Lufthansa expressed a wish to return to constructive negotiations. Next to the demand to end temporary staffing, unions have asked for a 5% wage increase to compensate for three years of wage moderation.
English: http://www.staffingindustry.com/eng/Research-Publications ...
http://www.thelocal.de/national/20120908-44843.html
Workers at an Amsterdam nursing home, Osira Amstelring, went on strike after their employer closed a company level collective agreement excluding the main trade unions in the sector. After a parliamentary vote annulling the selective collective agreement, the workers negotiated a new collective agreement. The agreement includes sections on workload, the right to an 8-hour working day and union rights.
English: http://unionrenewal.blogspot.nl/2012/09/breakthrough-for-protesting ...
Swedish unions Handels and Unionen have teamed up with local trade union Koop-Is, representing IKEA workers in Turkey. Local union activists have received home visits from IKEA representatives to pressure them into leaving the union.
English: http://www.thelocal.se/43086/20120907/
http://www.uniglobalunion.org/Apps ...
Average wage in Lithuania is very low comparing to other EU countries - close to LTL 2,000 (? 580) per month; moreover during 2008-2010 it decreased by almost 8% on average. In some sectors (e.g., manufacturing) the crisis has affected the number of employees, while in other sectors (e.g., public administration and defence; compulsory social security) it has rather hit the level of wages. Average wage decreased sharply in 2009 and remained relatively stable throughout 2010 and 2011. Gross wage growth remains modest, and net real wage growth was still negative in the second quarter of 2012, a trend that has been continuing for three-and-a-half years.
English: http://www.swedbank-research.com/english/lithuanian_economy ...
http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/ewco/studies/tn1203015s/lt1203019q.htm
According to the Employment Ministry a proposal by Dansk Folkeparti (DF) and Venstre (V), if approved by a majority in Parliament, would force some workers to work for salaries as low as 30 kroner an hour and without the right to strike. The proposal was made to limit the rights of trade unions to enter into conflicts with businesses that sign collective bargaining agreements with independent unions that tend to leave their employees worse off. According to the Employment Ministry, this would open up the possibility of employers getting away with substantially lower salaries and could undermine the working conditions that have been secured through the Danish employment model.
English: http://cphpost.dk/news/national/venstre-proposal-could-mean-30-kroner-hour ...
A leaked email from the EU, ECB and IMF to the Greek government has revealed further demands for labour reform. One of the suggestions is the introduction of a six-day working week. Further proposals in the letter, which comes on the eve of another troika inspection visit, include increased flexibility of work schedules; setting the minimum daily rest to 11 hours; delinking the working hours of employees from the opening hours of the establishment; eliminating restrictions on minimum/maximum time between morning and afternoon shifts; and allowing the consecutive two-week leave to be taken anytime during the year in seasonal sectors. The demands come at a time that many European leaders have criticized the lack of progress in Greece.
English: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/sep/04/eurozone-six-day-week-greece
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19491266
Unions at a container terminal in Rijeka have signed the first collective bargaining agreement (CBA) for container operations in the Adriatic region with the terminal operator, the Philippine-based container port company ICTSI. According to the management of the subsidiary Adriatic Gate Container Terminal (AGCT), the agreement aims to guarantee a greater level of training, social development, safety and productivity.
English: http://www.informare.it/news/gennews/2012/20121528-AdriaticGate ...
http://positivenewsmedia.com/blog/2012/09/ictsi-croation-subsidiarys ...
Social partners have come to an agreement over the amendment of the temporary work act to increase tempo workers' rights. The amendments aim to improve temporary workers' information about remuneration, safety measures and the duration of jobs. Additionally, the amended law increases legal certainty over pay and reduces the administrative burden on employers.
English: http://www.staffingindustry.com/eng/Research-Publications ...