Prime Minister Orban signed a strategic partnership agreement with Coca-Cola HBC Magyarorszag at the soft drinkproducer's base near the capital.The government is building a new economic model, and Coca-Cola will be among its beneficiaries, Mr Orban said. After signing the agreement, Orban inaugurated Hungary's highest-capacity canned drink production line. Coca-Cola's unit will supply the domestic market as well as markets in 20 other European countries. Mr Orban said Coca-Cola had spent more than HUF 100bn on investments and provided for the livelihood of 1,250 families. The unit's exports came to HUF 8bn last year. The HUF 2bn production line could double the company's export revenue. According to Coca-Cola managing director Jozsef Tarsoly the new line brings the plant's capacity to 350,000 units per hour.
Source: Mat Komiljovics
English: http://www.agribusiness.hu/article/682
Search results
Find articles
Just before the start of the Olympic games in London, private sector bus drivers agreed to a bonus payment of 27 per shift, expected to amount to about 577 per worker for the entire period of the games. The bus drivers from 21 companies went on strike in June, as reported in last month's newsletter, when Transport for London refused to pay Olympic bonuses to the bus drivers that had been awarded to other transport workers. The drivers requested the bonus payments as a compensation for the enormous increase in work load and work pressure.
English: http://www.itfglobal.org/news-online ...
Trade union confederations CCOO, UGT, FEP-USO, CGT, SL, STAJ, GESTHA, SATSE, CESM, USAE, ANPE, STEs-I, UFP , SUP, UnionGC:, FETE-UGT, FSP-UGT, FSC-CC.OO, CSI-F have established a common platform for action, that will coordinate a sustained campaign against austerity. The latest austerity measures include cuts in public sector employees' Christmas bonuses, amounting to up to 7% of their salaries. The platform announced it cannot rule out further general strikes, but will do so only after balloting its members.
Spanish: http://www.fspugt.es/Los_sindicatos_de_empleados_pblicos_constituyen ...
Over 80 demonstrations in various cities were called by unions as tensions between police and protesters rise. Virtually all public sector unions had called for new demonstrations as the government announced a further 65 billion cuts to prepare for a European stimulus package, whilst also announcing increases in VAT rates. Among the cuts is the Christmas bonus, a real pay cut of up to 7% for some workers. When various demonstrations came together at Madrid's Puerta del Sol and news arrived that the riot police had been orderd to disperse the demonstration, protesters barricaded surrounding streets by setting on fire plastic bins. Violent clashes followed with the police shooting rubber bullets and protesters throwing rocks and bottles; at least six protesters were injured.
English:http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/afp/police-fire-rubber-bullets ... http://www.uniglobalunion.org/Apps/uni.nsf ...
Employees of the women's refuge centre in Kilkenny have voted in favour of industrial action, including strikes, in order to contest announced lay-offs. The women's refuge centre announced this month it will be layoff all its shift attendants. Union representatives said that while they understand the need for cut backs in the face of reduced funding, they are forced to resort to industrial action since management refuses to negotiate or even consult the union representatives. The unions have been denied access to the consultant hired by the centre to oversee the reorganisation until after the date for the shift assistants to be fired.
English:http://www.thejournal.ie/amber-womens-refuge-kilkenny-industrial ... http://www.kilkennypeople.ie/news/local/siptu-members-vote-for ...
Despite efforts of the trade unions the pan-European mail order retailer Neckermann has begun insolvency proceedings after its backers rejected turnaround plans. The company had announced in April 2012 that it was phasing out its catalogue business and planned to cut 1,380 of its roughly 2,400 jobs in Germany in order to secure financing for the future. By mid-July, it agreed with employee and union representatives on a compromise that would have seen `limited' payoffs and other aid for laid-off employees. But private investment firm Sun Capital Partners that owns 100% of Neckermann decided the result wasn't sustainable and refused to provide further financing.
English: http://www.wect.com/story/19053873/german-mail-order-firm ... http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/jul2012/neck-j09.shtml
German: http://www.fr-online.de/frankfurt/neckermann-insolvenz-alles-aus ...
RWE plans giant layoffs
July 17, 2012.
RWE is in `talks with the labour representatives' over plans to reduce its workforce to cut costs, but has so far not provided concrete figures. A spokesman of the trade union Verdi said the company had revealed `another 2,000-5,000 jobs are to be cut', adding that this number is on top of plans to axe 8,000 staff, revealed by a source in December 2011. According to Verdi, the cuts would mean about 18% of RWE's total workforce, which stood at just over 72,000 at the end of March2012.
English: http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL6E8IH4KJ20120717
German: http://www.berliner-zeitung.de/wirtschaft/sparkurs-des-energieversorgers ...
National media report that a parliamentary majority exists to broaden the mandate of the National Mediation Institute to close the gender pay gap. The mediation institute is traditionally responsible to coordinate wage growth across sectors, taking the export sector wages as a base line to ensure an equitable development in other sectors. The institute is now expected to receive a further mandate to measure and track wage differences between female and male dominated sectors, and to take action to correct it.
Swedish: http://www.kommunal.se/Kommunal/Nyheter/2012/Kvinnoloner ...
After conciliation failed Lombard International Assurance has informed 84 employees (out of a total of 406) the termination of their contract, 30 of them with immediate effect.The company, founded in 1991, that registered record profits in 2011 was unable to reach an agreement on a social plan with staff representatives and unions within the agreed 15-day time-frame. The insurance branch of the trade union OGB-L expressed its disappointment with what it calls the "inflexibility" for employees who find employment before the fixed dates of their redundancies, forcing them to resign.
English: http://www.wort.lu/en/view/lombard-lays-off-84-employees-without-social-plan ...
Paramedics intensify industrial action
August7, 2012
The industrial actions initiated by paramedics' trade union UHM in June after 18 months of unsuccessful talks over working conditions(reported in last month's newsletter)might even escalate. Radiographers, audiologists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, medical laboratory scientists, dental technologists, dental hygienists, speech language pathologists, neurophysiology technologists and other workers follow specific directives of tasks they shall not perform for the duration of the strike. UHM accuses the health authority of unreasonable delay in tabling their proposals and have registered an industrial conflict. Proposals the authority tabled in February were withdrawn just before an agreement was found and recently received new proposals are significantly below the previous offer. UHM has announced the actions will continue until an agreement is found.
English: http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=146951
http://di-ve.com/news/paramedics-industrial-actions-might-escalate
http://di-ve.com/news/uhm-orders-health-inspectorate-workers-take-industrial-action
The Spar Magyarorsz g Kereskedelmi Kft. has signed a renewed collective agreement with its own meat plant, the TANN Magyarorsz g Kft., and with the trade union of the commercial employees (KASZ). In its communication,Spar Magyarorsz g notes that the renewal of the collective agreement was necessary after the new Labour Code entered into force on 1 July.The company also notes that during the preparation of the signatories, the company's most important intention was to provide the formerly acquired rights of the employees, to avoid the loss of earnings, and to keep the wage compensation system intact.
Source: Mat Komiljovics
English: http://www.trademagazin.hu/en/ceg-es-szemelyi-hirek/megujitottak ...
In a report commissioned by the Trade Union Confederation, the New Economics Foundation concludes that the government's plan to instate regional pay will cost the economy 10bn and an expected 110,000 job losses. The Cameron government has argued regional pay in the public sector will help poorer regions compete and result in more job opportunities. The NEF report concludes that, whereas London and the South East have higher living costs, there are no significant differences between other regions and lower wages would merely hurt purchasing power.
English: http://www.unison.org.uk/news/news_view.asp?did=7969