Collective Bargaining

National and regional trade union federations have joined to protest against cuts to services and public sector jobs at regional level. Thousands took part in a demonstration in Barcelona where the regional government is planning cuts to pay and changes to working conditions. A major protest in Pamplona highlighted the threat to public services and where 1,130 jobs have already been cut or are being cut with more under threat.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/451
Spanish: http://www.fspugt.es/Miles_de_manifestantes_salen_a_la_calle .

Laboratory workers and cleaners have both managed to secure improved pay following separate strike action against their employer, the Geneva University Hospital (HUG). Both groups of workers felt that they had lost out when pay structures had been introduced or revised in the past and both will now have better opportunities to move up the pay structure. A joint committee will also look at staffing and career development issues for both groups of workers. Employers have also withdrawn their threats of disciplinary action against striking activists (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 4 November 2011).
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/451
German: http://www.vpod.ch/aktuell/nachrichten/ansicht/article/genfer-unispital ...
French: http://www.ssp-vpod.ch/actualites/nouvelles/ansicht/article/fin-des ...

On Saturday 17 December, the trade unions at the Bulgaria State Railways (BDZ) have called off the three-week nationwide strike against management plans to lay off 2,000 workers and stop some 150 trains from operating as part of austerity measures, while the government refused to sign a new collective agreement. On that day unions and BDZ management announced that they had reached agreement on a new contract. The unions were put under heavy pressure and the situation at the negotiating table was at times quite unclear. On 14 December union leaders said the BDZ management was practising a lockout. On 11 December BDZ had brought into effect a new timetable, which it stated rendered the strike illegal, as arbitration decisions on various issues were valid for the previous timetable but not for the new one (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 4 September and November 2011).
English: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/17/bulgaria-strike-railways ... http://www.sofiaecho.com/2011/12/11/1357460_timetable-change-makes-bulgarian .

On Saturday 17 December president Traian Basescu promulgated a law that provides that public sector wages and pensions will be frozen in 2012, according to a news agency. In the week before, the Constitutional Court rejected a complaint filed by the opposition against the law. The law was passed by Parliament (Chamber of Deputies) on 8 November and soon after, President Basescu said in an interview that regardless of what the Constitutional Court would decide on the project, pensions and salaries would not be increased anyway, because "there is no money." However, the president of the National Union for Romania Progress (UNPR), a member of the ruling coalition, hinted that salaries and pensions could still be increased in 2012 (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 4 November 2011).
English: http://www.nineoclock.ro/president-passes-pension-salary-freeze-bill/

On Monday 12 December, the government passed the measures prepared by the parliamentary health committee concerning doctors' salaries and the amendments the Labour Code. LOZ, the doctors' trade union, rejected the changes prepared by the government as incomplete and again declared a strike alert. On 15 December, LOZ vice-chair Peter Visolajsky said that it was premature to talk about calling off the strike alert, as the legislation passed in parliament had not yet come into effect. LOZ representatives on Thursday again called on President Ivan Gasparovic and Prime Minister Iveta Radicov  to dismiss Health Minister Ivan Uhliarik. The reason, according to Visolajsky, were some of Uhliarik's recent statements, which he called "nonsensical" (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 4 October and November 2011).
English: http://spectator.sme.sk/articles/view/44819/10/doctors_declare_strike_alert ... http://spectator.sme.sk/articles/view/44851/10/doctors_keep_strike_alert_in_place ...

As reported earlier, in September 2011 High Level Mission of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) visited Greece and had extensive meetings with all relevant actors of the country's labour market. The mission was sent to consider the application of a number of international conventions ratified by Greece in the area of freedom of association, collective bargaining, wages, social security, employment policy, which according to the Greek trade unions were violated. The Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations of the ILO considered the report of the Mission on 9 December. The Committee underlined the important role that can be played by the ILO to support government and social partners in the development and implementation of relevant and appropriate reforms to the labour market and its institutions so that these are in conformity with ratified International Labour Standards. The committee further emphasized the need for rapid support to bolster the labour relations system, promote collective bargaining and create a meaningful space for social dialogue which builds upon the traditions of the social partners. The Mission report is publicly accessible (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 4 June and September 2011).
English: http://www.ilo.org/global/standards/WCMS_170435/lang--en/index.htm

In the course of the month a number of anti-austerity strikes took place in various sectors. On 15 December, when the House of Representatives was voting on the government's fiscal consolidation measures, air traffic controllers at the two airports staged a 12-hour strike. On 13 December, workers in the wider public sector including education, who staged a three-hour work stoppage against government austerity measures, demonstrated in the streets of the Nicosia capital.
English: http://famagusta-gazette.com/cyprus-air-traffic-controllers-to-strike ...http://www.cyprus-mail.com/cyprus/students-and-workers-take-opportunity .

On 14 December, the board of the Education Personnel Union decided to begin preparations for a strike after receiving a letter from the chairman of the Parliament's Finance Committee saying that there is no possibility of a pay increase. Such an increase would only come with the reorganisation of the education system. According to Sven Rondik, union president, "That's the same as nothing, because reorganisation is a matter for the distant future." Rondik added that the strike may come as soon as late January or early February. The first steps in the process would be to apply to the State Conciliator's office for the right to strike, and then poll union members. Support from other unions would also be sought, the union president said.
English: http://news.err.ee/education/a7924b48-9669-4797-8430-52726f3ba387

Two major employer groups in the electrical industry have applied to withdraw from a legally binding agreement which sets pay and conditions for up to 10,000 electricians. In October 2011, the Association of Electrical Contractors in Ireland (AECI) executive wrote to the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) not only informing it of its withdrawal from the negotiations on a new registered employment agreement (REA) for the industry, but also that it was "pursuing members' instructions for the removal of the REA for this industry." In December, the AECI along with the other main employers' body, the Electrical Contractors' Association, jointly wrote to the Labour Court giving six months' notice of their intention to apply for cancellation of the REA. If both are allowed to withdraw, the REA will essentially become defunct. The Technical Electrical and Engineering Union (TEEU) has warned that any attempt by an employer to unilaterally cut pay will be met by industrial resistance.
English: http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/electrical-employer-groups-seek ...

Fiat SpA has signed a one-year collective agreement with most metalworkers' unions representing its 86,000-strong Italian workforce, but not with FIOM-CGIL. The agreement will go into effect in January 2012. The unions signing the deal agreed to increased shifts and shorter breaks in exchange for a €20 million investment plan. The UILM union said that workers will get an increase in their base salary and receive 10% more pay for overtime work, and will also receive a €600 production bonus in 2012. FIOM-CGIL, the largest union at Fiat, has claimed the deal curtails worker rights. Its about 10,000 members will nonetheless fall under the agreement (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 4 January, October and November 2011).
English: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-12-13/fiat-signs-one-year-labor ... via http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/show_news.pl?country=Italy