Collective Bargaining

On 1 November, 10,000 members of YTN, the Federation of Professional and Managerial Staff, went on strike in 40 metal and electronics companies, with the threat of expansion on 7 November to 25,000 members in 40 additional companies, including Nokia, if no agreement would be reached before that date. On 6 November YTN accepted the proposal of the State Negotiator, ending the strike. The agreement between YTN and the technology industry employers is similar to the one obtained earlier by the Metalworkers' Union and Pro. Wages will be raised retroactively from the beginning of October by 1,6%, plus a local share of 0,8%, paid to all if no other agreement is reached locally. At the beginning of 2012 a lump sum of €150 will be paid, and in November 2012 there will be a general rise of 1,3% with a 0,6% local share increase (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 4 September and October 2011).
English: message on EUCOBAN network of EMF / EFFAT / ETUF-TCL / EMCEF; http://www.imfmetal.org/index.cfm?c=28083&l=2

On 31 October, 50 FNV Bondgenoten union militants from all over the country signalled the start of a campaign for a new supermarket collective agreement, in front a large Albert Heijn supermarket in Amsterdam. The unionists gave many examples that the current price war in the supermarket sector has put wages and conditions under heavy pressure, in particular those of low-paid youngsters working as shelf-stackers. Main Bondgenoten negotiator, Arie van der Pijl, stressed at this occasion that negotiations are already lingering for nine months, and that the 0.9% wage offer from the VGL employers' association remains by far insufficient. He argued that a main union demand, and for FNV Bondgenoten a precondition for a restart of negotiations, regards the abolition of the very low youth wages. The other union involved, CNV Dienstenbond, still sees possibilities to continue talks.
Dutch: http://www.fnvbondgenoten.nl/nieuws/nieuwsarchief/2011/oktober/417424_hoeveel_uur__moet_je_werken/ ; http://www.cnvdienstenbond.nl/branches-en-bedrijven/handel/supermarkten/supermarkt-cao/

By 1 April 2012 the country's minimum wage will be increased from BGN 270 (just over €139) per month to BGN 290 (?149.50), Labour Minister Totyu Mladenov confirmed on Monday 31 October. The date of 1 April was backed by the employers' organisations, while the trade unions demanded the increase to become effective three months earlier, on 1 January 2012. An increase in Bulgaria's minimum retirement pension level (up to BGN 200 or €103 monthly) is under consideration but still uncertain, it was also made clear on Monday; nearly 1.2 million retired would be affected by that measure.
English: http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=133498

Chancellor Angela Merkel is looking to introduce a "market-based organised lower limit for wages", though her Christian Democrat (CDU) party has always objected a minimum wage. A proposal for the annual party congress in November mentions the importance "to introduce an overall binding minimum wage in sectors which do not have such a wage determined by collective bargaining", and sources say Merkel backs it. A manager magazin already called it a "minimum wage light", as the proposal does not envisage a statutory or "political" minimum wage but a minimum to be determined by a commission of employers and employees. The level should be in line with the minimum wage already in place for temporary workers, set at €7.79 per hour in the Western part of the country and €6.89 in the East. Though the trade unions have welcomed the news, they also show reservations. Frank Bsirske, chairman of the ver.di union, was quoted saying: "We need a legally binding minimum wage on the level of our western European neighbours, so at the minimum €8.50 per hour."
English: http://www.thelocal.de/politics/20111030-38541.html; http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/10/30/uk-germany-labour-idUKTRE79T27N20111030
German: http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1518,794987,00.html; http://www.manager-magazin.de/politik/deutschland/0,2828,794867,00.html

The strike initiated on Friday 21 October by the Metalworkers' Union and Trade Union Pro in 45 companies in the technology industry ended on Tuesday 25 October when the unions approved the conciliation accord of the State Conciliator Esa Lonka. The new collective agreement, covering about 250,000 wage and salary earners, starts retroactively on 1 October and ends by the end of October 2013. Its framework follows the framework of the national agreement as of 13 October (see below). The agreement requires that the head shop steward and the employer start negotiations at workplace level on the amount, timetable and implementation of the pay rise. If no solution can be reached by 5 December, the general rise of 2.4% will be paid retroactively from October on. It is expected that the other key issue in the dispurute, a three-day annual training and education leave over which employers sought to use their own control, will be settled by the government through legislation. The union presidents emphasized that negotiations were characterized by strong co-operation between the Metalworkers' Federation, Pro, and YTN, the Federation of Professional and Managerial Staff. However, YTN has not renewed its agreement. On Monday 31 October both a majority of the YTN board as well as the employers' association rejected the proposal of the State Conciliator in this respect, and YTN announced for 1 November a strike of 10,000 professional and managerial staff, likely hitting about 40 export companies (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 4 September 2011).
English: messages of Metalworkers' Union and Trade Union Pro for EUCOBAN network of EMF / EFFAT / ETUF-TCL / EMCEFÿ; http://www.icem.org/en/23-Nordic-Countries/4724-Conciliator-s-New-Proposal-Expected-to-End-Short-Finnish-Metalworkers-Strike; http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/news/2011/10/tech_strike_begins_tuesday_2991993.html

On 28 October, over 330 cleaners employed by Carlisle Cleaning on the Virgin West Coast Mainline contract and members of the RMT (Railway Maritime & Transport Union) went on strike. RMT members voted by a massive 94% for action on pay and union recognition. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that Carlisle's owner, Impellam Group, has increased its profits by almost 30% in the past year, yet its low paid workforce has been offered a real-terms pay cut. He added: "Virgin should also recognise that it has a moral obligation not to allow poverty wages to be paid to people who play a key role in providing services to its 20 million passengers. "
English: http://www.rmt.org.uk/Shared_ASP_Files/UploadedFiles/rmt/4FDE21B9-2BCF-4437-A662-80D75634CE6A_11-10-18Carlislebulletin3strike.pdfÿ; http://www.uniglobalunion.org/Apps/iportal.nsf/pages/sec_20081016_gbg7En?Opendocument&exURL=http://www.uniglobalunion.org/Apps/UNINews.nsf/vwLkpById/81C00F70A9BD5A36C125793700365347?OpenDocument

The Greek trade unions continue their protest and strike actions against the austerity package that is imposed on the country by the Troika: the European Commission, European Central Bank (ECB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF). In a message for fellow European trade unions, the GSEE union confederation revealed that the Troika had demanded the abolition of the National Collective Labour Agreement, which establishes minima for salaries and other terms and conditions, in this case even surprising the government, also as this Agreement is enshrined in the country's Constitution. This demand topped a number of anti-labour and anti-union legislative measures already enforced. Moreover, the substantial increases in indirect taxes, along with the massive income drain, most heavily hit low-wage earners and pensioners. The GSEE jointly with the civil servants union confederation ADEDY organized a 48-hours' general strikes on October 19-20 and a 24-hours' strike on 5 October, which both got massive support (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 4 February, March, April, May, June and September 2011).
English: message of GSEE for ETUC and EUCOBAN network of EMF / EFFAT / ETUF-TCL / EMCEF; http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700190129/Greek-civil-servants-plan-new-strikes-next-week.html; http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/21/world/europe/protesters-gather-in-athens-on-second-day-of-strike.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

During October, manyfold protests took place against the government and more broadly, against the way the country is governed. For example, on Friday 28 October public sector workers went on an eight-hour strike and rallied in Rome en masse to highlight the threat to public services and collective bargaining posed by the Berlusconi government. Their action was also in protest to the demand that the public sector should be subject to the same bargaining model as the private sector. About 20,000 people vocalized their desire for a public sector reform and claimed that credibility and dignity need to be restored in public sector workplaces. About 500 meters away, another 20,000 took part in a rally organized by the Italian Pensioners' Union, demonstrating against the changes to the pension system announced a few days earlier by PM Berlusconi, as to gradually raise the retirement age from 65 to 67 by 2026. These demonstrators worried in particular about the purchasing power remaining for pensioners.
English: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/207176.html via http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/show_news.pl?country=Italy

The TUC calls for a higher than inflation rise of the adult national minimum wage (NMW) in 2012, the union confederation will argue when meeting the Low Pay Commission (LPC) on Tuesday 1 November. The LPC, which advises the government on the NMW, is currently considering the rates for the period from October 2012 to September 2013. The TUC argues that a rise by more than the retail prices index (RPI) or the growth in average earnings - depending on which is higher - is both necessary and affordable, and will help address the loss in the real value of the NMW caused by below-inflation increases in the rate in previous years. The TUC also recommends the rate for 18 to 21-year-olds to increase in 2012 by at least the same percentage as the adult rate. The TUC wants to see a much more significant boost to the three youth rates as the economy recovers. Further, extension of the NMW is recommended as to cover seafarers with a close link to the UK economy, such as those who work between two ports in the UK, or on the ships that support oil and gas exploration in the North Sea. Also, exemption for domestic workers who are said to live as part of the family employing them should be abolished, as according to the union confederation this has been subject to wide-spread abuse.
English: http://www.tuc.org.uk/economy/tuc-20215-f0.cfm?

After the last day of negotiations on 20 October and with no new offer from the employers in the welfare sector, the FNV Abvakabo public service union for Tuesday 1 November has called an action day with a central manifestation in Utrecht, implying for most participants a one-day strike. The unions have been looking for an increase to protect purchasing power, initiatives to make the sector more attractive to new workers and an agreement on employment levels. Yet, the employers want a below-inflation increase and no agreement on employment. In fact, FNV Abvakabo believes that the employers want to see more employees replaced by volunteers or self-employed. After on 27 October a final effort to carry on the negotiations broke down, the CNV Publieke Zaak union has also joined the action.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/443
Dutch: http://www.abvakabofnv.nl/nieuws/nieuws/staking-hvw-1nov
http://www.mijnvakbond.nl/Actiebijeenkomst-Welzijn-gaat-door?referrer=838