Collective Bargaining

On 4 and 5 August, over 1,000 employees at the Rautaruukki steel plant in Raahe participated in a two-day strike action. In doing so they demonstrated solidarity with the Polish workers who had been repairing a blast furnace at the plant since June. According to the Finnish Construction Trade Union, the Polish colleagues are victims of wage dumping, as they should be paid at least €15.54 per hour but their actual wages are €4 per hour or even less. The union holds that Beroa Deutschland, subcontracted to undertake the repair work, has committed itself to full compliance with the collective agreement, applicable to the tasks the Polish masons are performing, but that it has chosen to ignore the agreement in a flagrant manner. Beroa, whose headquarters are based in Spain, denies the union claims.
English: http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/news/2011/08/steel_workers_end_walk_out ... http://www.artto.kaapeli.fi/unions/T2011/o29

On 16 June, a new agreement between the FIM, FIOM and UILM unions on the one hand and the employers' federation has been agreed. It is a merger of all previous agreements (national contracts) in the craft metal industries facilities, dental labs and goldsmiths into one national contract, covering nearly 500,000 workers in 150,000 businesses. In addition to an average wage increase of €86 per month, the agreements amends, among other things, the provisions on part-time work, fixed-term contracts, the integration contract and apprenticeships. The agreement does not include any opening or deviation clause.
English: message of EUCOBAN network of EMF / EFFAT / ETUF-TCL / EMCEF

The MANDATE trade union, organising retail, bar and administrative workers, has described the government's timing of the announcement of the new wage-setting system for low-paid staff as opportunist and cowardly. MANDATE General Secretary John Douglas said: "The agreement to scrap the Sunday premium pay for those covered by the Joint Labour Committees (JLCs) and the inability to pay clause will leave thousands of low-paid workers vulnerable to having their pay cut. The timing of this announcement means we will now have to wait until the autumn for legislation to protect the lowest paid," adding: "This new system creates a situation where thousands of the most vulnerable workers in retail, hotels and restaurants will have their wages targeted by unscrupulous employers" (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 4 January, February, March, May and June 2011).
English: http://www.mandate.ie/News/Mandate/367/mandate-criticises ...

The VP™D public service union was one of the unions involved in negotiating a new five-year collective agreement covering 50,000 cleaning workers in the German-speaking area of the country. The authorities have declared the agreement generally binding and so it will also cover workers who are employed by firms who are not party to the agreement. The minimum wage set by the agreement will increase by 2-2.5% in 2012 and there will also be a 13th month salary. The sector is also running a campaign, "Fair-Clean", that calls for a fair price for cleaning contracts and respect for cleaning workers. It will highlights the economic importance and professionalism of the sector.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/433
German: http://www.fair-clean.ch/

Nurse wins equal pay case
August 25, 2011
Public services union UNISON has supported one of its members in a successful equal pay case. Under the National Health Service's Agenda for Change job evaluation system introduced in 2005, the job of a nurse is rated as equivalent to a maintenance supervisor. While acknowledging this, the local health service employer tried to argue that the local labour market and different bargaining arrangements justified higher pay for maintenance workers. The tribunal rejected the employer's case.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/436 http://www.unison.org.uk/asppresspack/pressrelease_view.asp?id=2391

In a joint statement from the government and public service unions, issued in response to the first review of the Croke Park Implementation Body, the government reaffirmed that there will be no further pay cuts or compulsory redundancies in the public service so long as staff and unions continue to deliver savings and reforms set out in the Croke Park agreement. The statement acknowledges the success of the agreement although it notes that further restructuring and redeployment still need to be implemented. The government has said the restriction on recruitment might be more flexible but there is as yet no scope to compensate for the pension levy and pay cuts that were put into effect in 2009 and 2010 (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 3 July-August 2010; Year 4 April and June 2011).
English: http://www.impact.ie/iopen24/government-repeats-more-cuts-n-428.html

The main public service union federations have come together to argue for a different approach to the public finance crisis. They want to see action to deal with wasteful expenditure but say that this has to be done in consultation with the trade unions and should not be about freezing or cutting public sector pay. The unions want to see space in the budget to cover the renegotiation of public sector collective agreements, underlining the importance of the workforce in delivering effective public services that can play a key role in the country's recovery. A report from CISL FP calls for "a commitment from public authorities to involve workers and their representatives in a comprehensive process to tackle spending inefficiencies, optimize work organization to improve service management and delivery, and so retrieve money that can be redistributed to public workers through second-level bargaining."
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/433
Italian: http://www.fpcgil.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/18515

The 9,000 workers covered by the GWE (gas, water, electricity) agreement in North-Rhine Westfalia will see their pay increase by 3.3% in 2011. The unions won an increased offer (up from 3%) following a series of warning strikes. The agreement will last 14 months rather than the 15 proposed by the employers. The agreement also commits the employers to maintain the level of apprenticeships and to take on apprentices for at least 12 months after they have qualified.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/433
German: http://energie-bergbau.ver-und-entsorgung.verdi.de/tarifarbeit/private ...

The Solidarnosc union confederation has delivered a petition with 300,000 signatures to the country's parliament calling for an increase in the statutory minimum wage. The confederation wants the government to meet its commitment to raise the minimum wage so that it reaches 50% of the average wage. Earlier, on 30 June, up to 50,000 people took part in a Solidarity demonstration in Warsaw in protest against the government's record of "high prices, high unemployment and low wages". Those participating in the demonstration also signed the minimum wage petition.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/433
http://www.thenews.pl/1/12/Artykul/46775,Solidarity-trade-union-protests-low-wages ...
Polish: http://www.solidarnosc.org.pl/pl/aktualnosci/pietrowym-autobusem-po ...

Eight of the 16 regional governments (L„nder) have introduced new rules on procurement to improve the pay and conditions of workers employed by contractors. A further four L„nder will join them shortly. The regions are using three mechanisms to protect pay. First, there are the sectoral minimum wages that have been introduced in some sectors like waste and social care. Second, there are specific rules covering the transport sector and third, some regions have introduced their own hourly minimum wage rate. These are some results of recent research by the Institute for Economic and Social Research (WSI).
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/433
German: http://boeckler.de/2877_37424.htm

Both the CCOO and UGT union confederations are calling for increased action to deal with gender inequality at work. The latest data show an increase in the gender pay gap in Spain. The statistics also reveal that women make up just over 64% of all low-paid workers and predominate in low-paying sectors like health and social services where they make up 69% of the workforce. The CCOO wants to see action to deal with discrimination in terms of job classification, recruitment, promotion and training. The UGT emphasizes the importance of tackling gender inequality through collective bargaining and ensuring that there is an increase in the number of women negotiators.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/433
Spanish: http://www.fspugt.es/UGT_observa_un_retroceso_en_las_polticas ...