The Unia union and ICEM, its international federation, are engaged in a community campaign to save 550 jobs. Sappi, a global leader in the manufacture of coated papers, announced on 31 March that it intends to close its Biberist graphic papers mill it purchased late in 2008 along with three other European printing and writing papers mills from M-real. Unia, with membership numbering only one-tenth of the total Biberist workforce, has taken the lead to preserve jobs. Workers, managers, mill suppliers, and area businesses of Canton Soleure have joined the effort. Unia's campaign asks Sappi to do one of three things, with a priority being the first: maintain operations because production, productivity and sales have been buoyant since Sappi bought the mill; re-think the decision to shut down the mill completely, and sell it to an enterprise that will operate it; if layoffs occur, ensure that superior severance is paid, and job re-training and other social criteria are met to the fullest.
English: http://www.icem.org/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4393-ICEM-Joins-Swiss-Workers ... German: http://www.papierfabrik-biberist.ch/
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A 24-hour warning strike started 16 April by the Solidarnosc union, representing the majority of 22,000 workers at Jastrzebska Spolka Weglowa (JSW) in the Silesian coal mines, has produced negotiations with the state-run company involving government and union representatives and the provincial Committee on Social Dialogue. Miners took industrial action in resistance to the government's plan to list JSW, Europe's largest coking coal producer, on the stock exchange. They are also seeking a 10% wage increase from the state company that has seen massive earnings, posting net profits of €300 million in 2010. The government, meanwhile, is anxious to proceed with the listing on 30 June because of current high raw materials costs for steel production. It is offering free-of-charge shares to JSW staff as it intends to float 30% of JSW, while retaining 51%. However, the door has been left open to future sales of shares.
English: http://www.icem.org/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4397-Warning-Strike ...
On 21 April, representatives of the trade unions walked out from the tripartite (government, unions, employers) talks concerning the government's reform package, Jaroslav Zavadil, chairman of the Bohemian and Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions (CMKOS), told journalists. He said that the trade unionists had submitted a number of comments and their own draft pension reform to the government, but that it did not take them into consideration. The Association of Independent Trade Unions (ASO) also walked out from the meeting. The union leadership has called on Prime Minister Petr Necas, who was absent in the meeting, to arrange a special meeting of the tripartite leadership to discuss further communication.
English: http://praguemonitor.com/2011/04/22/trade-unions-walk-out-govt-talks
In November 2010, on request of GDF SUEZ collective bargaining between this energy company and the ver.di services union were broken off, as the employer wanted time to consider things. Five months later, on 21 April, talks were reconvened, but now it turned out that GDF SUEZ tries to divide the workforce. According to the company's proposal, for the incumbent workforce of the power stations the collective agreement for the energy sector would be applicable, whereas new employees were supposed to work under another collective agreement, that for energy supply at municipal level. Even though for the latter a so-called bonus of 10% was suggested, this would mean lower pay for new entrants. Ver.di urges strongly for one uniform collective agreement, that for the energy sector, and refuses to continue negotiating on the terms proposed by GDF SUEZ.
German: leaflet ver.di
The private sector union confederation, GSEE, has called a 24-hour strike for 11 May to protest the government's latest austerity measures. Its General Secretary, Nikos Kioutsioukis, argued: "The government's policies are not bearing fruit and we will fight against them." ADEDY, the country's largest public sector union, will also take part in the strike, its spokeswoman Despina Spanou confirmed (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 3 September, October, November and December 2010; Year 4 January, February and March 2011).
English: http://greece.greekreporter.com/2011/04/19/greek-union-calls-24-hour ...
Delegates at the Civil, Public and Services Union (CPSU) annual conference on 16 April voted to withdraw their co-operation with reforms to be made under the Croke Park deal. Delegates told the conference that their co-operation up to now had been dependent on the guarantee there would be no further cuts to their pay before 2014, but that guarantee had not been kept, they claimed. Delegates also voted unanimously to take industrial action if the government would introduce further pay cuts. However, the CPSU executive said that lack of co-operation with reforms would constitute industrial action, which cannot be undertaken without a ballot of members. General secretary of the union, Blair Horan, said its executive would consider the issue of a ballot on the Croke Park deal when it met late April, but would not change its position in the meantime (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 3 July-August 2010).
English: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011 ...
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/union-will-vote-on-strikes-if-pay-cuts ...
On 19 April, employers' association FME-CWM and the four unions involved, FNV Bondgenoten, CNV Vakmensen, De Unie and VHP2, reached a basic collective agreement with a duration of 26 months, from 1 May 2011 to 30 June 2013, for the metal and electronic engineering industry (`large metals'), covering about 150,000 employees. Central are measures to retain workers and have them reaching the pension age in a healthy way. The wage deal is 4.75%, divided as follows: 1.15% by 1 July 2011; 1% by 1 January 2012; 1.1% by 1 July 2012, and 1% by 1 January 2013. The employers will pay the full fee for the transitional arrangement for early pensioning, which means an extra net wage advantage of 0.5%. The youth wage scales for over 22 of age will be abolished, implying that entrants in that age group will be paid the wages of craft workers. All union negotiators showed their satisfaction wih the results and advised their membership to vote in favour.
Dutch: http://www.fnvbondgenoten.nl/mijnbranche/branches/metalektro/nieuws/343019 ... http://www.cnvvakmensen.nl/actueel/nieuws/artikel/item/cnv-vakmensen-tevreden ...
The main union confederation, General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP), has announced that it will hold two major events in Lisbon and Oporto on 19 May to protest against the austerity measures that will accompany the country's financial bailout. CGTP secretary general Manuel Carvalho da Silva said that Portugal needs to fulfill its financial obligations but at the same time ensure the economic and social wellbeing of the population, and any future plan should not cut the pensions of the poorest or lower minimum wages. Public sector workers, who have already had their wages cut, are also planning to strike, already at the beginning of May.
English: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13111910 http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90853/7366899.html
Portuguese: http://www.cgtp.pt/index.php?option=com_content ...
The minimum wage will be restored to its previous level and employers will have their social insurance contributions reduced under the revised terms of Ireland's finance deal with the European Union, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The €1 or 11.6% cut to the minimum wage will be reversed, taking the rate back up to €8.65 an hour, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan confirmed. This will be offset by a 50% reduction in the amount of social insurance employers must pay on wages up to the level of the minimum wage. Mr Noonan described the move as the "quid pro quo" for the reversal of the minimum wage cut. It is hoped the legislation will be in place by the summer (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 4 January 2011).
English: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0416/1224294802972.html http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0413/economy.html
Lay officials of both the ABVV/FGTB and ACV/CSC unions have accepted the two-year basic agreement that their negotiators reached for blue-collar workers in the chemical industry; most recently the ACV/CSC building, industry and energy unionists did so, with a 77% `yes'. Nevertheless, the ACV/CSC union notes that was not easy to accept the limited increase in purchasing power, and confronts the 0.3% wage increase agreed on top of the price indexation with the large bonuses of the CEOs, also in the industry in question. The ABVV/FGTB union emphasises that the agreement also includes an increase of the minimum wage scales, the abolishment of the youth wages and the increase of the daily allowance of temporary unemployment with 5.5%.
Dutch: http://www.skynet.be/nieuws-sport/nieuws/belgie/detail_acv ...
http://www.nieuwsblad.be/article/detail.aspx?articleid=DMF20110406_086