Collective Bargaining

Spain’s labour market is feeling the economic slowdown. According to figures released by the Labour Ministry, job creation in September was up by 3,224 people from August, as measured as the number of new contributors to the Social Security system. While employment is growing in aggregate terms, there is a lot of instability due to the high number of temporary positions. Registered unemployment rose by 13,907 new claims in September. This is a smaller increase than in previous years, and places the total number of people without a job at 3,079,711.

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Public sector workers in Greece have staged a  strike in protest against the conservative government's planned legislation to deregulate the labour market. The strike has immobilized transport links, banks and news agencies and caused widespread disruption. Athens airport services and railways in and beyond the capital were severely affected. Ferries serving islands also stopped their service and the journalists' union announced a media shutdown for the duration of the strike.

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The Lithuanian Social Security and Labour Ministry proposes to raise the minimum monthly wage by € 30 to € 430 next January, but the actual amount will be € 555 due to taxation changes. The ministry's proposal came after the Tripartite Council, which brings together the government, some employers and trade unions, failed to reach a compromise on an increase in the minimum wage.

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There are changes coming in October to simplify the individual retirements savings plan ‘plan épargne retraite individuel (PERi)’. Separate to the state pension, this allows employees to save for their retirement, but it has been criticised for being too complicated, especially for people who switch between the public and private sectors during their careers. The French government is pushing for ambitious reforms to the French pension system, which has already put it on a collision course with unions.

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The German Trade Union Confederation (DGB, Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund) was founded 70 years ago. At this occasion, employers’ associations and political parties praised the DGB for its important role in representing the workers' interest in the broader context of the German social market economy which still is the fundamental ideological underpinning of German capitalism.

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Telefonica has announced a deal with major trade unions that will offer voluntary retirement to employees. The collective bargaining agreement was agreed between Telefonica Spain and trade unions UGT and CCOO and will be valid through to December 31 2021 with the possibility of a one year extension. In addition to the offer of voluntary retirement, the deal promises an annual salary increase of 1.5% across the board and an annual bonus of €300.

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SIPTU has called for the strict enforcement of the terms of a new Sectoral Employment Order (SEO) for the construction industry which comes into effect on 1 October. Workers in the construction industry will be receiving the first phase of the pay rises included in the SEO with a 2.7%. The second phase will come into effect on 1 October 2020 with another 2.7% rise. This amounts to a 5.4% pay increase over two years.

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The average gross wage for full-time workers rose by an annual 10.7% to € 1,079 in July, according to the Central Statistical Office (KSH). Net wages increased to € 718. Allowed by significant economic growth, tax cuts and wage hikes in the public and private sectors, net wages in Hungary increased by 86% since 2010. The government expects the positive trends to continue, with further wage growth and growing consumption.

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The annual yield of the active pension plans ranged from 0.18% to 9.15%, the annual yield of four balanced pension plans was in the range from 2.08% to 6.46% and, the yield of conservative pension plans ranged from 2.98% to 6.87%.

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Companies are increasingly interested in employing prisoners. According to data from the country’s prisons authority, around 44% of the total prison population have jobs. In 2000 the percentage was around 33, hence a considerable growth occurred. The majority of prisoners work in manual jobs where they can pick up working habits. Employers are most interested in prisoners who are allowed to work outside their place of incarceration.

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