Collective Bargaining

OnÿFriday 11 February the IGBCE union announced to seek for the workers in the chemical industry a 7% pay increase in the collective bargaining round beginning 16 February. This round covers 550,000 workers in 1,900 companies for a period of 12 months. Negotiations will be held on a regional basis, with the North-Rhine region to begin first, followed shortly after by other regions. Peter Hausmann, head of IGBCE's Collective Bargaining Department, said the figure of 7% had been agreed following production growth in the sector for 2010ÿof 11%, and companies realising an average 17.5% increase in revenues.
English: http://www.icem.org/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4249-IGBCE-Aims-for ...

Around 900 women working for Bury council in the North West of England are set to benefit from a ruling from the Employment Appeal Tribunal on equal pay in a case initiated by the UNISON union. The jobs mainly carried out by women (such as carers, cooks, cleaners, support workers) were compared to jobs of equal value predominantly carried out by men (including refuse collectors, gardeners and drivers). The basic rates for the jobs were similar but bonuses and attendance allowances were only available for "male" jobs which could mean 35%-50% higher salaries.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/404 http://www.unison.org.uk/asppresspack/pressrelease_view.asp?id=2140

The FSC-CCOO public sector federation has welcomed the setting up of committees throughout the state administration and public agencies to tackle the issue of equality between men and women. The union says that it is important that union representatives have access to the relevant data and analyses in order that they can take a full part in negotiating equality action plans. The FSP-UGT is also pleased about the initiative and believes it has the potential to make a real difference, particularly in relation to the more equal sharing of family responsibilities.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/404
Spanish: http://www.fsc.ccoo.es/webfsc/menu.do?Actualidad:Mujer http://www.fspugt.es/_La_igualdad_entre_mujeres_y_hombres ...

After difficult negotiations along with warning strikes the ver.di union has reached pay increases of 3.4% for employees of the two energy companies RWE and Vattenfall. The Vattenfall agreement covers 20,000 workers and runs for 13 months from 1 January 2011. The RWE agreement is also for 13 months and runs from 1 November 2010 to 30 November 2011 (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 3 December 2010 and Year 4 January 2011).
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/404
German: http://energie-bergbau.ver-und-entsorgung.verdi.de/tarifarbeit/private ... http://presse.verdi.de/pressemitteilungen/showNews?id=ab24cf98-3469-11e0-7db0-001ec9b03e44

After three years of debate fuelled by the Unia union jointly with other affiliates of the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions (SGB/USS), on 1 January 2011 the first-ever country-wide standard work contract (Normalarbeitsvertrag or NAV) came into force, laying down minimum wages and working conditions for domestic workers. The NAV is a legal minimum wage provision for sectors without collectively agreed provisions. The compulsory minimum wages are: CHF 18.20 (? 14.17) per hour for untrained workers; CHF 20.00 (?15.57) for untrained workers with four years of professional experience or for workers with two years' training; CHF 22.00 (?17.13) for workers with three years' training. For these minimum hourly wages to apply a domestic worker must work on average at least five hours a week for the same employer. Earlier experience in the canton of Geneva, since 2004 having its own domestic workers' NAV, has been positive, also concerning implementation. Besides protection, this NAV enabled domestics to defend their rights effectively, notably through going to the labour court.
English: http://www.social-europe.eu/2011/02/domestic-workers-in-switzerland ...

The FNV Bondgenoten union has formulated its demands for collective bargaining at Tata Steel (formerly Corus), covering 9,500 workers and scheduled to start 2 March. The current agreement expires by 31 March 2011. As the steel market and Tata Steel are recovering, the union sees room to ask for a 2% wage hike and an increase of the year-end bonus from 2% to 3%. A major demand is that temporary workers will be paid equally to permanent workers and that Tata Steel records with third parties that a collective agreement applies. First negotiator of Bondgenoten, Aad `t Veld, said: "Everyone working at the Tata site in Ijmuiden is entitled to a good package of pay and benefits." He also stressed the need to bring down work pressure in many departments and teams, for example by offering young incoming workers permanent contracts.
English: message of EUCOBAN network of EMF / EFFAT / ETUF-TCL / EMCEF

From 10 to 25 February, members of the FNV Bondgenoten union working in the metalelektro or large metal industry (140,000 employees) were able to vote on the unions' collective bargaining proposals. Bargaining itself is to start on 29 March. Central issues in the proposals are improving purchasing power, maintaining good pension schemes and early retirement, investment in professional skills and equal pay and working conditions for temporary workers. In emphasizing the last two issues, the union asks for a larger commitment of employers to attaining sustainable employability, innovation, high value-added production, and quality jobs. The wage demand is 2%, as decided by the FNV Bondgenoten board in December 2010. Yet Jos Brocken, the union's main negotiator in the sector, adds: "Yet, we will demand 3% if the employers would not go along with our proposals on pensions, training and employment."
English: message of EUCOBAN network of EMF / EFFAT / ETUF-TCL / EMCEF

The squeeze on workers' spending power could prove fatal to government hopes of a private-sector recovery in the economy, according to a survey of union representatives. The recent Labour Research Department (LRD) survey shows that workplace reps and union officials are generally pessimistic about the prospects for the economy and for their own collective bargaining. Even in the private sector only 28% feel pay is likely to rise at or above the rate of price increases for most workers. These concerns are spelt out by reps' predictions of staffing levels where their members work, with 59% anticipating that levels will be reduced in 2011. That view is not confined to the public sector, where 80% are expecting job cuts, but is also held by four in 10 private sector reps. Only 16% in the private sector think the workforce will increase. It is not surprising, therefore, that reps are tending to make job security an even higher priority than pay. Well over half (57%) say it is top priority compared with 39% citing pay. Job security is prioritized by 80% in the public sector and 33% in the private sector.
English: press release Labour Research Department (LRD)

On Thursday 3 February, bus drivers in the Greater Copenhagen area went on strike. The strike was in protest of the government plan to phase out the early retirement programme and a change in policy that will require drivers to pay for compulsory training. Most of the bus routes in the area were disrupted. Strikes also hit municipal public transport in the cities of Aarhus and Esbjerg. The same day at Copenhagen's Kastrup airport various categories of workers went on strike during three hours in protest of the government plans concerning early retirement.
English: http://www.cphpost.dk/news/national/50900-major-bus-strikes-today.html http://news.ph.msn.com/business/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4620041

On 28 January, more than 30 000 Turkish Cypriot workers participated in a massive demonstration organised by the union movement and supported by opposition parties and NGOs. Over 10,000 participated in a rallye in northern Nicosia. The aim of meeting was to say no to the "reform package" of the Turkish Cypriot administration, which would hurt fundamental workers' rights. Dubbed the "destruction package" by the organizing platform, the raft of austerity measures will cut civil service salaries by up to 40%, and foresees the sell-off of a number of state-owned firms such as the electricity and telecommunications providers.
English: http://www.ituc-csi.org/cyprus-30-000-workers-say-no-to.html;
http://www.cyprus-mail.com/cyprus/we-re-stuck-between-turkey-and-greek-cypriots ...