Collective Bargaining

The FSC-CCOO and FSP-UGT public service federations have organised protests and legal challenges against local government in Madrid and the regional government of Murcia. In both cases, the authorities have attempted to make changes to employment conditions which they have no legal right to do. Over 15,000 workers joined a demonstration in Murcia that called for the resignation of the president of the regional government.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/395
Spanish: http://www.fsc.ccoo.es/webfsc/menu.do?Actualidad:Federal:Actualidad:112365; http://www.fspugt.es/UGT_y_CCOO_demandan_del_Gobierno_que_se_promueva ...

Two regional collective agreements in the health sector and one agreement covering employees dealing with migrant workers mean that many fixed-term workers in these branches will have their contracts extended rather than face dismissal in January. The FP-CGIL has been campaigning against government legislation that posed a threat to tens of thousands of temporary workers across the public services. These new agreements will provide some protection but the union will continue its campaign to ensure more fixed-term workers get their contracts renewed (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 3 November 2010).
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/395
Italian: http://www.fpcgil.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/16319

The main civil service union, PCS, has called for the abolition of performance-related pay in the civil service. In reaction to news that UKP 40 million (? 47.4 million) was distributed as performance-related bonuses in the Ministry of Defence alone, the union argues that this should be distributed more fairly among all workers. General Scretary Mark Serwotka said: "PCS believes the system of performance related pay in the civil service, imposed by a previous Conservative government, is an unfair way to reward staff and should be scrapped with the money redistributed in overall salaries."
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/395; http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/news_and_events/news_centre .

The Vision white-collar union has submitted its pay and conditions claim to the KFS employers' organisation. The claim covers Vision's 7,400 members who work for private companies providing services in local government, energy and water. As well as a general pay increase the union is calling for temporary workers to get permanent contracts if they have been on temporary contracts for two years. It also wants employees to have more control over their working time as well as additional leave for those with only 25 days' leave. Earlier, Vision and the SSR white-collar and graduates trade union set out their demands for the forthcoming negotiations covering 140,000 workers in local and regional government. The unions are looking for increases in real wages for all members with a minimum outcome of 3.6%; measures to address the structural differences in pay between female and male-dominated occupations; better conditions and greater security for temporary workers; and improved conditions for young academics, including more holidays for all aged under 40 years.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/453; http://www.epsu.org/cob/451
Swedish: http://vision.se/Opinion/Pressmeddelande/2011/Battre-villkor-for ...

The CGT federation representing local and regional government is organising a day of action, including strikes, on 20 January in protest at the spread of precarious employment conditions across the sector. The federation estimates that there are around a million workers in the public sector who do not have full civil service status. The union is calling for all workers in the sector to be transferred to civil service conditions and restrictions placed on the extent to which local government employers can take on employees on precarious terms and conditions.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/395
French: http://www.spterritoriaux.cgt.fr/spip.php?article4433

The Unite trade union is lobbying within the ICTU confederation in support of a general strike as a "clear message to the government in waiting" that it must change the country's economic direction. The 60,000-member union's motion for a general strike was presented to the ICTU executive council in December and was referred on to the confederation's powerful general purpose committee, which will meet on 11 January. In a letter to the ICTU, Unite Irish secretary Jimmy Kelly said the massive turn-out for the ICTU protest march last November indicated that "a consensus is emerging over an alternative economic, fiscal and banking strategy to that of the government's and the prevailing austerity orthodoxy" (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 3 November 2010).
English: http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/union-leader-wants-general-strike ...

Paul Rechsteiner, president of the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions (SGB/USS), has announced the launch of a trade union initiative for the introduction of minimum wages later in January to protect employees against attempts to undermine salary levels. Switzerland has no statutory minimum salary, though minimum standards exist in most trades and professions. Rechsteiner said his confederation was worried about the continuous loss of purchasing power of the low and average wage earners, and the widening income gap with the rich.
English: http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/Trade_unions_target_widening_income_gap ...via http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/show_news.pl?country=Switzerland

Trade union leaders have indicated that they are unwilling to agree to a reduction in the minimum wage and private sector salaries despite demands from the country's lenders to do so. In mid-December, Prime Minister Lucas Papademos told union leaders that Greece might have to reduce its minimum wage and private sector workers could have to accept severe wage cuts as part of the reforms needed to secure funding without which the country would be likely to go bankrupt by March. In early January, Yiannis Panagopoulos, president of the private sector confederation GSEE, said that the country's competitiveness was not being affected by the level of wages and that his union would not agree to the minimum rate and to the 13th and 14th monthly salaries being reduced or scrapped. He got support from the ranks of SME's. The president of the General Confederation of Greek Small Businesses and Traders (GSEVEE), Dimitris Asimakopoulos, said that he was unwilling to change the terms of collective contracts and would resist an attempt by the government to do so through a change in labour laws (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 4 February, March, April, May, June, September, October and November 2011).
English: http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_05/01/2012_421260

A planned strike on Wednesday 5 January of nearly 1,200 workers at Heinz' flagship factory near Wigan has been called off after a new pay offer from the company. Talks on 4 January between the Unite union and management resulted in the new package being put to workers. The union agreed to suspend the strike ahead of a fresh ballot of its members over the offer, but said if the offer is rejected there will be another strike on 11 January. Under the new deal, workers would receive a 3.5% rise in the first year plus a UKP 200 (Euro 237) one-off payment and a 3.4% increase in the second year. A further increase for shift workers of between 0.6% and 1.6% is also part of the deal. The union earlier held two 24-hour strikes in December. The first strike, on 15 December, took place in reaction of a pay offer below the inflation rate, with by contrast the profit margins of the food manufacturing giant rising quickly.
English: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-12115396; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-12067138; http://cms.iuf.org/?q=node/661

2010 had seen a decline in people's purchasing power due to higher energy costs, General Workers Union (GWU) president Victor Carachi said in his New Year's address. The confederation leader emphasized the need for concrete measures to protect those who have fallen beneath the poverty line. The government's main aim in 2011 should be to discuss the union proposal to come to a Living Wage and see to its implementation in the shortest time possible, according to Carachi. He added the union priorities this year will be safeguarding decent work conditions and tackling precarity.
English: http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/living-wage-should-be ...via http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/show_news.pl?country=Malta