Collective Bargaining

The nation's early retirement scheme is a drain on the social welfare system, according to Prime Minister (PM) Lars Lokke Rasmussen. In his New Year's Day speech Rasmussen announced to gradually eliminate the so-called efterlon programme, currently permitting individuals who have paid into the system for 30 years to receive a partial pension five years before the official retirement age of 65. The early retirement programme was introduced in 1979 as a way to provide older manual labourers a way to stop working, as well as to help alleviate unemployment. According to the PM, it costs DKK 16 billion (Euro 2.15 billion) annually.
English: http://www.cphpost.dk/news/politics/90-politics/50749-pm-phase-out ... via
http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/show_news.pl?country=Denmark

The statutory minimum wage of the Netherlands has been increased as of 1 January 2011, by 0.59% to €328.70 weekly / €1,424.40 monthly for adult workers, that means those of 23 years and older (plus 8% holiday bonus). The Netherlands is still known for its exceptionally long tail of youth minimum wages, starting with 30% of the adult rate or actually €98.60 weekly / €427.30 monthly for 15-year-olds, again not included the holiday bonus. Though the Netherlands has a tradition of politically motivated minimum wage freezes, the current government coalition has left the uprating mechanism untouched.
Dutch: http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/minimumloon ...; http://www.loonwijzer.nl/home/salarischeck/minimumlooncheck
Permanent jobs for casual workers at Ahold distribution centres
December 18, 2010
After two weeks of strikes, strategically in the Christmas sales peak, in the six distribution centres of supermarket chain Albert Heijn (AH) unions and management reached a basic agreement. AH is market leader and the main Dutch subsidiary of Ahold. As one of the union spearheads was bringing down the share of flexible workers in the centres' workforce, currently one-third, the fact that the agreement includes the offer of permanent contracts for 200 agency workers and workers with fixed-term contracts is regarded as a major result on the union side. Total employment in the AH distribution centres will remain at the same level. Over 2011 and 2012, twice a 2% pay hike has been agreed. FNV Bondgenoten union negotiator, Marcel Nuyten, praised the efforts of the AH workers involved.
English: http://unionrenewal.blogspot.com/2010/12/permanent-jobs-for-casual .
Dutch: http://www.fnvbondgenoten.nl/mijnbranche/bedrijven/albert_heijn_distributie ...

Management and unions at US-based General Electric's (GE) Hungarian lighting division have reached agreement on steps to be taken in 2011 as part of two-year restructuring program. In 2011-2012 GE plans to lay off 2,109 workers, 461 less than it announced in October 2009. GE said that workers that will be dismissed will get benefits over the amount laid down in the collective contract. The company promised to co-operate with government and unions to support workers affected by the lay-offs.
English: M t‚ Komiljovics, union correspondent

A 48-hour strike called by the civil aviation staff union OSYPA on December 29 and 30 has been declared illegal by an Athens first-instance court, after management at the Civil Aviation Service (CAS) filed to have the strike declared illegal. Members of OSYPA said in response to the ruling that they would resort to other forms of labour mobilisation in protest against the government's plans for mandatory transfers of some 500 mechanics and pilots of the former Olympic Airways currently employed by the CAS.
English: http://www.express.gr/news/ellada/399267oz_20080225399267.php3

FIOM, the CGIL-affiliated metal union federation, withheld its support from the agreement with Fiat on Thursday 23 December reached with the unions in view of the company's 1 billion-euro investment plan for its Mirafiori car plant near Turin in exchange for labour concessions. Fiat plans to assemble up to 280,000 vehicles a year for the Jeep and Alfa Romeo brands as part of a joint venture with American Chrysler. Fiat's CEO Sergio Marchionne said, "We now need to work on defining a collective agreement specific to the joint venture that will enable workers to transfer to the new Fiat-Chrysler enterprise." In the negotiations up to the accord Marchionne has caused a lot of irritations, in particular when he threatened to relocate production abroad. The government has accused him of forgetting that Rome has bailed out Fiat in times of trouble, while workers have said they are underpaid, overworked and underappreciated (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 3 July-August and September 2010).
English: http://www.adnkronos.com/IGN/Aki/English/Business/Italy-Union-to-strike ...

The country's largest union confederation, ZSSS, is calling for an increase of the national minimum wage, since 23 February 2010 set at Euro 562 per month. ZSSS says that other factors besides inflation should be calculated in the adjustment of the minimum rate for January 2011, including the at-risk-of-poverty threshold, which already for 2009 was calculated at Euro 593. This implies that the minimum wage would have to be raised by Euro 31, ZSSS executive secretary Ladislav Rozic told a press conference. The Ministry of Labour, the Family and Social Affairs argued that it is impossible to adjust the minimum rate other than to rising consumer prices, but Rozic referred to a resolution adopted by the European Parliament in October which says that a living wage must always be above the poverty threshold.
English: http://www.balkans.com/open-news.php?uniquenumber=86161; http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/public/focus_page ...

In mid-December bargaining in the corrugated paperboard industry concluded, with negotiators for the Unite and GMB unions coming to wage terms with the Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI). The CPI, representing major corrugated boxboard and packaging employers at some 50 plants mainly belonging to D.S. Smith, SmurfitKappa and SAICA, agreed to raise their wage offer from 2.1% to 2.5%. The offer, if accepted by members from the two unions in January, will be retroactive to 1 September 2010, the date a prior one-year accord expired. Unite National Officer Peter Ellis said the tentative settlement falls into the upper level of median pay awards in all industries, and Unite's bargaining panel will strongly recommend acceptance. Bargaining started in July, but became bogged down in October when CPI offered a pay hike of less than half of the consumer price index.
English: http://www.icem.org/en/19-Pulp-Paper/4180-UK's-Unite-GMB .

In the midst of negotiations between services union ver.di and the German Retail Federation (HDE) over a minimum wage for the 2.7 million retail workers, where an hourly base rate somewhere between €7 and €8.80 has been discussed, Juergen Kisseberth, director of discount supermarket chain Lidl, has come up with a proposal for a minimum hourly rate of €10. Some critics of Lidl reacted surprised, as the discounter has been under fire in recent years for treating employees and suppliers poorly on a number of occasions. Ver.di officials have avoided speculations about the company's motives. Union spokeswoman Cornelia Hass said, "We hope that this good example will be followed by other chains. A lot of retailers think it's acceptable to pay wages that their workers cannot live on in order to keep a competitive edge. Lidl pays good wages but still has a good competitive position. There really is no more convincing argument", adding "This is a positive signal, but they will have to go a lot further before you hear me calling them a model company."
English: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,14732011,00.html

IBEC, the employers' association, has called for a planned pay rise of 1.25% in the grocery retail sector to be put on hold. The increase, which is to come into effect in January, is due under the terms of an employment regulation order (ERO) for the sector. These orders set wage levels and other terms of employment (slightly) above the minimum wage, and are used in low-wage sectors such as retail, catering and hospitality. The Mandate union has accused IBEC of reneging on its commitments. Mandate general secretary John Douglas regarded the move, taken together with the recent cut in the minimum wage, as another attack on the lowest paid workers, and referred to the fact that the Labour Court had approved the increase (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 3 November 2010).
English: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/1222/breaking42.html

The G™D public services union reports several negotiated pay rises in agreements that are now negotiated separately from the main public sector agreement. All five agreements will see pay increases from 1 January 2011. In the universities it will be €34.50 a month, meaning a 2.5% increase for the lowest paid. There is a 0.7% increase in the Academy of Sciences (™AW) but a minimum rise of €35. Workers in the Employment Service (AMS) will get 1.25% while employees at Research (Forschung) Austria will get 2.1%. The pay rise in the Federal Computing Service (BRZ) will be 1% with a €45 minimum and 1% on additional payments, meaning 2.87% for the lowest paid.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/393
German: http://www.goed.at/17014.html