Various sectors and occupational groups have continued strike activity against what is regarded as the government's one-sided austerity policies, and various unions have announced new strikes. Most recently a nationwide media strike has been called for Tuesday 30 November 30, from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday. On Thursday 25 November various demonstrations took place in Athens. In the main demonstration, organised by public and private union federations, protesters marched through the center of the capital to the Finance Ministry. The federations also organised a three-hour work stoppage in the capital that disrupted public transport and state services such as tax offices. State television suspended their broadcasts during the stoppage. Meanwhile, in response to a call by the Panhellenic Seamen's Federation, seamen continued to be on strike from 23 November on, leaving Greek islands without ferry services for a week. The seamen are demanding job protection, creation of an independent unemployment fund and a 2% wage increase (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 3 September and October 2010).
English: http://www.ana.gr/anaweb/user/showplain?maindoc= ...; http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9JN8LE02.htm; http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1491871
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On Saturday 27 November, the ICTU confederation organised a national demonstration outside Dublin's General Post Office in protest at what is expected to be another austerity budget with major cuts in public spending. The unions claim that the main meeting was attended by more than 100,000 people. As independent media stressed, at the heart of the protest were ordinary people, braving freezing temperatures -- parents with their children, pensioners and young people struggling to find a job. Speakers strongly criticised the government's four-year plan for economic recovery. ICTU general secretary, David Begg, said the country could not afford to pay the terms of the proposed €85 billion EU-IMF bailout package. In an interview, SIPTU general president Jack O'Connor branded the package a shameful indictment of the right-wing policies that informed the government's approach for the last 13 years and which now dominate thinking in EU institutions. Following the mass rally, the UNITE union has called for a "campaign of civil disobedience" ahead of Budget day on 7 December.
English: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/1129/1224284370848.html; http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/1129/1224284372120.html; http://www.independent.ie/national-news/trade-unions-call-for-national-strike-and-civil ...; http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/nov/27/ireland-bailout-dublin-protest
A strike by flight attendants of the airlines Finnair and Blue 1 is set to begin at 1:00 PM Finnish time on Tuesday 30 November. Attempts at negotiating a contract between the airlines and the flight attendants broke down in the early hours of Tuesday. Many flights of both airlines will be grounded. The two sides continue to disagree on issues such as overtime work and days off. According to the Finnish Cabin Crew Union (SLSY), the management aims at weakening the terms of the current collective agreement.
English: http://www.hs.fi/english/article/BREAKING+NEWS+Flight+attendants+strike+ ...; http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Mediation+talks+to+avoid+cabin+attendants ... via http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/show_news.pl?country=Finland
IG Metall has reported that companies employing 20% of total 3.4 million metal and electronics workers to date have moved the scheduled 2011 wage increase up from April to February. Companies and their Works Councils including Audi AG, Bosch GmbH, Siemens, the MAN Group, and Voith, the paper machine and engineering manufacturer, have agreed to pay the scheduled 2.7% increase in February. Several more companies are expected to do the same in the coming weeks. In collective agreements negotiated in February 2010, IG Metall agreed to a job preservation pact in exchange for two lump sum payments of €320 each in 2010 and early 2011. The union credits the early raises to a strong economic recovery in Germany (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 3 February and October 2010).
English: http://www.icem.org/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4132-; http://www.automotiveworld.com/news/oems-and-markets ...
The MUT (teachers') union has called for a one-hour strike on Monday 6 December at MCAST, the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology, due to what it said the College's repeated failure to abide by established agreements, work practices and legislation. Among the union's grievances are that promotion criteria are not being respected and provisions are being enforced contrary to the current agreement, in spite of various meetings held with the MCAST management. Another is that part-timers are being requested to register themselves as self-employed, contrary to established legal frameworks.
English: http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=116001 via http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/show_news.pl?country=Malta
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in front of the Parliament building on 14 November to protest against the government for diverting private pension fund contributions to the central budget. In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Viktor Orban, organisers of the protest voiced their dismay that the government had not consulted the private pension funds, representing some three million members, before deciding to divert payment transfers to the state budget for 14 months. Pension fund holders are "aware of the difficult financial situation the country is in, but find it unacceptable that the government is trying to solve the problem by seizing contributions," the letter, calling to withdraw the pension law, stated.
English: M t Komiljovics, union correspondent
A number of union federations will stage a demonstration in Budapest on 4 December if negotiations with the government fail, said a statement by the joint committee of unions. According to the committee, most of the centre-right government's new laws and bills submitted to parliament "violate legal security and endanger the interests of employees." Among other things, they plan the dismissal of 25-30,000 public servants. The unions protest that the 2011 budget bill would result in reduced real wages for a large part of employees, in particular hurting the low-paid. The committee also protests that the government seeks to divert savings in private pension funds and argues that it is creating an atmosphere against public sector employees.
English: M t Komiljovics, union correspondent; http://www.politics.hu/20101102/fidesz-mps-hand-in-proposal ... via http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/show_news.pl?country=Hungary
On Sunday 28 and Monday 29 November, London Underground services were subject to industrial action over servicing and safety issues as part of a long-running dispute over 800 ticket office job cuts, when the Rail Maritime and Transport union (RMT) and the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) organised a 24-hour walkout. Union leaders said they would not be recommending any walkouts over the festive season, virtually ruling out any more strikes before 10 January, but they raised the threat of longer stoppages after that. The TUC confederation supported the action. TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber commented: "It should be remembered that tube staff are not striking over pay and conditions but over ticket office closures and the impact of cuts on passengers. They are sacrificing another day's pay in the interests of passenger safety."
English: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article .; http://www.tuc.org.uk/industrial/tuc-18863-f0.cfm; http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/nov/28/tube-workers-begin-strike?
On 25 November, the doctors' and dentists' strike came to an end as their union AMMD and health ministers reached an agreement over the health reform bill, though the details are still lacking. Doctors and dentists began minimal services as an action against the reform on 22 October because they found that the tighter financial framework of hospitals would lead to the deterioration of patient health.
English: http://www.station.lu/?p=edito&a=external&id=90577
The conflict between TNT Post and the trade unions concerning the dismissal of full-time delivery workers ("postbodes" in Dutch) and their replacement by part-time, lower paid distributing clerks ("postbezorgers") has reached a climax in three days of strike, in which the country had to do without regular postal delivery. As TNT Post did not react positively on the ultimatum the three unions involved, Abvakabo FNV, CNV Publieke Zaak and BVPP, had posed to diminish the number of forced dismissals to under 3,100, a 24-hour strike was called on Tuesday 16 November, followed by a 48-hour strike on Thursday 25 and Friday 26 November. The unions have called the industrial action "successful" (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 3 June and October 2010).
Dutch: http://www.abvakabofnv.nl/nieuws/nieuws/15000-handtekeningen; NRC-Handelsblad, November 15, 16, 25, 26 and 27, 2010