Collective Bargaining

The chairman of the vida services union, Rudolf Kaske, has said that the union is aiming for a minimum wage of at least €7.50 an hour (? 1,300 a month for a 40-hour week) across its agreements. This would be achieved, for example, in the cleaning sector from 1 January 2011 where there will be a monthly minimum of €1,302. Kaske added that the very high level of collective bargaining coverage in Austria meant that unions were not in favour of a legal minimum wage although they had to address those sectors where there was no coverage by collective agreements.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/390
German: http://www.vida.at/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=S03/Page ...

The ver.di public services union has reacted angrily to the latest proposals from the BDE private waste employers' organisation. The union had called for a 3% pay increase backdated to May 2010 but the employers have offered nothing for an eight-month period and just 1% from January 2011 on. Ver.di is also concerned about the employers' aims to introduce a lower level pay structure which would mean some workers stuck on pay rates equivalent to those from the mid-1990s (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 3 October 2010).
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/390
German: https://ver-und-entsorgung.verdi.de/abfallwirtschaft/tarifarbeit_tarifpolitik/private .

On 22 November, the CGSP/ACOD and SLFP/VSOA trade unions have organised a 24-hours' strike at Fedasil, the national body dealing with asylum seekers. The unions say that employees should be transferred to federal civil service status rather than being on fixed-term contracts that guarantee only the minimum civil service pay levels. They want a proper process of social dialogue to deal with the problems facing the service.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/390
French: http://www.lesoir.be/actualite/belgique/2010-11-22/greve-de-24-h .

Unions in the prison sector organised strike action on 15 November and have planned further action from 24 November over jobs and working conditions. The unions are calling for negotiations over plans to shut facilities as well as over staffing levels and employment conditions. In general they are demanding a proper process of social dialogue in the sector.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/390
French: http://www.cfdt.fr/rewrite/article/29728/actualites/l-actu-des-ministeres .

The CGTP and UGT trade union confederations joined on Wednesday 24 November in a general 24-hours strike in protest against the government's austerity measures, the first since 1988. Public sector unions reported a high turnout with widespread closures across local government and the transport system. The industrial action, in which reportedly over three million workers participated, brought the country to a halt. Most flights departing from Lisbon and Oporto were grounded and Lisbon's metro was shut. Schools, hospitals and public transport terminals were managed by skeleton staff.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/390 ; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11825643 ; http://www.theportugalnews.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?id=1089-1
Portuguese: http://www.stal.pt/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=582&Itemid=1; http://www.sintap.pt/; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11825643

One of the measures envisaged in the government's austerity package is to lower the National Minimum Wage (NMW) by €1 to €7.65 per hour for an adult worker, arguing that the current level causes higher levels of unemployment in the sectors where it is most prevalent and prevents small and medium sized enterprises from adjusting wage costs downward. Besides that these arguments can be questioned on good grounds, the ICTU union confederation queries the entitlement of the government to reduce the NMW. ICTU's legislation officer Esther Lynch argued, "There is nothing in the minimum wage legislation that provides the minister with power to reduce the minimum wage without going through the review mechanism." Lynch also said that according to the ILO conventions the Enterprise Minister is not allowed to rewrite the current arrangements protecting the low-paid, the so-called Registered Employment Agreements (REAs) and Employment Regulation Orders (EROs), himself, as these are collective agreements from which he should refrain.
English: http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/unions-query-states-power-to-reduce ...

Following the repeated mobilisations in September, October and on 8 November against the government's pensions legislation, five union organisations organised a national day of action on 23 November. They challenged the government's statement that the question of pensions was now settled and also raised further issues such as employment, working conditions and gender inequality about which they want to make their voices heard both to the government and employers. The unions also announced their support for a further day of action on 15 December, joining other unions around Europe in protest against austerity measures (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 3 September and October 2010).
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/390
French: http://www.cgt.fr/spip.php?article37895; http://www.english.rfi.fr/france/20101106-french-protesters-defy-rain-march-again

The CGIL trade union confederation has called a national demonstration in Rome on 27 November for "The future of our youth and work." The demonstration is in protest at government cuts and in defense of decent work and collective bargaining. According to Rossana Dettori, general secretary of FP CGIL, the public servants' federation of CGIL, the demonstration will be aimed in particular against the planned dismissal of 80,000 fixed-term workers across the public sector and against attempts by employers to undermine collective bargaining. Another aspect is to denounce the terrible living and working conditions in which many migrant workers find themselves into.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/390; http://www.epsu.org/a/7082
Italian: http://www.fpcgil.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/15962

The PCS civil service union has criticised the government for refusing to support a proposal for changes to the redundancy compensation scheme that would provide better protection for lower paid workers. The government is pressing ahead with changes that would introduce new limits of 12 months' pay for compulsory redundancy and 15 months' pay for voluntary redundancy in the short term, with the prospect of a 21-month maximum for voluntary redundancy in the longer term (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 3 April, May, June, July-August and October 2010).
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/390; http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/news_and_events/news_centre/index.cfm ...

The five trade unions in the prison sector, ACAIP-USO, CC.OO, CIG, CSI-F and FSP-UGT, have organised a national demonstration on 25 November in Madrid to protest over pay, working conditions and overcrowding. The unions are angry that the prison employers have failed to abide by collective agreements and accuse them of presiding over a chaotic management system.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/390
Spanish:http://www.fspugt.es/Los__empleados_pblicos_de_prisiones_protesta ...