About 70,000 cleaners and other property service workers will see their wages rise significantly in the next five years. The collective agreement between the Service Union United PAM and the employer association Kiinteistpalvelut, announced on 19 October, will raise wages by over 20%. The minimum tariffs will rise by 16.5% and the rest will come from annual wage hikes. The agreement will raise minimum wages of property services to the level of other service industries, and the parties believe this will ease the recruitment problems cleaning and other property service companies are facing. Currently the lowest wage for cleaners is slightly below Euro 8 per hour.
English: http://www.artto.kaapeli.fi/unions/T2010/n34 via http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/show_news.pl?country=Finland
Search results
Find articles
On Saturday 16 October hundreds of thousands of Italian metalworkers demonstrated in Rome in a rally organised by FIOM, the metalworkers' federation of the CGIL union confederation, demanding workers' rights, democracy and jobs. Two separate protests marched peacefully to Piazza San Giovanni, where a final rally took placeÿand the general secretary of FIOM, Maurizio Landini, as well as the general secretary of CGIL, Guglielmo Epifani, addressed the public. Landini said, "We take to the streets to defend the national contract, which risks to be cancelled, to defend work and democracy and to show a different exit from this crises from that shown by the government and the Italian Association of Employers, given one of the biggest assaults of all times on the rights of workers." The CGIL stated it will take again to the street on November 27, and if no response from the government, the union will call a general strike.
English: http://www.imfmetal.org/index.cfm?c=24389&l=2
On Monday 18 October, railway workers shut down virtually the entire national rail network and disrupted international services in protest at rail freight reforms which could cost hundreds of train drivers' jobs. The strike was called by the ACOD/CGSP union, affiliated with the ABVV/FGTB confederation, and supported by the independent OVS union. The protest focused on the terms of new flexible contracts that the management of rail operator SNCB/NMBS's freight unit is seeking to impose on staff. The union warned that the contracts would make it easier to lay off hundreds of train drivers. The resultant strike action coincided with the ongoing massive protests in neighbouring France, blocking rail transport across much of western Europe.
English: http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/content/view/full/96568
Dutch: http://knack.rnews.be/nl/actualiteit/nieuws/belgie/ovs-sluit-zich-aan-bij-treinstaking-acod/article-1194835156073.htm
At a special conference of the Swiss Communications Union, Syndicom, postal workers have agreed to a negotiated wage increase of 2.8%. This consists of 1% increase granted to all employees, 0.8% of payroll to be devoted to individual increases, and finally, the Post will pay the entire employee's contribution to the improvement of the Post Office Pension Fund, worth 1% of the wage sum. The wage negotiations have been conducted this year in parallel to negotiations on a broad package of measures to maintain security of employment for all staff in the event of future restructuring. The new social plan that was also approved includesÿsupport for job search in-house or external special financial assistance for professional job search, part-time work made available from 58 years of age, and the opportunity to take early retirement from 62.
English: http://www.uniglobalunion.org/Apps/iportal.nsf/pages/homeEn?OpenDocument&exURL=http://www.uniglobalunion.org/Apps/UNINews.nsf/vwLkpById/ED89351DA06A9CA7C12577C1002F038A?Opendocument
For the first time collective negotiations in the paper industry will cover both the western and eastern regions of Europe's largest economy. Those talks between the IG-BCE union and VAP, the employers' association, started 7 October in Dresden, covering 39,000 workers. The union delegation insisted in the first round of talks that orders in the industry have picked up and that recovery is apparent, and thus wage increases are justified for both regular workers and apprentices. VAP contended that the financial crisis is still in effect due to high raw material and high energy costs. Without specifying an exact pay gain, the union said it seeks a noticeable remuneration gain, improvements in general conditions of work, and common collective agreement time frames between enterprises in the east and in the west (The current contract in the west expired on 31 August, while in the east the two-year agreement will run until 30 November).
English: http://www.icem.org/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4067-IGBCE-Seeking-Wage-Gains-as-East-West-Enjoined-in-German-Paper-Talks
The Iberia airline has reached a deal with the transport unions of CCOO and UGT which opens the way to the creation of a new low-cost carrier to handle its short and medium-haul routes, it announced. The collective agreement covers 14,750 employees, or 70% of the total airline's workforce, and will remain in place until December 2012. It includes wage increases and "a guarantee of employment" for workers once the new carrier is established. Since Iberia announced in October 2009 that it planned to start a low-cost airline to handle its short- and medium-haul routes, unions have been negotiating with its management on a new collective agreement covering the new airline.
English: http://www.expatica.com/es/news/spanish-news/iberia-seals-union-deal-for-new-low-cost-carrier_103342.html
The minimum wage will rise from the current €307.70 by 3% to €317 per month as of next year, following a decision by the government of Prime Minister Iveta Radicov taken on 13 October. The leaders of the four governing coalition parties agreed to the rise despite strong opposition from employers' groups and protests by representatives of regional governments. Unions, by contrast, had argued in favour of a rise. The Labour Ministry proposed the increase in line with the law on the minimum wage that says that, if social partners fail to agree on the level of the minimum wage, the ministry has to propose an increase by the percentage of the average wage increase in the preceding year, 2009.
English: http://spectator.sme.sk/articles/view/40446/10/slovak_government_agrees_to_increase_minimum_monthly_wage_to_317.html
On 12 October, 600 workers in three assembly departments of the Case New Holland (CNH) agricultural machinery plant in Zaventem held a strike at protest of high work pressure, after the unions had spread a leaflet questioning the effects of the World Class Manufacturing (WCM) system that CNH introduced some years ago. The workers argued that WCM goes at the expense of health and safety, and frustrates taking days-off. Moreover, it was argued that CNH was using temporary unemployment as a cheap form of flexibility. Negotiations between unions and management resulted in extra staff for the three departments at stake.
Dutch: http://www.abvvmetaal.be/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=29%3Abelgie&id=1475%3Aspontane-staking-bij-case-new-holland-om-te-hoge-werkdruk-&Itemid=202&lang=nl
The SDE energy sector union has called off a strike that was announced for Tuesday 12 October in order to put pressure on the government in negotiations over restructuring of the electricity distribution sector. It was agreed with Prime Minister Bourt Pahor that a compromise solution would be found as soon as possible. Trade union representative Franc Dolar and Economy Minister Darja Radic told the press that an active dialogue would be established between unions and government. In the restructuring plan the five majority state-owned distributors would be split into market and network divisions, with the market divisions to be sold to major energy traders or producers.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/381; http://www.balkans.com/open-news.php?uniquenumber=74578
Public servants recruited from January 2011 will have to make do with a reduced pension and a later retirement age under new pension cutback plans ann ounced by the Ministry of Finance. Under the plan, designed to cut back on the public service pensions' bill, the minimum retirement age for new recruits is to be raised to 66. The current minimum retirement age is 65 but most public servants can stop work on a full pension at age 60 as long as they have 40 years' service. Moreover, in a move that will significantly cut back a public servant's pension, the final pension will be based on 50% of career average earnings rather than 50% of final salary, as at present. Originally put forward by Finance Minister Brian Lenihan in last year's budget, the announcement has been the subject of negotiations between the public service unions and the finance department at the Labour Relations Commission for the last few months. The unions have yet to endorse the plan though it is understood the department will proceed regardless.
English: http://www.tribune.ie/news/home-news/article/2010/oct/10/smaller-pensions-and-later-retirement-for-new-civi/ via http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/show_news.pl?country=Ireland