The Independent Union of Retail Workers has turned to all Labour Courts throughout the country where Tesco supermarkets are located in order to press the UK retailer to pay equal wages. Csaba Bubenk¢, union President, said wages of Tesco employees performing the same job may differ 10, 20 or even 30 % depending on the location of the store. He added that Tesco pays less in regions where the unemployment rate is higher, thus saving at least HUF 1 billion (Euro 3,8 million). Tesco has replied that the same job means the same wage within a store.
English: M t Komiljovics, union correspondent
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From coming April on, LOT Polish Airlines plans to change its labour and wage system, which according to the company's trade unions will imply lower wages. Neither the Transport Pilots Trade Union nor the Trade Union of Cabin Crew are willing to accept the proposed changes and are now in a dispute with the airline's management. Strikes seem imminent, as the unions do not rule out strike action. By March 30, the matter will be taken up by the Tripartite Commission (KT).
English: http://www.wbj.pl/article-49020-lot-labor-tensions-rise-strikes
via http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/show_news.pl?country=Poland
A ground-breaking collective agreement employers is set to help combat social dumping and discrimination against foreign nationals. The 3F union has negotiated an agreement with employers' representative Dansk Industri (DI) which is unique in that it entitles shop stewards to access wage slips and other information if the union believes that overseas workers are being paid less than their Danish counterparts. The new clause is likely to be inserted into the majority of collective agreements across the transport sector. In addition, company members of DI will inform the union when they use a contractor. This will enable the union to enforce their collective agreement and to take industrial action against the contractor if necessary. The clause will not only apply to Danish contractors but also to overseas companies operating in Denmark.
English: http://www.itfglobal.org/news-online/index.cfm/newsdetail/4322
On 22 March, Fellesforbundet, the largest private sector union, broke off negotiations in the metal sector with the employers' federation Norsk Industri. The result of negotiations in the metal sector, together with those in the textiles and clothing sector, the packaging sector and a couple of smaller sectors will be decisive for bargaining outcomes throughout the country. After more than a week of negotiations, Fellesforbundet President Arve Bakke gave up concluding collective bargaining without mediation. "We have a responsibility towards every low paid worker in Norway and the offer made by Norsk Industri does not come close to shouldering this responsibility. There was also no substantial move on other important questions like securing normal working hours and keeping guaranty wages for all low paid workers in industry. Also there was no move on our demands for fairer treatment of foreign workers and rotation schedules for workers far away from home", Bakke said.
English: message of EUCOBAN network of EMF / EFFAT / ETUF-TCL / EMCEF
Public-sector workers across France went on strike on Tuesday 23 March to protest the country's economic woes and the government's unpopular reforms. The strike caused some disruption for commuters in French cities. Trains to Britain and Belgium were running normally, but only 65% of traffic was being guaranteed within France. Unions say French President Nicolas Sarkozy's conservative government has not offered satisfactory plans on jobs, salaries, purchasing power and working conditions, and they hope to hammer home that message in the wake of Sunday's regional election defeats. After that defeat, Sarkozy fired his labour minister, Xavier Darcos.
English: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/03/23/france-strike.html
French: http://www.spterritoriaux.cgt.fr/spip.php?article3870
In a ballot closing 23 March, GMB members working for British Gas have voted 82% in favour of strike action on a 61% turnout. GMB General Secretary Paul Kenny said, "We are giving British Gas a week to give us a constructive response. We want an independent inquiry into the profit-at-all-costs culture at British Gas." Earlier the 8,000 employees involved, mainly engineering workers, gave 90% support for action in a consultative ballot. They are responding to threats from management to cut up to 25% of full-time equivalent staff working in non-customer facing roles.
English: http://l-r-c.org.uk/blog/post/strong-vote-in-gmb-british-gas-ballot/;
http://www.gmb.org.uk/newsroom/latest_news/british_gas_ballot.aspx
Belgian union leaders have warmed to a plan by General Motors European arm Opel to grant a stay of execution to its plant in Antwerp and push through fewer job cuts than previously envisaged. GM said it was now proposing that the Opel Antwerp plant be allowed to hunt for an investor until the end of September. That investor would have to take over by the end of the year, union leaders said, adding GM was now also looking to cut 1,200 of the 2,600 jobs of Opel Antwerp. Rudi Kennes, main negotiator of the ABVV/FGTB union and Opel's European deputy labour leader, said the plans were a sign of progress, though the plant needed longer than six months to find an investor and the job cuts were more than the 1,000 maximum unions had been willing to accept (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 3 January 2010).
English: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE62L20J20100322?
The trade unions and the government have reached agreement on levying incomes of unprovided people, thus legalizing the non-regulated incomes of physical persons, as they stated at a press conference over anti-crisis measures. Yet, at the press conference a dispute rose over the proposed measures. Bozhidar Danev from the Bulgarian Industrial Association said that over the last 20 years many people received non-regulated incomes from the grey sector by not paying their taxes and insurances, and announced to discuss with the government whether to declare amnesty.
English: http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n213856
On 20 March, the joint unions announced not to be prepared to accept a reform of the Cost of Living Allowance (CoLA) or any other government measures which will negatively affect the standard of living of employees, and more in particular those in the lowest wage bracket. Representatives of the three major union federations, PEO, SEK and DEOK, made the statement in response to the government's proposed austerity measures.
English: http://www.cyprus-mail.com/cyprus/unions-say-don-t-touch-cola/
via http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/show_news.pl?country=Cyprus
The FNV Bondgenoten union has announced its demands for the new collective agreement at the Corus steelworks, subsidiary of the Tata Steel Group and employing 9,500 workers, after preparations with members. The spearheads are a larger focus on youth and a floor for pay increase for the low-waged, and the union asks a clear statement of Corus concerning the state pension reform plans. FNV Bondgenoten wants a wage increase of 2% by 1 April 2010 for one year, with a floor of Euro 416.38 per percent per year. The union demands the salary scales of young employees to be increased 2% by 1 January 2011. The current collective agreement expires on 1 April 2010.
English: message of EUCOBAN network of EMF / EFFAT / ETUF-TCL / EMCEF