The government has announced to introduce legislation permitting employers who can prove financial difficulty to opt out of the minimum wages set by Registered Employment Agreements (REAs) and Employment Regulation Orders (EROs). Unlike the National Minimum Wage Act of 2000, the REA and ERO systems --covering low-wage sectors like agriculture; hotel and catering trade; retail; security, and construction-- lack such an inability-to-pay provision. The ICTU union confederation and its largest affiliate, SIPTU, have criticized the plan. ICTU has accused the government of implementing an agenda to "drive down wages across all sectors", while SIPTU president Jack O'Connor claimed the government was intent on "crucifying the lowest paid in the country."
English: http://irishexaminer.com/ireland/siptu-inability-to-pay-law-will-lead-to- ...; http://www.independent.ie/national-news/government-to-allow-bosses-to-undercut- ...
Search results
Find articles
On Wednesday 27 January, Fujitsu staff took their grievances to London's Parliament Square in an effort to drum up support for their battle with the company over redundancies, pay and pensions. The demonstration of members of Unite was a response to the company plan to lay off 870 employees. Three days earlier, on 25 January, hundreds of staff at both HP and Fujitsu took part in two separate strikes, affecting major government and private sector IT contracts. Union members at HP staff, working mainly at the Department of Work and Pensions, stayed away from work today in a protest over pay freezes and job cuts. Other contracts hit include the Ministry of Defence and General Motors. Around 1,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union voted for the strike. In December 2009, the PCS cancelled a strike by the same staff, as HP hours before had agreed to return to negotiations.
English: http://news.zdnet.co.uk/itmanagement/0,1000000308,40008741,00.htm?s_ ... http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/012510-hp-and-fujitsu-staff-stop.html
Belgian metalworkers' unions are suing General Motors (GM) European unit Opel for breaching a contract with the Belgian trade unions when the carmaker decided last week to close its Antwerp plant and produce a two small SUV models elsewhere, most likely in South Korea. In a common position on Opel Antwerp of the European Employee Forum (EEF), the European Metalworkers' Federation (EMF), the European unions and Works Councils within Opel/Vauxhall, it is argued that the relocation of the two models is the only reason for the intended closure of the Antwerp factory. The workers' representatives declare that in case of non-closure of Antwerp, GM would need Euro 500 million less in guarantee loans from the European governments; also, earlier the Flemish government offered Euro 300 million in guarantee loans, and has announced to maintain this offer. Union representatives from Germany, Spain and the UK came to the Belgian Opel plant as to show their solidarity with the 2,600 workers there.
English: http://www.emf-fem.org/Press/Press-releases/Common-position-on-Antwerp http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSWEB674920100126?type=marketsNews http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5172030,00.html http://www.euronews.net/2010/01/26/union-leaders-travel-to-axed-opel-plant/
After a day of relay strike action, Akzo Nobel Netherlands reached a basic agreement with the four unions involved, FNV Bondgenoten, CNV Vakmensen, VHP AkzoNobel, and De Unie. The unions say that the chemical firm gave in largely with their demands concerning maintaining the social plan in case of redundancies as well as the arrangements for older workers. Moreover, the agreement includes 1.25% wage increase for 15 months. Improvement of pensions will be subject to separate talks.
Dutch: http://www.fd.nl/artikel/14082569/akzo-nobel-sluit-principe-akkoord- ...
On 26 January, the three unions involved in collective bargaining for 200,000 public servants in municipal and provincial government, CNV Publieke Zaak, ABVAKABO en CMHF, have presented employers' delegations with an ultimatum. If the employers will not come back to the negotiating table with a reasonable offer, the unions ensure that they will organize nationwide relay actions. Employers' current offer is a zero wage increase for 2010-2011. The unions argue that notably the municipalities have considerable financial buffers; moreover, a wage freeze does not fit in the national Social Accord as of April 2009. The unions feel supported as in December municipal workers voted overwhelmingly against the two-year pay freeze (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 2 December 2009).
Dutch: http://www.cnvpubliekezaak.nl/Ultimatum_voor_werkgevers_gemeenten_en_ ... http://www.abvakabofnv.nl/nieuws/nieuws/ambtenaren-gaan-actie-voeren
The IMPACT public services union formally begun industrial action on 25 January in protest at the government's plans for further cuts in public employees' pay. Initially the industrial action is to be a work-to-rule so IMPACT members refuse to co-operate with management demands that require anything beyond normal duties. Other public sector unions have joined this initiative. On 26 January, General Secretary of the Civil and Public Services Union (CPSU), Blair Horan, at a conference in Dublin said there was a clear mandate for more intensive action. From 27 January, according to Horan staff would hold more unannounced stoppages, which could affect entire regions. Meanwhile, Labour Relations Commission (LRC) Chief Executive Kieran Mulvey would start trying to find a basis to get management and unions talking (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 2 December 2009).
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/335 http://www.impact.ie/iopen24/impact-serves-notice-industrial-action-n-295.html http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0126/partnership.html http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0125/partnership.html
The CGT, FSU and Solidaires union organisations have co-ordinated over 100 demonstrations and other actions on 21 January as part of their campaign of opposition to government policies on the public services. Thousands of teachers, civil servants and health workers took part in demonstrations across the country. The latest message to come from the government includes plans for further job cuts across the public services with 34,000 jobs to go in central government alone and cuts also likely in local and regional government and the health service (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 2 December 2009).
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/335
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/3252939/French-public-sector-workers-strike
French: http://www.equipement.cgt.fr/spip.php?article2705
The three public service trade unions organised a strike action across the prison service on 21-23 January and a national demonstration on 22 January. The protests are over working conditions in prisons with staff facing an average of five violent incidents a day. The unions say that the prison service needs to address urgently prison overcrowding, staffing levels and the inadequacy of security equipment.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/335
Dutch: http://www.acodonline.be/Artikels/Persbericht.aspx?nr=2190
French: http://csc-services-publics.csc-en-ligne.be/Nouvelles/Sectorielles/autorite_federal/ ...
Unions and employers in the municipal sector have drafted a new four-year agreement on employment and working conditions. The agreement includes a number of changes and new elements covering equality, tackling discrimination, climate change and measures to reduce sickness absence. There is a brief period for final feedback up to 1 February.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/335
Norwegian: http://www.fagforbundet.no/forsida/tariff/?article_id=46086
After lengthy negotiations the FNV Abvakabo and CNV Publieke Zaak trade unions have signed a new collective agreement for the ambulance sector that replaces the four previous agreements in the sector. The two-year agreement will take effect on 1 January 2011 and will involve a three-stage increase in the year-end bonus from 5% to 8.33% of annual salary. There will also be two 1% increases to basic pay.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/335
Dutch: http://www.abvakabofnv.nl/nieuws/nieuws/een-cao-voor-ambulancesector http://www.cnvpubliekezaak.nl/CAO_Ambulancezorg_ondertekend?referrer=272