Collective Bargaining

The main union confederations are divided over the pressing issue of increasing the retirement age. The government has proposed to lift this age from 65 to 67 years. Latest 1 October, social partners can bring in alternatives. Recently, the CNV confederation changed its earlier position and announced that under certain conditions the increase would be acceptable, whereas the largest confederation, FNV, maintained that there are no good reasons for retiring at 67. A major FNV argument is that basic pension rights in the Netherlands are comparatively very low. Recent internet polls resulted in large majorities "voting" against an increase.
Dutch: De Volkskrant,26 and 31 August; http://www.abvakabofnv.nl/cao/bericht/81_procent_tegen_verhoging_aow_leeftijd_naar_67/

The 150,000 workers in the private health sector are still waiting for collective agreements over the years 2006-07 and 2008-09 to be renewed. The FP-CSIL public service federation has said that this is a priority, now that most of the other major agreements in the public services have been re-negotiated, particularly the public health agreement. Over the summer the FP-CSIL, FP-CGIL and FPS-UIL public service federations have been looking at ways of making progress, for example, by putting pressure on the regional health authorities that sign contracts with the private sector employers. In July, the three federations wrote a letter to the Minister for Labour, Health and Social Policy, asking him to intervene in this long-lasting conflict.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/315#a5519; http://www.epsu.org/cob/317#a5676;
Italian: http://www.fp.cisl.it/index.php.

The vida and GPA-djp trade unions are carrying out surveys of works councils before drawing up demands for the next round of negotiations in the private health sector. The BAGS agreement covers 75,000 workers in a range of health and social services and is one of the biggest negotiated by the two unions. The current agreement was negotiated last November and included a 3.6% increase in pay from 1 January.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/317;
German: http://www.vida.at/servlet/.

The state-run air carrier Czech Airlines (CSA) will not sell any property until the privatisation process is completed, supervisory board chairman Ivan Kocarnik told the press after a board meeting. He did not, however, rule out that parts of the company may be sold in the event that the state does not manage to privatise CSA. The board also acknowledged the layoff of 860 out of CSA's current 4,600 staff that is to take place in the next seven months. A major part of the staff to be dismissed is formed by pilots and stewardesses. This measure is to save up to CZK 800 million (Euro 31.5 million) next year, Kocarnik said. Trade unions are monitoring the situation in the firm. Pilots' union CZALPA leader Filip Gaspar said he welcomed the decision not to sell any assets until the end of privatisation, but he critizised the planned layoffs. Pilots are willing to go on strike to protest against the layoffs, he said. Earlier, CZALPA agreed to a 6.5% wage cut in order to save jobs.
English: http://praguemonitor.com/2009/08/25/%C4%8Dsa-not;
http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/2009/05/articles/cz0905029i.htm

After nine weeks, the strike of workers at the Bridgestone aircraft tyre plant in Frameries has ended. After conciliatory negotiations at national level failed, a draft agreement at the local level was finally agreed. On 7 August workers ratified the agreement by 57%. The agreement accepts the closure of the plant, but with a number of conditions, including payment of compensation to workers in lieu of plant-closing notice plus compensation based on seniority. Also, placement of each worker into another job in a different company near the worker's home was a condition. A bonus pay-out with an advance of Euro 500 was agreed too. Bridgestone has lifted all sanctions or punishment related to the strike. The Centrale G‚n‚rale-FGTB is proud of its victory, standing up to a huge multinational. The achievements were not the goals that the union had set out for, but they are notable.
English: http://www.icem.org/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3360-Bridgestone-Strike.

On 19 August, IG Metall Vice President Detlef Wetzel called on political leaders to ensure that priority is given to employment in secure, regular employment as the economy recovers and that use of agency labour is limited and based on equal pay for equal work. The union's demands were backed by the results of the study "Changes in the use of agency labour", conducted by the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena and released on the same day, finding that enterprises are increasingly using agency labour in order to pass on business risks to workers. Also, figures released by the Federal Office of Statistics showed that the share of German workers in regular, secure jobs with social benefits and working more than 20 hours a week fell from 73% in 1998 to 66% in 2008.
English: http://www.imfmetal.org/index.cfm?c=20485&l=2;
German: http://www.igmetall.de/cps/.

On August 11, workers at the giant copper mining and manufacturing firm KGHM, in total employing 28,000, staged a two-hour warning strike against the government's privatization plans. In keeping with what has become almost standard practice in Poland, the board of KGHM is now looking for ways to punish the strikers and union leaders. The company already decided to retain the workers' pay and to cut the yearly bonuses. Moreover, KGHM filed a complaint with the public prosecutor's office claiming that the strike was illegal and caused losses. If found guilty, the union leaders and perhaps some workers face fines and up to five years in jail. In the meantime, unions are considering another strike.
English: http://www.pracownik.net.pl/kghm_wants_punishment_for_strikers;
via http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/show_news.pl?country=Poland

On 5 August, nurses and midwives at the specialized hospital in Radom in central Poland, the biggest in the region, went on strike in support of their demand for a pay rise of PLN 450 (Euro 110) per month. The hospital maintained it cannot afford the pay increase as it is already in deficit. The strike ended late in the evening of 16 August, and the nurses and midwives' union had to settle for a rather poor deal: the workers will only receive PLN 1,000 (Euro 238) as a one-time payment, to be paid in three installments. In addition, the hospital will put some money into the social security and work funds, provided no fines are imposed on the hospital.
English: http://www.pracownik.net.pl/radom_hospital_strikes_ends_in_unfavourable_deal;
via http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/show_news.pl?country=Poland

Bogdan Hossu, chairman of the National Trade Union Confederation (Cartel ALFA), has said that the government shows a lack of professionalism by its planned move to cut the working hours in the public sector. Hossu told the press that the International Monetary Fund did not require from Romania a restructuring or salary cut, but its requirement was that all the spending made by the state be covered by revenues. He argued that restructuring, if needed, should have been made after a dialogue with the representatives of all sectors, i.e. education, health care and home affairs. Currently a lot of staff involved, the union leader added, is working overtime.
English: http://www.financiarul.ro/2009/08/13/cartel-alfa.

On 12 August, the chairman of the Romanian National Trade Union Bloc (BNS), Dumitru Costin, said that the minimum wage cap should go up even at a time of crisis. Costin pointed out that the measure should be taken because the current monthly minimum wage level of RON 600 (Euro 142) is not able to cover even the daily expenses of Romanians.
English: http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n190749;
via http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/show_news.pl?country=Romania