Collective Bargaining

Unless protests like strikes and picket lines in front of the parliament building, organised by the Estonian Confederation of Trade Unions (ECUTU), the new Labour Contract Law took effect on 1 July. The law includes the last minute amendments criticized by the union movement and disturbing the balance between job security and labour market flexibility, for the unions an essential goal of the law (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 2 May and June 2009).
English: http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/2009/07/articles/ee0907029i.htm

In June 2009, the Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI) within the Hans B”ckler Foundation presented its interim report on the 2009 round of collective bargaining. It evaluates the collective agreements concluded in the first half of 2009, affecting about 20% of all employees covered by such agreements. Calculated on an annual basis, the average increase in wages and salaries will amount to about 3% in 2009, which is slightly above the average pay increase of 2.9% in 2008. The average increase in eastern German pay levels is estimated to be about 3.5%, thereby bringing this year's increases above the western German level. The effects of the economic crisis were only partly felt.
English: http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/2009/07/articles/de0907019i.htm;
German: http://www.boeckler.de/pdf/p_ta_hjb_2008.pdf

The new part-time unemployment scheme that the government introduced as of 1 April seemed already to come at its end by 23 June, when Jan-Hein Donner, Minister of Social Affairs and Employment, announced a halt because of the reserved Euro 375 million had been spent. The announcement led to a broad protest, including the major three trade union confederation FNV, CNV and MHP, and the employers 'association VNO-NCW. Obviously because of this pressure, two days later the Minister announced the prolongation of the scheme, be it applying more tight criteria for companies willing to use the scheme. For the time being, the social partners are opposing such tightening (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 2, March, April and May).
Dutch: De Volkskrant, June 23 and 25, 2009
English: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/business/news/ .

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has said that it is disappointed with aspects of the governments' most recent proposals for economic recovery. However speaking after a meeting of ICTU's executive council, general secretary David Begg said that the Government proposals were "the only show in town". Mr Begg said the ICTU's members would not expect to walk away when it could influence events, though he also stipulated that ICTU did not have sufficient information to make judgements on the proposals and would be seeking clarifications. The union leader said that there were also concerns at the government proposal to suspend a review of the minimum wage until 2011. However he said it would continue to be a floor for wage formation in the economy (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 2 April and May).
English: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/0624/breaking30.htm
via http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/show_news.pl?country=Ireland

On 23 June, hundreds of engineering construction workers at the Lindsey oil refinery of Total burned dismissal notices on Monday after they were sacked for going on strike. The latest dispute began two weeks ag0, when a subcontractor for Total made 51 workers redundant while another contractor was hiring 61 staff on the same project. After hundreds stopped work in protest and unofficial strikes spread by text and flying pickets across the UK, 647 workers were sacked. Consequently, across the energy sector thousands walked out in protest. Among others, more than 1,000 contract builders at the new Ensus biofuel refinery on Teesside decided to stay on unofficial strike after receiving text messages on a grapevine set up by members of the GMB and Unite unions. The unions prepare to ballot 30,000 workers to turn the wildcat walkouts into an official strike.
English: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jun/24/strike-action-recession
http://www.minimumwage.org.uk/news.asp;
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jun/24/lindsey-sympathy-strikes

On 22 June, over 3,000 workers of the Enea energy company went on strike over alleged breaches of Poland's labour law. Protests took place in the Wielkopolska, West Pomerania, Kujawy-Pomerania and Lubuskie provinces in the west and north of the country.ÿ"The company is violating basic rules of the Labour Code," claims Piotr Adamski, head of the Solidarity trade union at Enea. "Although the law guarantees Enea's employees a pay rise, the company has not increased salaries as yet. Besides, Enea keeps on prolonging contracts for a specified time with newly employed workers, which is illegal," maintains Adamski.ÿ
English: http://polskieradio.pl/thenews/business/artykul110580_energy_workers_on_strike_.html
via http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/show_news.pl?country=Poland

On Monday 22 June, a 24 hours' strike by railway workers aimed at bringing all rail services in Finland to a halt. The industrial action by the Railway Workers Union and the Railway Salaried Staff's Union was meant as a to protest the state's corporate ownership policies. "The idea that the main task of VR (the state-owned railway company) is to transport people and goods safely has been excessively supplanted by market-driven thinking", Vesa Mauriala, chairman of the Railway Workers Union, explained. The unions are also protesting previously announced temporary redundancies among personnel. The strike does not seem to have caused major traffic jams.
English: http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Protest ...
http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Railway ...

Refuse collectors in Bristol in South West England, contracted by Sita, have gone back to work after taking strike action over pay. The members of the Unite trade union agreed to a new three-year deal that will pay a minimum of 2.75% for the year November 2008 to October 2009. The remaining years of the agreement and various procedures to improve industrial relations will be negotiated in a process of binding arbitration that will be overseen by UK's Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, Acas.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/312;
http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/homepage/Bristol ...

Energy unions FNME-CGT and FNEM-FO have denounced the EDF energy company for resorting to the courts, in order to try to undermine the industrial action taking place across the sector. Both unions have made their determination clear as to maintain their campaigns of strikes and demonstrations in support of their claim for a 5% pay increase and payment of a Euro 1,500 lump sum. At sectoral level, the employers have so far refused to make any offer after having implemented a 0.3% pay increase at the beginning of the year (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 2 May 2009).
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/312;
French: http://www.fnme-cgt.fr/pages/communique.php?id=14;
http://www.fnem-fo.org/content/view/499/1/

The three main public service federations - FP-CGIL, FPS-CSIL and UIL-FPL - have signed a new two-year agreement covering over 500,000 workers in local and regional government. The general increase is Euro 63.20 a month, worth an average of 3.2%. However, there is the possibility of higher increases of up to Euro 90 a month in a productivity-linked deal that depends on the extent to which local authorities stay within budget guidelines.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/312;
Italian: http://www.fpcgil.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/10735