Collective Bargaining

During the night of 5-6 November the joint negotiation team of the Metalworking, Textiles and Food-processing Union (GMTN) and the Union of Salaried Employees, Printing, Journalism and Paper (GDA-DJP) achieved pay increases for the 170,000 workers in metalworking. Their agreement, leading in Austrian industrial relations, secures wage increases of 3.8-3.9% (3.9% for the lower occupational groups), plus extra one-off payments resulting in an overall increase of 4.6%. As a consequence, the new collectively agreed minimum wage stands at Euro 1,457 per month. The unions preferred collectively agreed pay increases, but in the end settled with one-off payments, depending on the profitability (EBIT) of companies. In case of profits, the extra payment will range from Euro 100 to Euro 250. The agreement covers 12 months, backdated from 1 November 2008.
Nearly one week later, on 12 November, GMTN signed a new agreement with the metalworking crafts enterprises, covering about 90,000 blue collar workers and over 23,000 apprentices in more than 15,500 firms. The agreement includes increases by 3.8% in the collectively agreed minimum wage, bringing this to Euro 1,453 monthly, and in the apprentices' remunerations, and an increase in effectively paid wages by 3.6%, with an additional on-off payment of Euro 80. The agreement will enter into force on 1 January 2009.
(English: GMTN messages via EUCOBAN network of European Metalworkers' Federation; German: http://www.gmtn.at/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=GMT/Page/GMT_Index&n=GMT_1.a&cid=1222795102403)

IT firm Atos Origin (8,800 employees in the Netherlands) has definitely decided not to conclude a new collective agreement with the four unions involved, but instead to have regular talks about labour conditions with the Central Works Council (COR). This end of a leading agreement puts more pressure on the existing company-based agreements in the IT sector. Only one out of the six remaining company agreements has recently been re-negotiated (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 1 No. 8).
(Dutch: AutomatiseringGids, 7 November 2008)

On 7 November, the national executive committee of the PCS public services union decided to suspend the industrial action across the civil service planned for 10 November and the overtime ban proposed to commence on 11 November. The employer has agreed to a 28 day extension to the limitation of the current mandate for initiating industrial action to midnight 11 December 2008. PCS will take forward discussions to address the concerns that form the basis of the current dispute over government's 2% pay limit (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 1 No. 8).
(English: http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/news_and_events/news_centre/index.cfm/id/317AF477-88ED-4224-955F4C23CE3891F6)

The FSP-UGT and FSAP-CCOO public service trade union federations are demanding that the government withdraws proposals to cut ill-health early retirement pensions from next year. An estimated 800,000 public sector workers are covered by the current arrangements and in 2007 alone 3,000 employees took early retirement because of disability. If the new provisions had been in place then these workers would have lost 25% of their pension if they had not made 20 years of contributions. The unions are particularly angry that the proposed change has been added to draft legislation without consultation or negotiation.
(English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/273; Spanish: http://www.fsap.ccoo.es/webfsap/menu.do?Actualidad:Sindical:Actualidad:39034; http://www.fspugt.es/index.php/mod.noticias/mem.detalle/idnoticia.5987/idimagen./relcategoria.7)

The federal accountancy service (Bundeshaltungsagentur - BHAG) is one of a number of agencies that have hived off from the central administration and now operate with more independence although still owned by the state. The G™D public service union has negotiated a separate collective agreement covering the BHAG that includes a new pay structure as well as a wide range of other provisions on leave, sick pay, sabbaticals, travel allowances and trainees' pay.
(English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/273; German: http://www.goed.at/14740.html)

While the FP CGIL public service federation will continue with planned regional strike action on 3, 7 and 15 November, the FPS CISL and UIL federations have decided to sign an initial agreement with the government over pay and future discussions over reforming public sector pay and contractual arrangements.
(English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/273; Italian: http://www.fpcgil.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/8466; http://www.fps.cisl.it/informa/new/new.htm)

The French government has announced plans for a significant extension of performance-related pay (PRP) across the civil service. By 2012 nearly 200,000 civil servants will have a PRP as part of their wages. The additional payment will be made up by a job-related premium (60%) set by each ministry while the remaining 40% will be entirely related to the individual's performance. The CFDT and FSU federations have warned of the risks of having pay determined in an arbitrary way. They also argue that the key issue at the moment is to ensure that all public service workers have their pay protected against inflation without having to rely on unpredictable PRP payments. The new system will be financed by savings from the non-replacement of retiring workers.
(English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/273; French: http://www.lesechos.fr/info/france/4792380-remuneration-au-merite-jusqu-a-14-400-euros-de-prime-individuelle.htm; http://www.fsu.fr/spip.php?article1338)

Public-sector workers will get pay rises in 2009 ranging from 1.5% for civil servants to 9.8% for teachers, according to decisions just announced by the Finance Ministry. Hospital doctors are seeking a 30% rise to bring their pay up to three times the national average wage, from what they say is twice the average wage at present. The doctors also claim that their real pay has been eroded by 7% in 2008.
(English: Watson Wyatt Data Services, New Industrial Relations Europe, 10/2008)

Employer association ZDS is seeking immediate negotiations on a new three-way national social pact, arguing that the current one, barely a year old, was concluded in different economic circumstances and needs revision. Under the association's envisaged timetable, amendments would be agreed with the incoming government and the trade unions by mid-2009 and then incorporated in a deal covering the period 2009-11. The 2007-09 social pact, reached after 18 months of difficult discussions, sets out general policy guidelines on wage development and taxation. It stipulates that collectively agreed pay awards should provide for real wage growth based on price inflation and productivity gains. Yet, it left unresolved the issue of whether productivity should be considered sector-wide or at individual company level, over which employers and trade unions were divided. In bidding for a new pact, ZDS categorically states that collectively agreed wages should grow "in line with productivity". However, the association also says the minimum wage should be better regulated by law and its real value "should be preserved".
(English: Watson Wyatt Data Services, New Industrial Relations Europe, 10/2008)

According to a study of the Confederation of Danish Industries (DI), wage increases under company-level collective agreements for 2008 averaged 2.8%. This figure is significantly lower than an experts' forecast of 4.9% wage growth in the private sector this year. The company awards supplement the increases in the three-year national agreement the social partners signed 21 months ago, which are worth about 1% annually.
(English: Watson Wyatt Data Services, New Industrial Relations Europe, 10/2008)