Negotiations covering over 400,000 workers in the public sector will get underway on 27 October. The initial meeting, involving both the GD public service union and GDG local government union, normally involves a discussion about the main economic indicators. The aim is to finalise an agreement before Christmas. Last year the agreed increase was 2.7% plus a Euro 175 lump sum. The pay increase is implemented on 1st January each year. GDG chairman Christian Meidlinger has stressed that the current financial crisis should not be used to try to keep pay rises low but ensuring an increase in real incomes is a crucial part of an economic response to the crisis.
(English: http://www.epsu.org/r/163; German: http://www.goed.at/14727.html)
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Six trade union confederations are cooperating to try to secure pay increases for health and social care workers employed in the private and non-profit sectors. The CFDT, CFTC, CFE-CGC, CGT, FO and UNSA unions organised a series of demonstrations on 30 September, including a national demonstration of 15,000 workers in Paris. The unions are not just claiming a pay increase for 2008 but higher minimum rates in the relevant collective agreements and higher increases to compensate for a loss of purchasing power in recent years. CFDT information indicates that public sector workers already experienced a decline of their real earnings in 2008.
(English: http://www.epsu.org/r/174; French:ÿhttp://www.fed-cfdt-sante-sociaux.org/article/actualite/assoc_sanitaire/action_bass_bmad_080930.php3; http://www.sante.cgt.fr/spip.php?article3338)
Following a demonstration on 15 October the CGSP/ACOD trade union federation has said it will suspend its strike action in the prison service until 21 November. Any further strike action will depend on the outcome of negotiations over working conditions that are due on 3 November and on increases to pay that are set for 15 November. The CSC federation has also called off any strike action, informing its members that the priority now is to negotiate over the agreement covering the period 2007-2011.
(English: http://www.epsu.org/r/164)
The ABVAKABO and CNV Publieke Zaak unions have agreed a new basic collective agreement for workers in the social services, child welfare and nursery sector. The agreement runs from 1 May 2008 to 1 January 2011 and includes pay increases of 2.5% backdated to 1 May 2008 and then 2% on 1 May 2009 and 1 May 2010. There will be lump sum payments of up to Euro 200 on 1 June 2008 and 1 December 2009 while the end-of-year payment in 2009 will be increased by between 2% and 5.5% and then again by between 2.8% and 8.35% in December 2010. There will also be a 1.25% pay increase on 1 January 2009 that will coincide with abolition of the contribution to the "life course" scheme that allows workers to save towards extra leave.
(English: http://www.epsu.org/r/186; Dutch: http://www.abvakabofnv.nl/cao/bericht/principe_akkoord_cao_welzijn)
The ver.di services union has postponed its ballots and possible strikes envisaged in banking for November 2008, because of the crises on the financial markets. Yet Uwe Foullong, member of the ver.di board, made clear that the union expects the employers to prepare for reasonable collective bargaining. In an earlier bargaining round for private and state-held banks (250,000 employees) the employers had proposed to cancel one month's salary per year in case business targets would not be reached; the co-operative bank employers even suggested to cancel two months for sales staff. These proposals were at the basis of strikes of several thousands of employees.
(German: https://fidi.verdi.de/pressemitteilungen/showNews?id=b519bb2e-9dde-11dd-547a-0019b9e321cd)
The president of German union IG Metall, Berthold Huber, said he was ready to consider a longer wage agreement than first planned for the engineering sector in an effort to respond to the uncertain economic outlook. "I'm quite prepared to react to the economic uncertainties, say by reaching a quick deal," Huber told weekly Der Spiegel in an interview published on 11 October. He emphasized that such a longer contract is in the interest of employers too. The original demand of the IG Metall was an increase of 8% for a period of 12 months for the sector's 3.6 million workers. (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 1 No. 7).
(English: http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/10/11/afx5539432.html;
via http://www.labourstart.org); German: Der Spiegel, 11 October 2008; http://www.igmetall.de/cps/rde/xchg/internet/style.xsl/view_4508_4525.htm?seitenid=469)
Local government trade unions and employers met on 1 October in a new social dialogue forum that unions believe will be important in ensuring that key public sector agreements are properly implemented at local level but taking account of local circumstances. Unions are particularly concerned about maintaining employment and quality of services. They agreed with the employers to submit an amendment to the basic law on public employment to maintain staffing levels in local government.
(English: http://www.epsu.org/r/193; Spanish: http://www.fspugt.es/index.php/mod.noticias/mem.detalle/idnoticia.5654/cat.1030)
Members of the IMPACT union working in the health service have suspended their industrial action that began in May 2008 when they voted to refuse to cover vacant posts. The union action was prompted by the Health Services Executive (HSE) to impose a recruitment freeze. The union attacked not just the decision but the failure of the HSE to consult over the freeze. IMPACT members will now vote on a proposal to resolve the dispute negotiated by the Labour Relations Commission that includes provisions to ensure that consultation procedures will be followed in the future.
(English: http://www.epsu.org/r/179; http://www.impact.ie/iopen24/newsdesk_info.php?newsdesk_id=163)
According to the STAL (National Trade Union of Local Administration), around three in four local government workers supported the national strike on 1 October. This strike was the latest protest in the unions' long-running campaign to defend the pay of public service workers and the quality of services in the face of government cuts and policies promoting privatisation. (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 1 No. 7).
(English: http://www.epsu.org/r/189; Portuguese: http://www.stal.pt/artigo.asp?id=982)
The Sed Lex civil service union has said it will consider strike action at short notice unless the government responds to its demand for a 50% pay increase. "People are boiling ... All public sector unions demand a 50% increase," said Sed Lex president Vasile Marica. Earlier parliament, on the initiative of Social Democratic members, voted a 50% pay increase to teachers. The government challenged the legality of that move in the Constitutional Court, but lost its case.
(English: Watson Wyatt Data Services, New Industrial Relations Europe, 10/2008; http://www.epsu.org/r/190; http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/10/02/afx5502294.html)