Trade unions affiliated to the CGTP confederation are continuing their campaign against government policies and in particular against revisions of the Labour Code and policies that undermine employment rights and pensions in the public administration. Private and public sector workers joined a national demonstration on 5 June and further action in at least 17 major cities and towns followed on 28 June.
(English: http://www.epsu.org/spip/cob.php3?id_mot=263#a3925; http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/2008/06/articles/pt0806049i.htm)
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Italian trains, buses and subways ground to a halt on 7 July as workers staged a nationwide strike to demand a renewal of their expired labor contracts. In most cities, buses and subways were to suspend services for most of the day apart from the evening rush hour. Train workers began a 24-hour strike late on Sunday 6 July. "The unions are asking for the renewal of the national work contract for over 250,000 employees," said Francesco Lucirino, secretary general of the Cosnil union. "We've been waiting for more than seven months for a move by the government and we have not received any answer on renewing contracts."
(English: http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL0770025120080707 via http://www.labourstart.org)
After tough negotiations, on 4 July FNV and CNV unions and the employers' association in the supermarket sector (210,000 workers in 5,500 stores) reached a basic collective agreement for the period of 1 April 2008 until 1 April 2010. The agreement includes a structural wage increase of 6.75%: 3.25% by 1 July 2008 and 3.5% by 1 June 2009. It starts in improving the wage position of youngsters, which actually are paid according to the very low youth wage scales (starting at age 15 with 30% of the adult wage), by adding for them pay according to experience. The employers withdrew their proposal to get rid of the bonuses for evening work between 8 and 9 PM. Based on these results, the largest union (FNV Bondgenoten) advises their membership to accept the agreement. On 1 August, the union will conclude the ballot.
(Dutch: http://www.cao.nl/cao_trajecten/branches/supermarkten/Nieuws/897799)
The Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions (CMKOS) organised a successful nationwide one-hour warning strike on 24 June in order to protest against the government`s reform package concerning taxation, pensions, labour market, health and education. Public transport and healthcare workers as well as teachers joined the strike. Union representatives have warned that more strikes could follow the 24 June protest.
(English: http://www.epsu.org/spip/cob.php3?id_mot=262; http://www.cmkos.cz/homepage/928-3; http://www.praguemonitor.com/en/361/czech_national_news/24367)
In late May, a report prepared for the government by the economic think-tank CAE recommended that adjustments to the national minimum wage (SMIC) based on consumer price trends should be abandoned in their present form. CAE also advocated the introduction of a `junior SMIC' for workers under age 25, arguing that the present single SMIC rate for all workers except minors, apprentices and disabled deters employers from hiring young people.
On 23 June, the Labour Ministry announced a rise by 0.9% of the SMIC from 1 July, bringing it to Euro 8.71. In reaction, the CGT union confederation said the increase was too meagre to offset the impact of the soaring food and energy costs (See elsewhere in this Collective Bargaining Newsletter for minimum wage developments in Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland).
(English: Watson Wyatt Data Services, New Industrial Relations Europe, 5/2008)
The public service federations, FSAP-CCOO, FSP-UGT and CSI-CSIF, have had a meeting with the public service minister following general elections earlier this year. They set out a number of their main short- and medium-term demands and called for negotiations as soon as possible. From 18 June on, the federations have begun a series of demonstrations in support of their demands for decent and fair pay across public administration. Earlier they pointed at salary differences up to 40% between public servants doing similar jobs in different departments. They also plead for major improvements in career opportunities in the public service (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 1 No.'s 2 and 3).
(English: http://www.epsu.org/r/193; http://www.epsu.org/spip/cob.php3?id_mot=262#a3899; Spanish: http://www.fsap.ccoo.es/webfsap/menu.do?Actualidad:Sindical:Actualidad:32112; http://www.fspugt.es/index.php/mod.noticias/mem.detalle/idnoticia.4818/idimagen.891/relcategoria.7)
Between 9 and 13 June, the three main union confederations organized a week of action to bring the urgency of the problems of purchasing power, notably for the low-paid, to the fore, including a number of mass rallies in Brussels and other cities. The unions emphasize that the employers have already been granted tax deductions and point to the fact that inflation in Belgium is nearing 5%. They demand increases in minimum pay and social benefits, new tax breaks for the lowest and middle income groups, and cuts in energy taxes for households (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 1 No.'s 2 and 4).
(English: English Watson Wyatt Data Services, New Industrial Relations Europe, 6/2008; http://www.epsu.org/spip/cob.php3?id_mot=262;
Dutch: http://openbarediensten.acv-online.be/Images/pamflet 24u-staking %2B betoging_tcm86-167188.pdf; French: http://www.fgtb.be/code/fr/fram004.htm)
On 4 June, Bulgarian Health Minister Evgeni Zhelev signed a new collective agreement with five health trade unions, including the Federation of Trade Unions in Health Services and Podkrepa Medical Federation, that increases wages for health workers by 90 to 100%. The signing of the agreement comes before the discussions on the 2009 government budget and after the mass strikes of 2007 in the education and health care sectors. The increase will take effect on 1 July 2008, and will cover hospitals in state and municipal ownership, as well as hospitals operating as joint stock-holdings. The agreement is the first in a series of steps aimed at converging the salaries of Bulgarians to those elsewhere in the EU in an effort to stop the brain drain.
(English: http://www.world-psi.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&CONTENTID=20506&TEMPLATE=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm)
On 19 June, busses of the three companies involved (Veolia, Connexxion and Arriva), covering a large part of regional bus lines in the Netherlands, started to drive again, after five weeks of strike actions organised by the FNV- and CNV-affiliated unions. On 12 June a new 18 months' collective agreement was reached, with wage increases of 3.5% backdated to 1 January 2008 and 2% by 1 January 2009 as well as a 0.5% lift of the end year bonus. Decisive for ending the strike was that on 18 June, under parliamentary pressure, the State Secretary for Transport announced to provide the bus companies with Euro 16 million in order to compensate for their higher fuel and wage costs. Earlier, a parliamentary majority had opposed a 3.5% increase of bus ticket prices (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 1 No. 4).
(Dutch:http://www.fnvbondgenoten.nl/branches_bedrijven/branches/vervoer/openbaar_vervoer/875283/; http://www.nu.nl/news.jsp?n=1617979&c=30)
Twelve health unions, representing 1.3 million UK health workers, have voted to accept the proposed three-year pay deal for the National Health Service (NHS). This includes UNISON, representing 500,000 workers, where members voted 2 to 1 in favour of the pay offer, as well as the RCN nurses' union. The deal means a 2.75% pay rise in the first year, and 2.54% in year 2. It establishes for all NHS staff a new minimum wage of UKP 6.77 an hour in that year, that is 18% higher than the statutory minimum wage. Those on the lowest point will receive an increase of 5.7%. In the third year the proposed deal gives a 2.5% hike. It includes a flat rate increase of UKP 420 (worth 3.17% at the lowest point) for the bottom three grades. However, NHS members in the UNITE and GMB general unions as well as the RCM midwives' union have overwhelmingly rejected the offer. UNITE members will be balloted on industrial action. The latter union says to be concerned that the current pay offer imposed on health sector workers will damage NHS morale, recruitment and retention.
(English: http://www.unison.org.uk/asppresspack/pressrelease_view.asp?id=1187; http://www.amicustheunion.org/default.aspx?page=8582; http://www.gmb.org.uk/Templates/Internal.asp?NodeID=97077)