Collective Bargaining

Prime Day protests included a referendum to strike organized by TU NSZZ Solidarność and Workers’ Initiative.  The decision to take the vote comes after negotiations with Amazon Poland failed to resolve the collective dispute on higher wages because the company unilaterally broke off negotiations. The dispute that has been ongoing since May and the vote are expected to last until September. Union representatives will visit warehouses on a rotational basis to materialize the referendum; a turnout of 50% is needed to make the referendum binding.

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The parliament’s Budget and Finance Committee supported a government proposal to increase the minimum wages of teachers to 750 euro this year September to December. The committee had to find a compromise on the resetting of portions of the state budget. The increase of minimum wages will apply to approximately 24 129 general education teachers, 12 159 pre-school teachers, 2 426 vocational education teachers, 7 350 interest group teachers and 4 144 specialised vocational education specialists. The Latvian Trade Union for Education and Science Employees is happy for the increase of wages. However, the trade union maintains its request for further wage increases from 1 January 2020 onward.

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The 35-hour week is the official length of the working week in France and it gives France one of the shortest working weeks in Europe. But despite the shorter working week, France regularly comes out well in international productivity comparisons - proving that when the French are at work, they're working hard. There is also the fact that exceptions to the 35-hour week for certain kinds of workers mean that many people in France work longer hours than you might think.

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Amazon employees went on strike demanding better wages and working conditions as the retail giant launched its two-day ‘Amazon Prime’ sale. Around 20 workers tried to block trucks coming to and from the online retailer’s distribution centre in the northern city of Lauwin-Planque, disrupting deliveries while demanding better wages and working conditions, as well as union recognition. As the Seattle-based online retail giant launched its annual two-day global shopping offer known as Prime Day, also employees in Germany and the US went on strike.

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The CEO of the Finnish Federation of Enterprises urges Finland to move towards a collective bargaining system that takes better into account the competitiveness and productivity growth of businesses. The Finnish collective bargaining system is in need of a thorough overhaul to prevent a complete collapse, states the managing director of the Federation of Finnish Enterprises. He estimated that reforming the collective bargaining system should be one of the priorities of the upcoming round of sector-specific negotiations between employer and employee representatives. Businesses, he reminded, will have no choice but to look for alternatives if the agreements are not in their best interests.

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The Chamber of Commerce and Industry SOPK fully backs the employers organizations’ stance that the minimum wage should be only increased in line with the current legal mechanism. The unions demand a sharper rise but that would threaten the companies’ operations and even existence, thus potentially resulting in mass redundancies. That in turn would endanger social harmony. At the end of August it became clear that social partners couldn’t come to an agreement, hence the Labour Ministry will take a decision.

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Workers at ADM’s North Star Shipping grain silos in Romania’s Black sea port of Constanta said on Monday an indefinite strike scheduled to start on July 15 had been averted after reaching a deal on wages. An indefinite strike at the Constanta port silos could have severely impacted grain supplies to Egypt, the world’s largest wheat importer, and where ADM is an active exporter. Egypt closed its local wheat supply season on Monday, meaning imports would be the sole supply source.

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Labour union Ver.di has called on employees at Amazon facilities to go on strike. Workers pushing for better wages have timed the work stoppage to coincide with a major sale day for the online retailer. The motto of the strike was ‘No more discounts on our income’. The fight for better wages at the company has been on now for more than six years. Ver.di also demands a collective agreement, which is denied by the employer who declares to be a ‘responsible employer’.

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The Labour Court will reconvene in a health support staff dispute. In a statement to management and SIPTU, the court noted that its role under the Industrial Relations Act is to investigate disputes. The dispute centres on a job evaluation scheme, which the Government agreed to carry out during negotiations on the last Public Service Stability Agreement. The job evaluations examine whether roles have changed and whether pay rises are warranted. Trade union SIPTU has accepted the invitation to attend the hearing. SIPTU blamed the government for failing to pay increases recommended by a job-evaluation scheme which examined whether any of the roles of the staff had changed and expanded in recent years.

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The Parliament passed a bill to expand the peace obligation in workplaces with a collective bargaining agreement in place, and in disputes, through amendments to the Employment (Co-Determination in the Workplace) Act. In order for an employee to participate in an industrial action against an employer who is bound by a collective bargaining agreement, the purpose must be to achieve a collective bargaining agreement and the trade union must have negotiated its demands with the employer. Further, it will not be allowed for an employer or an employee to take industrial actions to exert pressure in a dispute. The new rules will enter into force on 1 August 2019.

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