Collective Bargaining

Partena Professional consultancy studied long-term illness of workers. Contrary to popular belief it is not the 50+ age group that are responsible for the increase in long-term sick leave. No, it is young people aged 25 to 44, women and employees of businesses with more than 199 workers who are more prone to long-term illnesses. These groups all showed big increases in sick-leave since 2014. Young people complain of work overload and pressure in their private lives.

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The trade union network for Hyundai and Kia met in Ostrava with participants from Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, India, Korea, Brazil and Turkey. A common theme of the meeting was poor relations with the company. Hyundai tried to thwart the meeting. The auto director for the Korean Metal Workers’ Union (KMWU), explained the company’s hostility from the oppositional labour relations in Korea. The Indian delegation from Hyundai was prevented to travel but participated through a video call. The meeting resolved to seek a global framework agreement (GFA) with the companies as a way to build the network and improve conditions across the company’s operations.

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Dozens of young interns working at the United Nations and other international organisations in Geneva joined the May 1 demonstration to demand fair and quality paid internships. Unpaid work placements are considered as ‘a form of discrimination against those who cannot afford to work for free.’ The interns want equal access to fundamental labour rights. Their complaint is understandable because around 80% of UN internships are unpaid in Geneva, one of the most expensive cities in the world.

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During a May 1 manifestation held the day before the president of the only trade union LANV spoke. He told the audience that modern developments need at least three measures. Langenbahn made it clear that solutions must be sector specific, the law may not be changed by treaties and clear rules like parent’s leave are necessary.

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Some foreign workers were being paid as little as €1 an hour, UĦM Voice of the Workers CEO Josef Vella revealed yesterday, insisting that the situation with precarious work in Malta was the worst it had ever been. To make things even worse the union found out that the money is not paid directly to these workers but is instead sent to an agency in India. According to the union more regulation is needed to prevent an influx from cheap labour that negatively impacts wage level across the country.

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The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) organised a march for a ‘fairer Europe for workers’ in Brussels on 26 April 2019. With this march, in which some 8000 workers took part, the ETUC wanted to draw attention to the European elections, to call for a better and more social Europe, not less Europe – and for social progress, better pay and better working and living conditions. Over half the 8000 demonstrators came from Belgium and France, with delegations from many European countries including Germany, Italy, Spain, Hungary, Slovenia, Austria, Estonia and Switzerland.

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Strike action at Royal Dutch Shell's Pernis refinery that started 7 April 2019 was extended. According to the union as a result of the strike production was limited to 65% of capacity. Trade union FNV also prevented maintenance at Shell's Moerdijk facility. On April 25, 2019 court allowed the workers to continue the strike. A day later Shell made the union a new offer after which the strike actions were stopped.

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New figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that the number of workers on minimum wage dropped by 9% in the last three months of 2018. The statistics show that 7.6% of employees earned the minimum wage or less in Q4 of 2018, down from 8.6% in the same period of 2017. Workers in the service sector are the least well paid According to the figures women are more likely to be on minimum wage or below than men. The CSO figures show that of the 137,200 workers who reported earning the minimum wage or below 55.3% were women while 61,300 or 44.7% were male.

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Thousands of schools across the country have cancelled classes after teachers on April 8, 2019 went on a nationwide strike of unlimited duration. In an ongoing wage dispute (see our March newsletter) strikers demanded higher wages and unions called for the strike after being urged by unsatisfied teachers. Government officials asked for suspension of the strike when high school exams were endangered but the unions refused. Then government organized a debate on the state of education in the country. First the unions also refused to attend the debate but they finally suspended the strike.

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This year’s edition of the annual OECD Employment Outlook presents new evidence on changes in job stability, underemployment and the share of well-paid jobs. The report focusses i.e. on the implications of digitalisation, globalisation and ageing as well as on employment protection and social protection reforms. With regard to collective bargaining the reports shows that low levels of organisation among workers, in particular non‑standard workers, pose a serious challenge. This partly reflects legal obstacles for workers classified as self‑employed, for whom the right to bargain collectively may be seen as infringing competition law. In this context, some OECD countries have made tailored extensions of collective bargaining rights to some non‑standard workers. However, practical difficulties remain. Employers’ organisations are being put to the test by the emergence of new forms of business. Established trade unions are developing strategies to reach non‑standard workers, while new vehicles of workers’ representation are also emerging.

Read on: in English … The report: in English …