Highlights, 16 May 2013

16 May 2013
EU Level: Electricity sector training needs agreed
Training and competencies are to become a focus for the social partners of the European electricity sector. In March 2013 they adopted a joint framework intended to anticipate the changes necessary to ease Europe’s transition towards a low-carbon economy. These include making the sector attractive to young people, and equality mainstreaming to guarantee consistent recognition of qualifications throughout the industry, fair access to training and age diversity.
16 May 2013
Germany: Union membership holds up well
According to the latest figures from the Confederation of German Trade Unions (DGB), the combined membership level of its affiliated trade unions declined by 0.1% in 2012. Compared to previous years this meant that the overall consolidation continued. Four out of eight affiliates, among them the metalworkers’ union IG Metall the largest DGB union, increased membership in 2012. Others, most notably the rail- and the construction workers, only managed to slow a downward trend.
16 May 2013
Latvia: Alarm over service pension reform proposals
Wide-ranging reforms to so-called ‘service pensions’ are planned in Latvia. These pensions are paid out early to people who work in professions which are either dangerous, or where their ability to work is heavily dependent on their age and health. The Ministry of Welfare wants to raise the age of eligibility by an average of eight years and exclude a number of professions. The Trade Union of Culture Workers, the Ministry of the Interior and police are all unhappy with the plans.
10 May 2013
Romania: Impact of legislative reforms on industrial relations
The International Labour Organization has called on Romania to make changes to its labour and social dialogue legislation. The move comes after a study on the Labour Legislative Reforms in Romania was published in January 2013 by a group of independent experts. The experts, and a round table meeting that coincided with the release of the study, conclude that labour reform in 2011 had a negative impact on workers. It affected union coverage and access to collective bargaining.
10 May 2013
Greece: New rules for minimum wage-setting and other developments
New legislation has given the Government of Greece sole powers to set the national minimum wage. Social partners will be consulted, but in the past they have been part of a collective bargaining process. In other developments, the Association of Greek Tourism has been recognised as a social partner at national level, and the government has launched a new round of national social dialogue through the re-establishment of the national committees for employment and social security
10 May 2013
Bulgaria: Unions in Bulgaria and Romania establish interregional council
An interregional council representing workers in Bulgaria and Romania has been created. Set up by the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria and the Romanian National Trade Union Confederation, it will now be open to other trade unions, employers’ groups and non-governmental organisations to join. The aim is to boost employment and to ensure free access to the labour markets of the two neighbouring countries through joint initiatives and measures.
07 May 2013
Greece: How austerity measures have hit jobs
The policy of budgetary adjustment in Greece has had an enormous negative impact on the labour market. The austerity measures have meant a huge number of jobs being lost. Four years after the onset of the economic crisis, questions are being asked about the methods used to tackle the situation. Already unemployment stands at 27%, and is predicted to go higher in 2013. Meanwhile the IMF has admitted the strict austerity programme imposed on Greece was based on incorrect calculations.
07 May 2013
Germany: Mixed reaction to minimum wage proposals
The Federal Council, the upper house of the German parliament, has approved a draft law on the introduction of a statutory national minimum wage. The proposal sets the minimum wage at €8.50 an hour. Despite still having to pass the lower house, the bill stirred a heated debate among employers and unions. A study by the Cologne Institute for Economic Research suggests the proposed minimum wage would contribute little to lowering the poverty risk among those it is designed to help.
07 May 2013
Italy: New agreement in chemical and pharmaceutical sector
A new national collective agreement for the chemical and pharmaceutical sector in Italy was signed on 4 March 2013. The agreement, signed by the Federchimica, Farmindustria, and all the sectoral trade unions, covers around 180,000 workers and 3,000 companies. The document deals with a number of important issues including vocational training, productivity and increasing employment among young people. Both employer and employee groups say they are happy with the outcome.
26 Apr 2013
Luxembourg: Workplace representation reforms proposed
At its meeting on 6 February 2013, Luxembourg’s cabinet approved draft legislation to reform social dialogue within companies. The particular aims of the bill are to put the ‘staff delegation’ at the heart of social dialogue. This body will become the main representative of employees in negotiations at company level. The joint committee will be abolished, and its responsibilities for information, consultation and co-determination transferred to the staff delegation.
26 Apr 2013
United Kingdom: Prime Minister’s EU referendum pledge
In January 2013, UK Prime Minister David Cameron committed his government to the renegotiation of the country’s relationship with the European Union. He also promised a referendum on the outcome. He made his pledges in a speech which brought a mixed reaction from the main employer and trade union bodies. Among Cameron’s concerns is the influence of the working time directive. He says Brussels should not, for instance, set the working hours of British hospital doctors.
26 Apr 2013
Denmark: Airline workers accept further wage cuts
Cabin crew and pilots at Scandinavian airline SAS have accepted a big wage cut after difficult negotiations. A new collective agreement between unions and management has also had a negative impact on employee benefits and conditions. SAS had made it clear that the crisis-hit airline would not survive if unions did not accept the management’s terms. Employees have not received a wage increase for 10 years, and in fact have accepted several cuts and increased working hours.
23 Apr 2013
Slovenia: Steel and electronics workers strike over pay
More than 14,000 Slovenian steel and electronics workers at 102 companies took part in a strike on 23 January 2013 in support of their wage demands. The strike was organised by the SKEI union which has demanded rises of between 6.5% and 9% for its members. It called for employers to come back to the table after earlier talks had been abandoned. Slovenia’s Chamber of Commerce appealed to the union to drop demands which, it says, would make the country uncompetitive and lead to job losses.
23 Apr 2013
Lithuania: Huge rise in minimum wage signals end of freeze
Lithuania’s minimum monthly wage has increased after being frozen for almost five years in the wake of the global economic crisis. When the economy started to recover in 2010, trade unions repeatedly requested an increase at the Tripartite Council. In October 2012, a 6.25% increase was finally agreed, followed by a second increase of nearly 18% in January 2013. It was feared some companies would struggle to cope with this sudden increase, but so far there has been no evidence of this.
19 Apr 2013
France: First workplace elections in very small enterprises
Workplace elections have been organised in France for the first time in businesses with fewer than 11 employees. The results will be combined with those of the workplace elections which took place in September 2009 and December 2012, as well as the results of elections to the chambers of agriculture. They will allow the electoral weight of each trade union organisation to be measured. This new snapshot of the French trade union landscape is due to be unveiled in August 2013.
19 Apr 2013
Bulgaria: Failed privatisation deal ends in mass redundancy
Hundreds of employees at a major Bulgarian manufacturer are to be made redundant after a failed privatisation. A rescue package agreed at VMZ-Sopot will mean 900 workers losing their jobs. Two other options had been discussed. The first, described as the worst-case scenario, was a declaration of insolvency, while the second was a new privatisation strategy drafted by parliament. The company has been in trouble for some time, and recently had not been able to pay workers’ wages.
19 Apr 2013
Ireland: Inter-union transfer agreed following staff moves
Hundreds of workers redeployed from the Irish state training agency FÁS have benefited from an agreement which allows them to transfer their membership from one union to another. The 700 staff moved to the Department of Social Protection in the civil service in 2012. An inter-union transfer agreement made it possible for them to switch from the Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU) to two unions that exclusively represent public sector workers.
12 Apr 2013
Hungary: Railway unions join forces
The three biggest and most traditional trade unions in Hungary’s railway sector have formed a bargaining association to negotiate on job security, wages and working conditions. The main priority of the association is to launch wage negotiations with the sector’s employer organisations. Internal differences have always prevented the unions joining forces in the past. The new association represents around 30,000 railway workers, more than 50% of the employees of the sector.

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