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August 2010

• 31 Aug 2010
  Czech Republic: New government wants to reform Labour Code

  The new coalition government in the Czech Republic has agreed on the need to reform the Labour Code in force since January 2007. Proposed changes include liberalisation of employment for a determinate period, reduced severance pay for those working for an employer for less than two years, and enhanced opportunities for companies to employ people on a so-called ‘contract for the performance of a work assignment’. Employee benefit changes are opposed by the trade unions.

• 31 Aug 2010
  Germany: New national minimum wages for care workers

  On 1 August 2010, new national minimum wages for care workers came into force in Germany. The employees covered will be entitled to an hourly minimum wage of €8.50 in western Germany, including Berlin, and €7.50 in eastern Germany. The minimum wages, declared binding under the Posted Workers Act, will affect between 520,000 and 560,000 caregivers out of a total of 810,000 care workers and will apply to all employees regardless of the country of origin of their employer.

• 31 Aug 2010
  Bulgaria: Social partners agree regulation of home-based work

  Social partners involved in the working group on home-based employment in Bulgaria agreed the draft of a bill at their latest meeting on 16 June 2010. It proposes a new section in the Labour Code and amendments to the Social Security Code and to the Law on Safety and Health at Work. The working group was set up by the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation in February 2010. There are different views about this sector’s regulation among trade unions, non-governmental organisations and employers.

• 25 Aug 2010
  EU Countries: Developments in industrial action 2005–2009

  This overview examines developments in industrial action across the European Union and Norway over 2005–2009. The most ‘strike-prone’ countries during the period were Denmark, France and Belgium, while Austria, Estonia and Latvia were essentially strike-free, and the level of industrial action in the new Member States was only about a quarter of that in the EU15. Manufacturing was the sector most prone to conflict, followed by the broad public sector and transport and communications. Pay disputes were the most common cause of industrial action.

• 24 Aug 2010
  Ireland: Major survival plan agreed at Aer Lingus

  A €97 million survival plan has been agreed by management and unions at Aer Lingus. The ‘Greenfield’ survival plan includes voluntary redundancies, pay cuts, a three-year pay freeze, new rosters and new work practices. Cabin crew – members of the IMPACT trade union – had initially rejected the agreement. However, following bilateral talks at the Labour Relations Commission, the cabin crew voted again, this time in favour, after receiving ‘deeper clarification in certain areas’.

• 24 Aug 2010
  Denmark: Unions accept pay settlement proposal

  In April, Denmark’s unions accepted a pay settlement proposal based on the 2010 collective wage negotiations. The ballot was in doubt because the clerical union HK seemed likely to overturn its traditional ‘yes’ vote. The other large union 3F usually votes ‘no’ to the collective agreement, and if this had happened the labour market would have been thrown into conflict. But in the event both unions voted yes, so the proposal was carried by a comfortable majority despite a low turnout.

• 24 Aug 2010
  Ireland: Bank of Ireland staff agree on changes to pension fund

  Bank of Ireland workers have voted to accept changes to the bank staff pension fund, which has a €1.6 billion deficit. The changes include a temporary freeze and cap on their pensionable salary, plus a post-retirement pension freeze for three years from retirement date. Current pensioners and deferred members will have their annual pension increases capped at the level of the annual percentage increase in the consumer price index, to a maximum of 4%.

• 24 Aug 2010
  United Kingdom: UK employers and unions react to emergency budget

  In June 2010, the UK’s new Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government brought in an emergency budget proposing major cuts to public sector funding in response to the economic crisis. Employer and trade union reaction was polarised. The main employer organisation praised the fiscal prudence of the budget, but unions argued that it would hinder economic recovery and penalise low earners. The funding cuts raise the possibility of industrial action by public sector unions.

• 24 Aug 2010
  Italy: Industrial relations report for 2008–2009 launched

  The latest annual industrial relations report for Italy and Europe launched on 14 July 2010 analyses the two-year period 2008–2009 – a time characterised by an economic crisis that had a major impact on employment worldwide. The report, which was welcomed by the social partners, looks first at the situation in Europe and then at changes in Italy, where reform of collective bargaining in particular has led to disagreements between the three main Italian trade unions.

• 24 Aug 2010
  Sweden: Wage bargaining round for 2010 concludes

  Sweden’s latest wage bargaining round has ended, and both employees and employers are claiming victory. A comparison of the social partners’ positions prior to the bargaining round and the actual outcome, however, shows that the picture is not at all clear-cut with some gains and losses on both sides. The biggest winner to emerge from the process, which affects the future wages of two million people, may turn out to be the bargaining model itself.

• 24 Aug 2010
  Norway: Many working days lost to labour disputes in 2010 pay bargaining round

  Most Norwegian collective pay agreements were renegotiated during the spring and early summer of 2010. General pay increases were awarded in all major agreement areas, and the gender pay gap was high on the agenda in the public sector negotiations. The 2010 wage settlement did, however, result in a significant number of working days lost to industrial disputes in both the public and private sectors. The most serious of these was a major municipal strike involving 44,000 workers.

• 17 Aug 2010
  Bulgaria: National agreement for textiles sector negotiated at time of crisis

  Social partners in the Bulgarian textiles and leather industry renewed their national collective agreement in April 2010. The agreement was reached between the Bulgarian Association of the Knitwear Industry, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions in Light Industry at CITUB and the Federation of Light Industry at Bulgaria’s second largest union CL Podkrepa. It preserved a pact on wages and jobs despite the economic crisis and some differences of opinion.

• 17 Aug 2010
  Lithuania: Social partners seek ways out of difficult situation in education sector

  The economic crisis in Lithuania has brought long-standing problems in the education system to a head. This prompted the social partners to initiate social dialogue to try to resolve the sector’s most serious problems. After more than three years of efforts by trade unions, the Committee on Education was finally established at the Tripartite Council of the Republic of Lithuania on 14 June 2010.

• 17 Aug 2010
  Bulgaria: Social partners agree on changes to Labour Code and Social Security Code

  Bulgarian workers have until the end of 2011 to take any paid leave they may have accumulated in previous years, under amendments to the Labour Code. The economic crisis has meant that major changes have also been made to the Social Insurance Code concerning unemployment compensation and sick leave. According to the new agreement, for example, the first three days of sick leave will be paid by the employer and the remainder borne by the National Social Security Institute.

• 17 Aug 2010
  Poland: Major national employer organisation changes name

  In June 2010, the Confederation of Polish Employers officially announced it was changing its name to Employers of Poland. The confederation is the largest employer organisation in Poland and has been a member of the Tripartite Commission for Social and Economic Affairs since the commission’s inception in 1994. It is also the only central-level employer organisation on the commission. This is a summary of the organisation’s 20-year history.

• 17 Aug 2010
  France: New law on employee relocation

  On announcing redundancies, a French employer is obliged to propose alternative positions elsewhere within the company or group. This policy is not limited to vacancies within France – companies must look globally within their group. In the past, companies had proposed alternative vacancies in India or Romania, and had offered the worker the local wage. Now, a new law states that, for any job proposal out of France, companies will have to offer the same wage as that offered in France.

• 10 Aug 2010
  Germany: Interim report on 2010 bargaining round

  In July 2010, the Institute of Economic and Social Research presented its interim report on Germany’s 2010 round of collective bargaining which was strongly affected by the economic crisis. The study evaluates agreements concluded in the first half of 2010 which affect about 37% of all employees whose working conditions are determined by collective bargaining. The average annual increase in wages and salaries will be around 1.7% in 2010, well below the average of 2.6% in 2009.

• 10 Aug 2010
  EU Level: New directive enhances social rights for self-employed workers

  EU employment, social policy, health and consumer affairs ministers met in early June 2010 to discuss a range of employment-related issues. One of the main social policy innovations was a directive that will strengthen equality between self-employed men and women. The directive improves benefits, including maternity protection for self-employed women and female spouses of self-employed workers, and was subsequently adopted without debate by transport council ministers on 24 June.

• 10 Aug 2010
  France: Reform of representativeness and social dialogue

  The French Supreme Court ruled in March 2010 that the reform of the laws governing trade union representativeness approved by the French parliament in 2008 did not infringe International Labour Organization conventions or European law. At the same time, the government presented a bill to extend the reform to trade unions representing civil servants and workers in companies with fewer than 50 employees, who were not covered in the 2008 ‘Law on social democracy and working time reform’.

• 10 Aug 2010
  Belgium: Social partners call for stability amid political crisis

  Belgium is going through a major political crisis in which the differences between the language communities of the country are radicalising. In the latest election debate, the issues of institutional state reform are linked to the current major socioeconomic challenges facing the country. Amid the turbulence, the social partners have made a plea for stability and responsible action, while at the same time stating their case on necessary socioeconomic reforms.

• 10 Aug 2010
  United Kingdom: New government moves to cap redundancy payments for civil servants

  In July 2010, the new UK government confirmed its intention to legislate to reduce redundancy payments available to civil servants. The announcement followed a successful legal challenge by the largest civil service trade union to changes to redundancy terms introduced by the previous government. Ministers said they hoped that the legislation would provide the basis for discussions with the civil service unions to reach a ‘fair and practical settlement’.

• 10 Aug 2010
  Portugal: 300,000 join CGTP demonstration against austerity package

  One of the largest demonstrations seen in Portugal took place on 29 May 2010, to protest about government plans for a new austerity package including tax increases, plus measures limiting unemployment benefits and employment protection. The General Confederation of Portuguese Workers and all its affiliated trade unions decided on the protest at an extraordinary meeting. The unions estimated 300,000 workers took part nationally, a number not publicly contradicted by any other source.

• 02 Aug 2010
  United Kingdom: Employer organisation calls for tougher rules on strike ballots

  In June 2010, the Confederation of British Industry published an agenda for the new coalition government in the area of employment relations and labour market regulation. As part of its agenda, the CBI called for tighter rules governing strike ballots and for a shorter statutory period for redundancy consultation. The proposals were strongly criticised by trade unions. It remains to be seen how far the new government will adopt the ideas.

• 02 Aug 2010
  Netherlands: Social partners agree on retirement age and pension schemes

  In June 2010, the Dutch social partners agreed on new regulations governing the retirement age under the General Old-Age Pensions Act and pension schemes. In 2020, the retirement age and eligibility for company pension schemes will rise by one year to the age of 66 in line with increasing life expectancy. Pension schemes will become more flexible, so those wishing to stop working could opt for retirement at 65 years of age, but with benefit levels 6.5% lower.

• 02 Aug 2010
  Belgium: New laws on representativeness in the national social dialogue

  A new Belgian law has changed some rules governing the representativeness and participation of social partner organisations in the national social dialogue. Although rather technical, these new legal steps confirm on the one hand an ongoing evolution on the employer side and on the other hand try to improve the rules on trade union representativeness to counter longstanding criticism.