Estonia
Background information on industrial relations in Estonia
- 21 Oct 2011
Estonia: Occupational insurance scheme still up in the airThe number of occupational accidents and illnesses in Estonia has been high for years, although there was a small decrease during the economic crisis. However, with the recent upsurge in the economy, the rate has started to rise once more. Social partners have been discussing the idea of creating and implementing an occupational accident and illness insurance scheme for years, but continually fail to reach agreement. The new government has pledged to implement such a scheme by 2014, although employers still oppose the idea.
- 26 Sep 2011
Estonia: Representativeness of the European social partner organisations: Commerce – EstoniaThe commerce sector in Estonia has suffered significantly because of the economic crisis. The overall number of people employed in the sector declined from 92,500 in 2008 to 83,200 in 2009 and the number of enterprises from 13,943 in 2007 to 13,635 in 2008. Overall, the commerce sector accounted for about 14% of total employees in 2009. There are two trade unions and one employer association active in the sector. While the sector is not covered by a multi-employer collective agreement, several enterprise-level agreements have been concluded.
- 11 Aug 2011
Estonia: Minimum wage at a standstill after another round of negotiationsEstonian employers have turned down a union proposal to raise the national minimum wage by 17% from 1 July 2011. The current minimum has not risen since 2008. The trade unions used significant price rises to justify their demand. However, employers said it was too soon to increase the minimum wage, as only around 10%–15% of employers are in a position to pay higher wages. While the minimum wage will not be raised for now, the social partners agreed to restart negotiations in September 2011.
- 01 Aug 2011
Estonia: Estonia: The representativeness of trade unions and employer associations in the banking sectorThe banking sector is not large in Estonia; in 2009, it employed just over 7,000 employees in 30 companies. This makes up about 1% of total employment in the economy. There are no trade unions in the sector and one business association. However, the latter does not represent employers in collective bargaining. One explanation for the lack of trade unions and employer associations in the sector could be the relatively good working conditions. At company level there are European Works Councils established in some international banks, although there is no information on whether this has resulted in enterprise-level collective agreements in Estonian subsidiaries. There is no sectoral-level collective bargaining established.
- 29 Jul 2011
Estonia: Estonia: EIRO CAR on ‘Helping young workers during the crisis: contributions by social partners and public authorities.’Youth unemployment is a significant problem in Estonia. Since the beginning of the crisis, the youth unemployment has risen significantly from 10% in 2007 to 27.5% in 2009. Unemployment is especially high among young men (aged 15-24) due to their lower educational level and the fact that the sectors most affected by recession were mostly occupied by men. While there are many measures implemented to help the unemployed, there are no specific measures targeted specifically at youth. Also, the measures and initiatives that have been developed are so new that their success has not yet been evaluated.
- 15 Jul 2011
Estonia: Wage increase for railway workersEstonian railway workers are in line for a pay rise, plus a 7.5% bonus after concluding a new collective agreement with Estonian Railways. It comes after heated negotiations, sparked by the discovery that the salaries of the executive personnel of Estonian Railways had been increased, with a 17% bonus, while the wages of other workers were frozen. The Trade Union of Estonian Railway Workers threatened strike action, but the parties reached an agreement by the end of April 2011.
- 08 Jul 2011
Estonia: New collective agreement to increase wages of oil shale workersEesti Energia, one of Estonia’s biggest employers, and the Estonian Oil Shale Producers Trade Union Confederation have concluded a collective agreement covering the next two years. The new agreement will increase the wages of around 1,500 people whose wages are the lowest in the company and which have remained unchanged for the past three years. The agreement also regulates holidays, occupational environment and safety issues, and includes support for family values.
- 22 Jun 2011
Estonia: Estonia: EIRO CAR on “SMEs in the crisis: Employment, Industrial Relations and Local Partnership”The majority of Estonian enterprises are SMEs. 90% of enterprises have 1-9 employees and the overall share of SMEs in Estonia is around 99%. Thus, in time of recession, no measures to support specifically SMEs were implemented but rather overall measures for enterprises have been introduced. As a result, the measures introduced to tackle the crisis are also used by SMEs although there is no assessment available whether the measures have been used by SMEs to the same extent as large companies. In general, presence of a trade union in a company or membership in a professional association is lower in smaller companies as compared to larger ones.
- 14 Jun 2011
Estonia: Estonia: Representativeness of the European social partners organisations – Public administration sectorThe public administration sector represents about 6% of total employment in the Estonian economy, with 38,400 employees in 2008. The sector is covered by two trade union organisations, but there is no distinct or formalised employer organisation formed for public sector negotiations. Collective bargaining in the sector is still rather problematic due to the low level of representativeness in the sector. Because of the lack of information, it is not possible to assess collective agreement coverage in the sector.
- 21 Apr 2011
Estonia: Representativeness of the European social partner organisations: Education sector – EstoniaThe aim of this representativeness study is to identify the respective national and supranational actors (i.e. trade unions and employer organisations) in the field of industrial relations in the education sector in Estonia. In order to determine their relative importance in the sector’s industrial relations, this study will, in particular, focus on their representational quality as well as on their role in collective bargaining.
- 19 Apr 2011
Estonia: New collective agreements for transport workersTransport workers in Estonia have signed collective agreements for 2011. These restore the 10% cuts in wage levels and working time which the workers agreed last year, because of the financial crisis. The agreements cover about 1,000 workers, including tram, trolley and bus drivers, in Tallinn. However, there has been no real increase in wages, and the sectoral 2009 transport agreement, expected to run until December 2009, is still valid although it has not been renewed.
- 29 Mar 2011
Estonia: Rescue workers get better collective agreementA collective agreement restoring the fully paid 24-hour on-call shift for rescue workers in Estonia was concluded in December 2010, after a heated dispute in which unions picketed government offices. The agreement also means the minimum monthly salary rate for police officers, border guards and rescue workers nationally will remain unchanged. This has been one of the first collective agreements, after the recession, which has introduced changes in work organisation.
- 14 Feb 2011
Estonia: Estonia: Industrial Relations in the Health Care SectorThe health care sector is one of the most active sectors in Estonia in terms of industrial relations. There are three active trade unions in the sector and it is one of only two sectors concluding sectoral minimum wage agreements extended to all employees in the sector. Currently the sectoral agreement is valid until the end of 2010. Still, the health care sector has been significantly influenced by the economic downturn. Hospitals have been forced to implement redundancies, cut salaries and reduce other benefits.
- 20 Jan 2011
Estonia: Unions propose progressive income tax and higher social security benefitsProposals for five-year policies on employment, employment relations, wages, social security, tax and the economy were put to the Estonian parliament in November 2010 by trade unions. Employers strongly opposed a suggestion for progressive income tax but are ready to negotiate on most of the other ideas, which included a rise in the minimum wage (up to 60% of the average wage), insurance for work accidents and occupational illness, and an increase in social security benefits.
- 19 Jan 2011
Estonia: Estonia: EIRO CAR on “The effect of the Information and Consultation Directive on Industrial Relations in the EU Member States five years after its transposition"The Information and Consultation Directive was introduced into Estonian legislation in 2007 with the adoption of a new act. After three years, it is still difficult to assess the extent to which I&C practices have been implemented at company level due to the lack of respective data. However, the importance of I&C has been pointed out by both trade unions and employers. An important issue with I&C is the enforcement of legislation governing I&C procedures.
- 11 Jan 2011
Estonia: Estonia: EIRO Annual Review — 20092009 has been characterised by budget reductions both in private and the public sector as most organisations had to cut back wages, working hours or personnel in order to survive the continuing crisis. Several legislative changes were also implemented to mitigate the influence of the recession. The most important development in 2009 has been the adoption of the new Employment Contracts Act, which changed the labour law significantly. The adoption of the law was characterised by several problems which ended with a strike action by trade unions. In 2009 social partners and the state have made great efforts to ease the effects of the current economic difficulties.
- 10 Jan 2011
Estonia: Trade unions protest against changes in unemployment insurance provisionOn 23 September 2010, trade unions held a rally to protest against a government proposal to finance labour market services and benefits from unemployment insurance premiums and not from the state budget. They claim that, under a tripartite agreement from 2008, the proposal should first have been discussed with the social partners. Despite trade union opposition, the legislation was passed. It was expected to take effect on 1 January 2011.