New bus transport union accused of being management controlled

In August 2006, following tense negotiations resulting in a new wage agreement, a new trade union was formed in the largest Estonian public bus transportation company, GoBus. However, the old union is now accusing the new union of being manipulated by the company management. A similar case was found in recent years in a railway sector company, which has the same owners.

In June 2006, after considerable controversy, the trade union in the biggest public bus transportation company GoBus reached an agreement with the company that fixed the same wage levels in different Estonian regions (EE0607019I). In the second half of 2006, a new trade union was formed in GoBus. However, the existing trade union the Estonian Transport and Road Workers’ Trade Union (Transpordi- ja Teetöötajate Ametiühing, ETTA) is opposed to the new union, claiming that it was established by the company management.

The signed collective agreement did not represent a positive development for all employees. Although it standardised wages in different regions, this did not mean a wage increase for everyone. According to the daily newspaper Äripäev, for two thirds of the employees in Tartu, the second largest city in Estonia and located in the southeast of the country, it resulted in a slight reduction in hourly wages of EEK 2 (€0.13 as at 26 January 2007).

New transport union

In reaction to the process and results of the wage negotiations, in August 2006 seven GoBus workers in the Tartu department formed a new union in the company, called the GoBus Employees’ Union (GoBus Töötajate Ametiühing). The founding members of the new trade union were previously members of ETTA. Within a couple of weeks, around 20 employees had joined the newly established union. By the end of 2006, the union leaders expected to have around 150 members. However, Chair of ETTA’s supervisory board, Peep Peterson, estimated that only 20–30 employees in total would join the new trade union. The membership fees in both unions are around EEK 8 (€0.51) a week. However, the new union offers additional advantages, such as a 15% discount in a GoBus car wash and EEK 0.55 (€0.04) off the cost of fuel.

In the newspaper Äripäev, Mati Kangro, a previous member of ETTA and one of the initiators of the new trade union, confirmed that the union was created to help bus drivers who are disappointed in ETTA activities. Mr Kangro has also stated that the new union wants to resolve issues through negotiations – unlike ETTA, which sometimes resorts to strike action as part of the bargaining process. GoBus Töötajate Ametiühing has commenced new wage negotiations with the management of the company. The Executive Director of GoBus, Aivo Pärn, has expressed his desire for constructive wage talks and considers that the current activities of ETTA are excessive.

Position of ETTA

ETTA is one of the most active trade unions in Estonia covering the road transport sector and engaging actively in collective bargaining in the different companies where its members are present. The union has concluded one of the two officially extended sector-level contracts in Estonia. In September 2006, 600 out of 1,100 GoBus employees belonged to ETTA; in 2003, total ETTA membership stood at over 4,000 workers.

ETTA has urged employees not to join GoBus Töötajate Ametiühing, accusing the new union of having been established by the employer with the aim of breaking the unity of employees. The older union views the new organisation as an attempt to replace independent ETTA departments with a management-dependent union which aims at manipulating employees. ETTA compares the situation with that of the trade unions of Edelaraudtee, the train transportation company, where a similar case of a management manipulated union emerged.

Meanwhile, further conflict has erupted between ETTA and the company management over the dismissal of the chief representative of ETTA in GoBus. The official cause of dismissal was illness, due to which the representative had been absent for five months in a year. ETTA brought a claim of wrongful dismissal before the labour dispute committee. Mr Pärn argued that ETTA has been fighting for worthwhile issues through inappropriate means and that it is more likely that the company needs separate representatives and negotiation in each region rather than one main representative.

Similar case in railway sector

As noted, the incidence of management manipulated unions has emerged before in Estonia, namely in the railway sector. In Edelaraudtee AS, which has the same owners as Gobus, four active trade unions are present. According to three of them, the fourth one, AÜ Koostöö, has been created by management and does not represent the rights of employees. One of the trade unions has sued the company management for discriminating against the other unions by giving higher benefits, such as bonuses, to AÜ Koostöö members. However, one of the non-management manipulated unions cooperates with AÜ Koostöö and in 2006 they concluded, for example, a collective agreement with the company’s management.

Epp Kallaste and Marre Karu, Praxis Centre for Policy Studies