Estonian Railways (Eesti Raudtee [1]) has undergone major restructuring in previous years due to the economic crisis. In 2007, around 200 people were made redundant with another 200 laid off in 2008 because of cuts in services, automation and work reorganisation. In June 2008, the Trade Union of
With 7,400 employees, the state-owned energy company Eesti Energia [1] is one of the biggest employers in Estonia. During the economic crisis, the company made some structural changes with over 100 employees being made redundant in 2009 in order to optimise and modernise work processes so that the
The wages of tram and trolley drivers in Tallinn were cut by 10% in September 2009, to mirror the cut in the city’s transport order. The Tallinn Tram and Trolleybus Organisation (TTTK [1]) initially signed an agreement to this effect with the Estonian Transport and Road Workers’ Trade Union (ETTA [2
Due to the economic crisis, the government had to make major cutbacks in the state budget in 2009, forcing the Estonian Rescue Board (Päästeamet [1]) in turn to cut its budget. This led to an 8% cut in salary for rescue workers, border guards and police officers as of 1 July 2009. The collective
Due to the impact of the recession and high unemployment, the competitiveness and skills of the labour force have become an important issue in Estonia. A review (in Estonian, 668Kb PDF) [1] by the National Audit Office of Estonia (NAO [2]) assessed whether the money allocated to adult training has
In August 2010, the Estonian Employers’ Confederation (ETTK [1]) published its manifesto on key policy aims for 2011–2015 (*EE1009019I* [2]). The manifesto sparked heated discussions and received a negative response from trade unions. In September, the so-called employees’ manifesto was published in
Unemployment insurance premiums in Estonia are regulated by the Unemployment Insurance Act [1] and represent 2.8% of the wages for employees and 1.4% of the payroll for employers (*EE0908019I* [2]). The financial resources collected from employers and employees are used by the Estonian Unemployment
On 30 August 2010, the Estonian Employers’ Confederatio n (ETTK [1]) published its second manifesto (164Kb PDF) [2] on key economic policy aims. The new manifesto was launched, like the one in 2007, before parliamentary elections. It aims to inform political parties of employers’ objectives in five
The economic crisis has had a major impact on the Estonian labour market and economy. The unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2010 reached 19.8%, the highest since the country gained independence in 1991. According to Statistics Estonia (Statistikaamet [1]), in 2009 the gross domestic product
In 2009, the Estonian Trade Union Confederation (Eesti Ametiühingute Keskliit, EAKL [1]) commissioned a study by the research agency Faktum & Ariko [2], in the framework of the European Social Fund [3] programme to raise the administrative capacity of trade unions. It sought to explore the general