Publications

The rise in the minimum wage, an increase in foreign workers, collective agreements for public sector employees and possible industrial action by shipyard workers are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in Croatia in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Progress in labour law reform, a roadmap for the transformation of apprenticeships and the merger of the two mandatory supplementary pension schemes are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in France in the fourth quarter of 2017.

The Austrian Parliament has voted to abolish the legal differences between blue-collar workers and white-collar workers, which will particularly affect sick pay, notice periods and entitlement to paid absences from work. This harmonisation has been a long-standing demand of the trade unions, although employers are disappointed with the outcome because of expected cost increases.

The Hungarian government is facing a severe shortage of teachers, coupled with the fact that more than one-third of those remaining in the profession are over 50. In the last school year, around 1,400 teachers retired and another 3,970 decided to leave teaching. The number of student teachers has increased, but not in the sciences.

The trade unions and government in Malta have rejected calls by the Malta Employers’ Association to minimise the ‘rampant’ abuse of sick leave by making the first day of sick leave unpaid. However, data about public sector sick leave have persuaded the government to conduct a study on the patterns of sick leave.