2014

The government has finally announced an increase of the statutory minimum wage (SMI) with 0.5%. As of 1 January 2015 this will bring the minimum wage to the level of 648.6 euro.

TAP Portugal - Poor working conditions, and the government privatisation plans were cited by trade union representatives as the reasons for the strikes. The TAP management stated the day before the strike that the strike was averted.

The cabinet approved key parts of the so-called Jobs Act to ease firing restrictions, extend the duration of jobless benefits and introduce a new contract type offering compensation in case of dismissal that gradually increases with seniority.

Trade union DISK has called on the government to increase the national minimum wage ahead of a possible change in the base pay of Turkish workers. The demand is to increase the actual level of the monthly net minimum wage (of 891 liras) to a minimum of 1,800 lira (635 euro).

The number of unemployed persons in the community of Ventspils could increase about 25% after the planned dismissal of workers from the Ventspils zivju konservu kombinats (Ventspils Fish Cannery plant).

The trade union CGT at Amazon has called on workers to go on strike, just before Christmas. Strike action could seriously impact deliveries of last minute presents. France has seen a surge in orders because of strikes in neighbouring Germany.

A two-day strike planned by ground handling workers at some airports in the run up to Christmas Day has been suspended. The Unite members will be balloted after a new pay offer was made.

Workers at a former Fiat auto assembly plant in Termini Imerese in Sicily approved a deal aimed at saving more than 700 jobs.

Thousands of doctors went on strike to protest against a health reform modelled on Britain's NHS system, and which they say will make them victims of state red tape. The general practitioners and specialists began an eight-day walkout in protest against changes that would adopt the principle of ‘free at the point of delivery’.

The largest collective agreement in the country that covers approximately 20,000 health care workers has been concluded. The medical employees’ collective labour agreement that was signed at the National Conciliator in the Ministry of Social Affairs includes a wage increase.

The unemployment rate was measured at 12.25% in November, falling from the 12.35% recorded the month before. On an annual basis, the jobless rate shrank by 1.25 percentage points.

Comparison between November 2013 and 2014 shows increases both in activity and employment rate and decrease in unemployment.

The government has approved draft legislation on collective bargaining, in the form of a revised Heads of Bill that will amend the 2001 Industrial Relations Act, to be enacted by mid-2015. The act has to bring Irish law in line with European Court of Justice rulings.

Amazon refuses to apply the retail collective agreement, arguing that it considers its employees logistics workers and applying that (lower paid) collective agreement. The current strike targets Amazon in the busiest days of the year, as Christmas orders are at a peak.

Trade union UHM reached an agreement with the government on timeframes for the employment of new foreign health care graduates. This is the result of the protest at unaddressed staff shortages by some 800 state healthcare workers.

The average median wage increased in 2012 with 2% compared to 2011. This monthly average amounted 5314 euro.

One of the longest and most difficult labour disputes at Acciai Speciali Terni (AST), a steel factory owned by the multinational German group ThyssenKrupp has come to an end. AST workers voted by an 80% majority to approve the agreement negotiated by the trade union representatives and the company management.

The congresses of four trade unions affiliated to the confederation FNV voted in favour of a merger that will create a single FNV trade union organisation. Following the positive vote by FNV Bondgenoten, which voted against the merger earlier on in October, the merger will go ahead.

EasyJet flight attendants, are upset over the number of changes made to their schedules and have demanded a larger share of the company's profits.

The wage index in November 2014 is 0.2% higher than in the previous month. In the last twelve months the monthly wage index has risen by 6.6%.

In the third quarter of 2014 unemployment has slightly gone down from 6.7% in the 2nd quarter to 6.5% in the 3rd quarter.

Backed up by his trade union FOA a child minder, who said he was fired four years ago because he is obese, filed a suit to obtain damages and interest from the Billund municipality that employed him, claiming he was the victim of discrimination.

During a presentation of 2013 figures the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS) confirmed that the poverty risk rate amounted in 2013 to 19.5% while the risk of poverty or social exclusion last year was 29.9%. According to the data more than one-third of the population or 36.2% could hardly make ends meet while 28.6% experienced problems in making ends meet.

In a harsh political climate the social partners met at confederal level to discuss several labour policy issues that the government has sought to cut. The talks resulted in creating space for collective agreements on the prolongation of early retirement provisions (at the age of 60, and for arduous work at the age of 58) for another 3 years.

Total GDP at current prices for Austria increased by 1.7%. The national disposable income of private households increased by 0.1% and stagnated de facto in 2013. The highest disposable income per capita was again recorded in Lower Austria, at €22 800.

Workers at automobile club ACL went on strike after 2 years of collective agreement negotiations failed. ACL, which offers a broad range of services to car owners.

Data published by the statistical office show that in the 3rd quarter of 2014 the unemployment rate slowly decreased to 25.5%, compared to 26.6% in the previous quarter, and 27.2% in the 3rd quarter of 2013. The number of employed persons increased by 1.4%.

In a short period of time two reports have pointed to a funding crisis in the pension system. The Cour des Comptes state audit body raised the alarm on private pensions, followed by a report from the pension watchdog COR that monitors the system's evolution.

After the case of the ABB shop steward dismissal was resolved the trade unions criticised the hardening attitude of employers that is challenging the whole labour market negotiation system. The reason for the hardening climate at workplaces is economic insecurity.

In recent months the industrial relations in the oil and affiliated trades have hardened. In Rowan, an oil company, the management has refused to step into local wage negotiations. The trade unions are considering a strike that could hit onshore employees.

Retailer Stockmann has completed negotiations with the staff of Seppälä and announced that a total of 70 jobs will be reduced at the head office and warehouse of the struggling fashion chain.

Bus drivers of the Famagusta company called off a strike over pay-related grievances. Drivers started their action in protest at frequent delays and the risk of not receiving their 13th salary in time for Christmas.

Car manufacturer TCPA, which produces Toyota, Peugeot and Citroen models, has announced it will dismiss up to 500 agency workers from March 2015 onwards.

IMF acknowledges that the critical cause of the surge of youth unemployment was the dramatic collapse of output, explaining up to 70 % of the job destruction for young workers in vulnerable crisis countries.

The average wage broke the barrier of PLN 4,000 (950 euro) per month for the first time ever in November after rising 0.6% on the previous month to PLN 4,004.80.

The public sector employer HSE refused 2010 salary scales to two nurses who returned from working in the UK Public Service to work in Ireland and instead placed them on new entrant salary scales. The INMO appealed the decision via the Labour Relations Commission.

The provisional report on collective bargaining in 2014 reveals that most sectoral negotiations resulted in wage increases in a range between 2 and 4%, with a majority in between 3 and 3.5%.

The advice and support workers of housing charity Shelter are angry over the imposition of a new pay scale at the charity leading to pay cuts of up to £5,000 for new starters, with the pay of current frontline staff only being guaranteed until 2016.

A survey by the Chamber of Commerce shows that almost half of the employers intend to raise their employees’ wages in 2015. The employers quote increasing profits and economic growth as the reason for the wage hikes.

As a result of the Memorandum of Understanding with the Troika (May 2011), of the social pact (January 2012), of the changes in the labour legislation (Law 23/2012, in force since August 1, 2012), there is a series of threats that are being imposed on the trade union movement. This has been enhanced by the crisis.

The trade union of tobacco industry workers has organised a full-day demonstration against the government’s new measures affecting the industry. Some 1,200 employees in tobacco sales and logistics positions will be affected by the government’s amendments which seek to place a middleman between retailers and wholesalers.

In the middle of ongoing negotiations over a bargaining system, a shop steward at ABB factory in Helsinki was fired for instigating illegal walk-outs. The Metal Workers Union and Swiss based power and automation technology company ABB have been in negotiations over reforms of the company’s bargaining system.

Workers on zero-hours contracts earn nearly £300 a week less than permanent employees. This is the conclusion in a TUC-report.

The lifting of heavy loads at distribution centres of the retail chain Lidl has been discussed with the management. The FNV Commerce section and the management came to an agreement based on a report with recommendations that was published in May 2014.

Former employees of Waterford Crystal have reached a deal over pension payments with the government. As reported in the newsletter of August 2013, the Waterford Crystal workers lost about 80% of their pension entitlements after the company and its pension scheme became insolvent.

Doctors working as family doctors in local health centres have staged a one day strike against a newly introduced on-duty system. The Full-Day law, which was passed in April, obliges family doctors to be included in on-duty systems in nearby hospitals. The law gave doctors holding academic positions three months to close their private clinic if they had one.

Trade unions have organised a large march in Sofia to protest against the pension reforms announced by the government. In an attempt to reduce the deficit, the government intends to raise the pensionable age of manual workers by four months, which would affect 15,000 workers due to retire next year.

Fire Brigades Union (FBU) members were taking strike action on 9 December over government proposals that will force firefighters to work until they are 60 instead of 55, pay more into their pensions and get less in retirement.

Turkey has ratified ILO convention C176 on safety and health in mines. Turkish trade unions campaign for ratification in an international trade union alliance. The convention guarantees miners the right to genuine consultation on and participation in the preparation and implementation of safety and health measures.

The Labour Market Tendency Survey is a sample survey that has been published annually since 1959. It provides information about the labour market situation and the outlook for 71 educational and training categories. The newest report highlights a particularly high demand for engineers (Bachelor of Science) in structural engineering.

The Autonomous Trade Union of Road Maintenance Workers of Serbia, ATURMWS, and the Association of Employers in the road maintenance and construction sector have signed a collective agreement.

The parliament ratified ILO Convention 94 on labour clauses in public contracts in October 2014. The ratification has been used as a basis for the work on ‘blacklisting’ of socially irresponsible companies in the sector of road construction and maintenance.

The number of job vacancies increased in the 3rd quarter of 2014 by 0.3% compared to the 3rd quarter of 2013 and by 12.7% compared to the previous quarter. 30% of job vacancies were in the public sector and 70% in the private sector.

Recruitment company Jobco was found guilty of violations by not paying Polish and Italian metro workers overtime pay. An arbitration court now ordered Jobco to pay the unpaid overtime payments.

The trade unions representing health care workers have decided not to sign an agreement on pay cuts and measures to bring in additional savings in the public sector in 2015 with the government.

The President of the Republic said he would veto a bill proposing to raise the salaries of members of Parliament by 14%. A row regarding deputies’ salaries started when it became clear that the salaries of deputies and senators would automatically increase by 26% in January, unless a motion was passed specifying a different wage increase.

A second Geneva transport strike was called off after the trade unions representing employees of the canton's public transport authority reached a deal with management. Drivers and technicians had threatened to walk off the job to protest planned job cuts and an austerity budget.

Lufthansa pilots have organised the ninth strike of the year in a dispute over early retirement, reported in this newsletter. The first two days of the strike affected about 150,000 passengers of mainly short and medium haul flights, whereas the third day hit long haul flights.

Railroad controllers organised a three day strike to protest against job losses and deteriorating working conditions as personnel is being replaced by computers.

In 2015, it will be Denmark’s turn to hold the Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers. The Presidency will concentrate on four themes designed to strengthen and focus the partnership: growth and employment, Nordic welfare, enhanced knowledge of Nordic values by bolstering the Nordic ‘brand’, and a focus on the Arctic.

The building, industry and chemical workers union ACV/CSC-BIE, the European Federation of Building and Woodworkers (EFBWW), the Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) and IndustriALL Global Union met to discuss a global trade union strategy for the merger of cement producers Holcim and Lafarge. Unions from 22 countries will work together in confronting a merger that will take place in the first half of 2015.

In a first round of negotiations the trade unions GPA-djp and vida have concluded an agreement for the 100,000 workers in the private health and social care. As of 1 February 2015 wages will increase with 2.03%. Part of the agreement is the increase of the monthly minimum wage in the sector to 1,500 euro.

SAFE trade union has threatened to organise labour disruptions if the government does not intervene to prevent further job losses at Statoil. Oil producers have cut about 7,000 jobs in the last months to compensate for rising costs and falling oil prices.

Payroll companies have said that legislation coming into force on 1 January 2015 is unclear. A new law will align the protection of payroll employees against dismissal with that of permanent employees at the client firms. The major change with the current regime is that firms will no longer be able to dismiss workers on payroll contracts without stating the reason.

The European trade union federations EPSU and IndustriALL signed a European agreement with utility company GDF Suez regarding well-being at work in all its European offices.

Second-level schools across the country were closed, sending around 350,000 students home, as teachers staged a strike against the Junior Cycle reforms. In the reforms, teachers’ assessment of student performance would form 40% of the certification.

Employees at waste recycling company WasteServ have been awarded their first collective agreement in the company’s 12 years of existence.

From 1 January, the minimum wage will be increased from €320 to €360 per month. The minimum wage hike follows the approval of amendments to the Law on Minimum Monthly Wage and Minimum Hourly Wage by the Government.

The national labour cost index (AKI) for wage-earners and salaried employees in the private sector is produced monthly and describes the total labour cost development over time.

After a warning strike in November, teachers from 120 schools have gone on indefinite strike, during which some schools will close down altogether. The teachers have made a list of demands to be met by the ministry in order to end the strike.

The Rome Opera House cancelled its decision, reported in the October newsletter, to dismiss all of the institution’s 182 musicians and choir members. An agreement signed between unions and management, and approved by 97% of the staff, saves the jobs of the Rome Opera House artists.

After insisting on a minimum wage freeze last month, the finance minister announced the proposal for an increase in plans for the 2015 budget in two steps from the current BGN340 (€173) to BGN360 on 1 January 2015 and to BGN380 from the middle of 2015.

The Institute of Economics of the Hungarian Academy of Science with support from the National Employment Foundation (OFA) has published its 2012-2013 Hungarian Labour Market Yearbook. The annual report analyses developments on the labour market, presenting main characteristics and trends.

The transport workers union launched the results of a research project on the practice of letter-box companies and social dumping in the international road transport. It comes with 25 measures to improve the working conditions in the sector. Measure number 6 is the introduction of an EU regulation or European collective agreement prescribing a certain level of social conditions for the carriage of goods by road.

Report: EU economic governance during the crisis has negatively affected collective bargaining, put downward pressure on wages agreed in collective agreements, as well as negatively affected the collective bargaining process.

More than 40 legal proceedings are underway against trade unionists who took part in general or sector-wide strikes protesting against the austerity measures imposed by the Spanish government.

The statistical office has updated the overview of average wages. The figures are based on the average monthly earnings in a series of sectors and illustrate the wage gap between men and women in the public and private sector.

The CGIL, CISL and UIL trade unions representing civil servants have filed an appeal with the courts over the government's freeze on contracts, including pay increases, for public-sector workers.

Wholesale giant METRO Cash & Carry is closing down its last two remaining stores at locations in Aarhus and Glostrup and dismissing 300 employees. It announced in September 2014 it would close its five Danish stores because they were no longer profitable.

The Supreme Court of Cassation has overturned a Turin court decision condemning one of the owners of Eternit Group, claiming the sentence is not applicable because of the long period of time that has passed. The dismissal of the accusations against the group owners is a slap to almost 3,000 victims.

Voters in Switzerland have decisively rejected a proposal to introduce severe immigration quotas. (The Ecopop group sought to limit immigration to 0.2% of net population growth – effectively about 16,000 people annually.)

Despite a slowing down of the economy the number of jobless people has dropped significantly. There were 2.717 million unemployed people in November 2014, 16,000 less than the previous month and 89,000 fewer than at the same time in 2013.

The Federal Administrative Court ruled that the state of Hesse overstepped its bounds when legislating more allowances for firms to operate, and thus force employees to work, on Sundays and bank holidays.

The prime minister announced that the minimum wage will be raised by 700 crowns to 9,200 crowns (€334) as of January 2015.

Gross wages grew 5.0% in the third quarter, compared to the same period in 2013. The country's average monthly gross wages and salaries stood at 977 euro. The average hourly salary rate was 5.89 euros, a 5.6% increase.

PKP Cargo, the biggest railway freight company has concluded an agreement with its employee organisations to carry out a voluntary redundancy programme. After the dispute was resolved the company raised salaries and introduced extra bonuses.

ING bank has announced it will be cutting its workforce by 3,000 over the next three years. Dutch media report the layoffs will concern 1700 full time jobs and 1075 part time jobs.

Insecure, low-paid jobs are leaving record numbers of working families in poverty, with two-thirds of people who found work in 2013 taking jobs for less than the living wage.

Parliament is discussing a draft law that imposes equal pay for temporary workers as well as a cap on temporary assignments. The law, if adopted, would give temporary agency workers the same wages as permanent workers if they do the same work. In cases where temp workers earn less, the law makes the temp agencies liable for paying the missing amount.

The Eurofound report Social partners and gender equality in Europe assesses the role of the social partners in advancing gender equality in Europe.

A robust growth of the minimum wage, an extension of higher collective agreements and changes in temporary employment are the developments with the biggest impact on the labour market in 2014.

Nurses organised two country-wide strikes on 14 and 21 November, whereas a strike by ticket inspectors and ticket clerks halted trains across Portugal on 24 November. The workers are protesting the ongoing cuts in the public sector, endangering both working conditions and the quality of services.

Improving the negotiation culture at working places would cut clearly the number of industrial disputes, a survey carried out for the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions SAK reveals.

The head of the interim parliamentary committee on budget and finance Menda Stoyanova said that no proposals to raise the minimum wage were on the agenda and that the 2015 budget that is being adopted is based on the current level. The minimum wage is currently BGN340 (€173) per month and is the lowest in the EU.

For the second time in a month tens of thousands members of 11 trade unions walked out for four hours in England and Northern Ireland in protest at the coalition government’s controversial decision not to accept a recommended 1% wage rise for all NHS employees.

Trade union UHM, who was recently given sole recognition to represent paramedic aides, announced it will be taking industrial action. UHM and the Ministry for Energy and Health had previously reached an agreement over the carrying over of leave days that could not be taken up due to staff shortages, salaries and incentives to increase skills.

At 57%, more than half of the employers are planning to pay their staff Christmas bonuses this year according to a survey of the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA). Almost three in ten employers have not decided whether they will pay such a bonus, whereas 15% said they cannot afford to do so.

Up to 680 of the total 3,200 workers at the Ford Craiova plant will be laid off due to low demand.

One of the country’s largest trade unions, the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU), is to seek pay rises of 5% for its 40,000 members across the public and private sectors. TEEU represents electricians and number of other craft worker grades.

The Advocate General of the ECJ presented an opinion on a case focusing on restrictions of the use of agency workers. The case could affect how such restrictions are imposed through collective labour agreements throughout Europe.

Recent figures presented by trade union confederation LO show that half of the working young Swedes under 25 are on fixed term contracts, compared to 20% of the workforce as a whole. The unions report that many young people have to be constantly reachable on their mobile phones in order to be able to work intermittent days in temporary jobs.

Geneva drivers of streetcars and busses have organised a one day strike, halting virtually all public transport in the capital. The drivers are protesting against budget cuts and expected job reductions.

SAS will dismiss 100 Swedish cabin staff workers. Norwegian cabin crews do not have the same requirements for rest facilities in their collective agreements, so they can take over from the Swedish cabin crews.

Store Norske, the most northern mining company in the world, has suggested eliminating almost 100 positions in a new operating plan that the board will discuss in a meeting with the union representatives.

Workers at the Ugljan island shipyard fear for the future of their jobs after the European Commission demanded the government cut subsidies to its four largest shipyards to meet fair competition standards.

Workers at the Defence Support Group are angry about a wage offer that falls below the inflation rate as well as anxious about their jobs after announcements that the group will be privatised next year.

After the government refused to exempt teachers from public-sector salary reductions, the trade unions in education have cut classes from 45 to 30 minutes in a strike. The new budget, adopted on October 22, includes wage cuts of 10% across the board in the public sector.

Parliament will vote on a pension reform agreement that has the support of all employers’ federations as well as of trade union confederations SAK and STTK. Under the proposed system, the pension age will be raised in increments from 63 to 65 years of age for people born after 1955.

Over a thousand workers gathered in front of Parliament to protest against a new law that would increase taxes on fringe benefits from 35.7% up to 51.17%, while at the same time lowering the maximum possible annual amount of this allowance paid by the employers.

PSA Peugeot Citroen is preparing to cut another 3,450 jobs in 2015 as the troubled carmaker pursues a recovery plan.

Kazova Workers, a group of textile workers who launched an occupation protest after being fired with no repartitions or deserved wages in early 2013 and obtained their own factory machines after months of struggle, have formed a cooperative.

Workers in social services have new collective agreements. The agreements with negotiated by unions Sanitas, Columna and Publisind, who agreed on a monthly minimum wage in the sector of RON975 (€220) and constitutes a wage hike of RON100.

A maximum of five per cent of Staff at the Hotel Le Royal would be laid off before the end of the year due to renovations that will be taking place between December 2014 and September 2015.

Two hundred miners have occupied the offices of the EU’s largest thermal coal producer, Kompania Weglowa S.A. (KW), in Katowice. The occupation followed news that KW will liquidate the firm, threatening the jobs of 46,000 workers. KW has been facing financial problems for years and is already subject to a social plan in which its workforce reduces by 26,000.

Steel workers at AST steelworks, a subsidiary of the Germany based ThyssenKrupp, have blocked the highway between Milan and Naples, demanding clear answers to the question what will happen to their jobs.

Doctors have announced a two hour work stoppage as issues on wages and job security remain unresolved. Health Minister Philippos Patsalis called for a last-minute meeting to avoid the work stoppage, arguing that all issues are either resolved or being addressed.

Home care workers organised a protest, handing over a petition with over 159,000 signatures against cuts that will lead to the closure of care centres and redundancies. The Parliament is currently debating a law on long-term care, which aims to bring down costs.

The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) published a report on health issues in the health care sector in Europe. The report, Current and emerging issues in the healthcare sector, including home and community care, highlights the negative consequences of long working hours in the sector.

Trade unions call for conditions to be put in place to make privatisation process transparent: including improvements to the takeover act, boosting the role of state institutions in the procedures and protecting shop stewards and worker representatives on management and supervisory boards.

Staff at the retail and office sector of the LO trade union confederation have announced they will be taking strike action. Roughly 150 employees will go on strike, claiming that their colleagues in other LO unions earn higher wages for the same work.

FNV has accused the transport ministry’s roads department (Rijkswaterstaat) of a passive attitude towards the exploitation of workers despite all the evidence of abuse.

Teachers unions are deliberating strike action after talks over investment in education reached a deadlock. The government has said it will allot an extra three million euro for education, which falls far short of the 36 million euro investments unions say are needed to pay decent salaries.

Trade unions are calling attention to the large gender pay gap through the Women’s Last Work Day campaign. While the country has been praised for its gender equality, the pay gap remains at 17% and even 24% among white collar workers.

In the year 2013 a total of 6 667 884 taxpayers were registered, of whom 4 272 613 were employees and 2 395 271 were pensioners. Compared with 2012, the number of taxpayers increased by 1.0%. Gross earnings rose by 2.9% and total wage tax revenue increased by 4.8%.

The trade union confederation ICTU has called for the restoration of wage-setting mechanisms in key sectors of the economy such as construction, in order to halt the race to the bottom in wages and standards and to restore some protection for workers’ livelihoods.

The government announced that it could pay this year the due salaries state employees have won in court and which should have been paid gradually, over several years. The amount stands at some EUR 1.2 billion.

The Employment Office stated that against October 2013, unemployment decreased in October 2014 by 0.5 percentage point and the number of vacancies grew by 19,080.

Being a guest worker in Norway may not be as idealistic as it seems because many companies are breaking employment rules to save money. The western neighbour has developed into an extremely popular option for jobless Swedes.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report in September puts the developed world average for youths who are neither in employment nor in education at 15%.

The unemployment rate in September was 4.1%, a year-on-year drop of 1.1%, while the wage index showed a month-on-month rise of 0.7%, according to Statistics Iceland.

Right after a state court rejected Deutsche Bahn railways' attempt to win an injunction to stop an ongoing strike, the trade union GDL announced to cut short the planned four-day strike and return to work.

A decision on a proposal to restrict shop openings on Sundays made by Christian Democrats (KDNP), the minor partner in the governing alliance, will be made only after consultations with the trade unions and companies operating the shops.

The SF and trade union 3F want to guarantee that foreign workers are treated the same as national workers.

According to the TUC the economy not only can support a significant increase beyond £7, but there is a growing consensus that it will benefit long term growth and stability. While the minimum wage rose above inflation in October 2014 for the first time in four years, at £6.50 it is still well below the peak of its real value.

The third largest pharmaceutical company in the country, Deva Holding, has a notorious record. Deva management declared to its workers that the company will never recognise or bargain with any union.

Government proposals of a voluntary shorter working week, reduction of the bonus for years of service and lower lunch allowance, as well as lower compensation for commuting costs were rejected by the trade unions. They see the move of the government as a fresh set of measures to cut the public sector wage bill.

The joint demonstration organised by the three trade union confederations to act against new government proposals (freeze of the wage indexation and increase of the pension age) has brought more than 100.000 workers to the streets of Brussels.

In recent years, unemployment and social inequalities have significantly increased in the Western Balkans affecting in particular the situation of young people.

After 18 months of negotiations, employers in the welfare and social services sector have made a final offer. The agreement includes a 1% wage hike as of 1 December 2014 and another 1% per 1 October 2015. In addition, there would be a one-time bonus of €300 in January 2015 and an annual flat increase of €250.

The inflation rate for 2014 is estimated at 0.7%.

The national TV channel has investigated the practices of international recruiter Atlanco Rimec, notorious for its treatment of workers. By using a labyrinth of cross-border posting relationships (for instance Polish workers recruited on the basis of a social security certificate from Cyprus) the payment of social security costs is circumvented.

Ships and ferries did not operate among the country's many islands due to a 24-hour strike called by the National federation of port employees (Omyle) to protest against the government's planned privatisation of ports.

The Scottish Employment Appeal Tribunal formulated a landmark ruling on holiday pay. Trade unions welcomed the decision on test cases, which could lead to claims by hundreds of thousands of workers who do voluntary overtime.

Tens of thousands of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and medical staff launched a one-day strike against the government‘s austerity measures. Medical trade unions representing some 80% of more than 160,000 employees called the work stoppage in protest at a planned 10% cut in all wages paid from the state budget.

The trade union Efling announced that 18 workers were fired by the Government Offices in an effort to save revenue. Most of these workers are over the age of 50, and all of them are women earning amongst the lowest legal wages in the country.

A 24-hour strike by state-owned utility EDF's workers has cut 6,000 megawatts (MW) in the country's electricity production capacity.

The public broadcasting company Yle has announced an imminent plan to reduce at least 185 permanent jobs as part of its cost-cutting measures.

The international building workers federation BWI and the national affiliates have signed an International Framework Agreement with the construction companies Sacyr, Acciona and Dragados. The agreement constitutes a formal recognition of social partnership at the global level.

After a total of 14 rounds of negotiations with the 6 employers’ organisations in the different metal branches the trade unions PRO-GE and GPA-djp have concluded the same results for the (in total 180,000) workers in the metal sector.

Services union GPA-djp has called for an extension of the right to six weeks’ holidays to more workers in the sector. The union said that in female dominated sectors in particular, workers need longer holidays to balance work and family life, recuperate and to remain motivated.

Members at insurance company Irish Life have voted overwhelmingly to accept a Labour Court recommendation which could result in a pay increase of up to 7%.

A recent study published by the trade union research institute ‘de Burcht’ compares the use of flexible contracts in four companies operating in the media and transportation sectors.

Portugal Airline cabin crews launched a 24-hour strike. The crews for the TAP Portugal carrier grounded flights causing mass cancellations for nearly half of its 320 scheduled flights and rerouting more than 25,000 passengers.

Global Gender Gap report is to document whether nations are distributing their opportunities and resources equitably between men and women. The 2014 report seeks to measure the relative gaps between women and men across four key areas: health, education, economy and politics.

The Constitutional Court has abolished some provisions of a law that prevented workers from organising in trade unions.

A project entitled ‘What to Do About Poverty’. 34% of the respondents said that a four-member family needs at least €900 per month in order to be able to live a modest but decent life. Another 34% said that it needs at least €1,200.

In protest against dismissals, workers at the headquarters of the Football Association walked out. The trade unions accused the Royal Belgian Football Association (KBVB) of having ‘coldly dismissed in a degrading way’ certain members of staff.

New research by the Resolution Foundation think-tank reveals that more than five million workers are in low-paid work, with the proportion of people on low salaries rising from 21 to 22% in 2013. Millions are in jobs so poorly paid that they have little if anything left to spend after their basic needs have been met.

A law that allows the government to make cuts to public servants' pay and hours without their agreement is about to be repealed. The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has been lobbying intensively for the removal of this provision and wants to see it repealed before the end of the Government's term.

Surging water trapped at least 18 workers in the privately owned Has Sekerler mine, officials and reports said — an event likely to raise even more concerns about the nation's poor workplace safety standards.

The leading Catholic charity Caritas published a massive 700-page report on poverty and social exclusion prepared by some 90 experts and academics. The number of people living in poverty has risen by 4.4 million since the country was battered by an economic crisis to reach 11.7 million, or 1 in 4.

The communication minister announced a salary increase for everyone who works with the state-owned Romanian Post, after the company managed to steer back into profitability.

Cultural workers are set to go on hunger strike in protest of their unemployment and its endangerment of the country’s vulnerable cultural resources.

The trade unions in the biggest passenger railway company Przewozy Regionalne have taken a strong stand in a restructuring project. So far only 7 provinces have signed a rescue plan. Others who are against it have suggested they would rather develop their own passenger railway firms.

According to a study conducted by EY on talented people in the corporate world (Time for Diversity) Latvia has the highest proportion of females on company boards among European countries; with 29% of female top executives.

At a meeting in Budapest the president of the education trade union has stated that one of the major challenges facing the union is the lack of social dialogue: We want regular negotiations and consultations with the authorities.

NHS staff in Wales, including nurses, occupational therapists, porters, paramedics, medical secretaries, cooks and healthcare assistants will strike for half a day in November and then work to rule for the following four days. Trade union Unison confirmed 27,000 members will stage the half-day stoppage.

Trade union Ver.di has called a new series of strikes in Bad Hersfeld, Leipzig, Graben, Werne and Rheinberg. The strikes are organised in the context of an ongoing conflict with Amazon, reported in our Newsletter, over the application of collective agreement wages.

The New York Times has discovered that, in contradiction to US-practices, it is possible to pay decent hourly wages to workers in the fast-food services.

After a marathon meeting of negotiations lasting 11 hours, the collective bargaining partners in the largest subsector of the metal industry (the FMMI - the employers’ federation for machinery and metal-ware and the trade unions PRO-GE and DPA-djp) agreed on a 2.1% pay increase (0.4% beyond the country’s inflation rate) for the 120,000 employees in the subsector.

The country’s biggest trade union confederation will call a general strike to protest against the government's Jobs Act labour reform after a big demonstration on October 25. CGIL is staunchly opposed to the changes to Article 18 of the 1970 Workers' Statute, which protects from unfair dismissal.

After large scale job cuts at Czech Airlines were reported last month (see September 2014 newsletter), the airline now intends to lower pilots’ wages from 1 January 2015. Experienced pilots allegedly will lose up to 30% of their salaries.

The number of workers placed under reduced working hours increased for the third month in a row. At a meeting of the official committee that deals with the applications (the ‘comité de conjoncture’) 23 businesses were granted their request to cut working hours in a bid to save costs.

A study published by the Friedrich Ebert foundation reveals that so far minimum wages in many European countries are set at rather low levels and are thus insufficient to prevent income poverty.

Up to 120 workers are expected to be laid off at Swedish owned electronic manufacturer Electrolux. Electrolux is closing down its Schwanden factory by the end of 2015; blaming the closure on new Swiss regulations making it impossible to attain the “Made in Switzerland” label for its products.

Research institute FAFO has published an analysis of the Icelandic labour market in the frame of the NordMod 2030 project. The main characteristics of the labour market are a high level of union density, high labour force participation rate, long work hours, as well as late retirement.

The ninth pilot strike since April at Lufthansa has grounded 1,511 flights and affected over 166,000 passengers. The pilots went on strike on 20 October over a raise in the early retirement age.

Luxury hotels in Paris are being hit by a wave of strike over low wages. Chamber maids, valets, bartenders, cooks and other employees are protesting for better wages, arguing that hotels where rooms can cost more per night than their annual salaries, can afford to give them a better deal.

All four education unions have announced they will join a teachers strike on 22 October. The teachers will organise a one-hour strike, followed by a one-day strike and possibly indefinite strike. The unions say teachers feel tricked into accepting wage moderation by false promises.

The metalworkers’ trade unions held a 24-hours strike at ThyssenKrupp's Acciai Speciali Terni (Terni) in their fight against a drastic cost cutting plan. Thousands of people rallied in Terni against ThyssenKrupp’s decision to impose layoffs to 537 workers.

The trade union confederation ‘Podkrepa’ and the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CITUB) have threatened with protests if a merger between the customs agency and the national revenue agency (NRA) is not called off.

A large scale strike forced 100 Delhaize supermarkets in Brussels and Wallonia to stay closed on 17 October. Warehouse workers walked off the job after proposals of far going pay cuts reached union officials.

The three trade union confederations have announced a joint national demonstration on 6 November, followed by regional strikes and a general strike on 15 December, to protest against the planned policy of the incoming government.

Trade union OZ KOVO has started to offer free legal advice to non-members in the fight against precarious work.

A decision by the Board of Directors of the Rome Opera Theatre to dismiss all orchestra musicians and choir members has been met with international outrage.

Teachers will organise a protest rally outside the Ministry of Education and Science. The teachers have been trying to negotiate a collective agreement with the ministry, which trade unions claim is stalling the process.

Opposition is growing on both sides of the Atlantic against the proposed trade deals between the European Union and Canada (CETA) and the EU and the US (TTIP).The European trade unions expressed their rejection during several national actions.

A survey commissioned by the trade union FOA reveals that only four of the nation’s 70 councils will increase the amount of funds they spend in 2015 on taking care of the elderly.

Social insurance data show that unemployment benefit payments fell by 11.3% in 2014 compared to the year before.

After four years of negotiations, Switzerland has become the second European country to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with China.

Two years after the previous collective agreement expired, unions are consulting their members on a new deal. Negotiators from FNV and CNV trade unions have reached an agreement with regional government representatives, which includes a €450 lump sum payment, a 2% pay increase from 1 January 2015 and another 1% from 1 July 2015.

The Employers’ Confederation has issued its third manifesto that calls for public consultations on the tax system, and the lowering of the state social security tax.

The public sector trade union ADEDY has called a walk out in Attica. ADEDY called for all public sector employees to attend a demonstration outside the State Council in Athens.

Police officers and employees in the security sector are to stage a protest over their cut social rights. The protest was announced by the trade union federation of police officers.

The teachers’ union Opetusalan Ammattijärjestö (OAJ) started a campaign to save education. The OAJ is reminding people that investment in education and teachers is needed and that education has to be developed through long-term programmes.

Pensioners have marched through Athens to protest against austerity measures in Greece which include plans to cut pensions and raise taxes.

For the third year in a row, Denmark topped an Australian study comparing the pension systems of 25 different countries. It was the only nation to receive an ‘A’ grade, signifying ‘a first class and robust retirement income system that delivers good benefits, is sustainable and has a high level of integrity’.

Members of the incoming government have stated that the country’s costly unemployment benefit system needs further reforms. The unemployment rate is stuck above 10% despite billions of euro spent on subsidised jobs, and the country is under pressure of the EU partners to show it can implement reform.

The police trade unions are considering protest actions at Zaventem Airport in the run-up to the forthcoming half-term holiday in November.

Coal mining company OKD will dismiss 300 people at the end of 2014, mainly from offices and surface facilities. OKD had more than 12,000 workers in 2013. It now employs around 11,000 people. Most of the 300 workers will retire or use pre-retirement provisions.

Thousands of students are taking to the streets to protest against the government's labour and education reforms. Protests are taking place across 60 cities and towns across the country as students demand ‘better schools, jobs and a different country’.

A conference organised by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation to find the answers to the most urgent questions of homeless and low paid. Since the political turn there is virtually no social housing, so whoever gets in trouble paying the rent or the instalments of the loan does not really have alternatives.

The governmental Office of Statistics published its annual employment report. Migrants and commuters from surrounding countries build the majority of the workforce (almost 53%, with Swiss nationals up to half of the commuters, Austrian nationals more than 40%).

Striking bricklayers at a site in Kishoge, west Dublin are to continue their picket, after the High Court ruled that they were entitled to maintain the protest. However, they have agreed to limit the number of picketers, and to ensure that all future picketing will be lawful.

Around 2,000 hospital support workers belonging to the trade union SIPTU have voted by 95% to go on strike if the Health Service Executive reduces their premium payments by replacing weekend staff with interns.

The Gangmasters Licensing Authority, the institute that licenses the supply of temporary labour will appeal the sentence given to an illegal gangmaster (labour provider) who kept fellow Romanian workers in inhumane conditions in County Armagh.

The official office Statistics Iceland (SI) reported that a total of 8,042 households, consisting of 13,130 individuals or 4% of the country’s population, received municipal income support in 2013.

The Frente Comum, the main platform for trade unions representing public sector employees, has announced plans for a national demonstration in Lisbon on 31 October, to protest against pay cuts and the erosion of employment rights in the public sector.

Talks between LuxairGroup and the trade unions in the dispute over a new collective working agreement (CWA) are set to resume, following a meeting at the national conciliation office.

According to a trade union official of the confederation Saco the proposal of the incoming government to raise taxes for people earning more than 50,000 kronor (5,500 euro) a month could damage the country's global reputation.

In the slipstream of the detection of an Ebola infection and with reference to the deteriorating working conditions health care workers in Madrid have organised a protest. They are angry because many hospitals have experienced cuts in budgets, staff, units and equipment.

The Canadian Media Guild and BECTU are joining forces to highlight the problems with working conditions in the non-fiction TV sector. The unions are delivering principles aimed at improving the situation to production and broadcast executives attending an industry conference (Realscreen), taking place in London.

The unemployment rate remained at 3% in September, unchanged from the previous month and from the same period in 2013, according to government figures. A total of 129,965 people were registered at regional job centres.

Most trade unions and employers' organisations seem to be satisfied with the cost of living adjustment expected to be announced in the upcoming budget, which is set to be €1.16 per week.

The number of precarious workers is double the figure of unemployed persons – around 250.000. In addition, a third of all sole proprietors (self-employed) are below the poverty threshold, according to the Movement for Decent Work.

Thousands of workers rallied in front of the offices of the country's leftist government to demand better living standards, decent work and wages, just weeks before the presidential election.

The national statistics office CBS reported that average wages increased around 1.1% in the third quarter of 2014 which is almost similar to the inflation increase in August 2014 (of 1%).

The management of the national railway Deutsche Bahn wrote in an open letter that the train drivers union GDL was being ‘completely counter-factual and absurd’ in its public statements about the negotiations.

Workers of the Lisbon Metro underground system are to hold the latest in a series of 24-hour strike. The strike is being held to protest against plans to auction off the concession to private investors and consequent erosion of their rights.

The police trade unions have returned to the negotiations table after a ten days’ strike. Representatives of the Independent Trade Union of Police conferred with the interior minister concerning the unions' demands.

A Eurofound report presents the trends and changes in quality of life among the population based on survey rounds conducted in 2007 and 2012.

Over 6,000 doctors’ employees in Lower Austria have a new collective agreement. The agreement instates a monthly minimum wage of 1300, which unions have welcomed as a step to raising wage levels in the female dominated sector.

A long-anticipated 126-page expert report, commissioned by the public prosecutor, clearly states the Soma mining catastrophe (see our May Newsletter) was preventable.

European Commission's Quarterly Review reports that future employment developments remain uncertain, unemployment still remains close to historical records, long-term unemployed represent a large and growing share of total unemployment, with almost 13 million people having been unemployed for at least 1 year.

The government is preparing legislation allowing for 280 million zloty (some 67 million euro) from the state budget to be spent on shutting down the Kazimierz-Juliusz coal mine, putting over 1000 miners out of work.

State oil company Statoil, faced with falling oil prices and rising costs, reportedly plans to cut 500 jobs on its offshore platforms on top of the roughly 1,400 jobs eliminated so far as it tries to slim down its organisation.

A Panasonic plant based in the eastern town of Krompachy (Košice Region, a region with an unemployment rate between 15-20%) plans to shut down its production of Blu-ray players and recorders, DVD recorders and printed circuit boards (PCB) for TV sets, and move to Plzeň, in the Czech Republic.

Members of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) voted in favour of walkouts by 82% and will join other health workers on strike for four hours on October 13. The action is in protest at the decision by the Government not to pay all NHS staff a 1% pay rise.

An annual report of a survey among employers shows that workers are still confronted with pay cuts (1 in 10 employers), though the economy is recovering. Almost 50% have started with the item of demotion.

A Hungarian painter decorator has tragically died after falling from a ladder whilst working in Austria. His boss, who was paying him in cash, refused to call an ambulance and made a fellow worker drive the injured for 90 km - to a hospital across the border in Hungary.

The European trade union federation industriAll published a study that analyses the impact of the crisis on wage developments and collective bargaining in European manufacturing.

The publication ‘Employment, wages and salaries in national economy 1st half of 2014’ that can be downloaded from the governmental portal presents the current changes on the labour market regarding the number of the employed in large and medium units and the work time of employees, as well as the number of the unemployed registered in labour offices.

The General Workers’ Union reported that incidents of physical and verbal abuse against drivers are on the rise. Drivers vented their frustration that they were being left alone to face awkward situations.

The International Monetary Fund has (again) directly intervened in a debate that is going on in Italy on the need to reform the labour market. The IMF backed up the reforms planned by the Renzi-government.

Over the past five years wages have shrunk, with average annual earnings down by about €1,000 since 2009. More people are finding it harder, not easier, to make ends meet. One in five workers is earning less than the ‘living wage’.

The employer association Dansk Industri (DI) has stressed the importance of having an international workforce. Unemployment is at its lowest since 2006 and DI predicts that it will fall even more in the coming years. According to DI, almost half of their member companies employ workers from abroad.

Bus company Strætó told its bus drivers that complaining about an on-board video camera policy will lead to termination.

Lufthansa that is seeking to expand low-cost services has to face opposition from the trade unions. The airline has been locked in a dispute with the Vereinigung Cockpit union over an early retirement scheme.

A full scale strike by Air France pilots entered its second week, potentially making it the longest pilot strike since 1998, before a deal was reached.

Negotiations between the social partners concerning the pension reform have ended with several agreed changes to the existing system. The agreement was signed by two of the three trade union confederations.

According to official data the number of employed people in the period June-August 2014, increased to 4.158 million, 177 thousand more than a year ago. The employment rate of people aged 15-64 increased to 62.4%, the highest rate since 2009.

Outsourced hotel housekeepers at the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme have won an important wage increase bringing pay into line with other luxury hotels following a four-day strike for better wages and working conditions begun on September 19.

Trade unions and employers' organisations have refused to take part in a meeting of the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation on the budget update proposals.

New rail strikes might come after the train drivers' union GDL said that ‘last chance’ talks with the state-owned rail operator Deutsche Bahn over pay had collapsed. GDL is seeking a 5% pay rise for about 20,000 train drivers and a shortening of their work week to 37 hours from 39 hours.

The trade union confederation ÖGB wants a substantial reduction in taxes on all workers and employees. In addition, reform of the overall tax structure is required in order to bring greater fairness into the domestic tax system. In 2012, the average tax rate on work was 41.5% – the third highest level in the whole of the EU.

Trade union Unite has stated that the minimum wage should be increased immediately to £7.81 an hour, arguing it would boost the economy as well as lift millions of low paid workers out of poverty. Unite said a £1.50 increase from the current hourly rate of £6.31 was affordable.

The Central Bank writes in its monthly bulletin that the current rate of emigration of foreign residents from Spain and of Spaniards themselves could have a significant effect on the potential growth of the economy. According to the bank it is necessary to make the country a more attractive place to work.

Hundreds of the remaining workers at Saab's factory in Trollhätten are set to lose their jobs, according to the Chinese company Nevs which owns the Swedish car business. The factory has been out of action since May 2014, with Nevs unable to pay its suppliers.

As a result of a tripartite agreement the minimum wage will go up by 20 euro to a monthly 505 euro. The increase in the minimum wage from 485 euros to 505 euros will take effect in October 2014 and is estimated to affect around 11% of all workers.

The trade union confederation union LO (Landsorganisasjonen i Norge) has mobilised its members in a campaign against the government’s proposed changes to work conditions legislation.

The air freight firm Cargolux announced it will make a job security proposal at the next Collective Working Agreement meeting with unions LCGB and OGBL. The firm has come under fire over a newly created Italian subsidiary, Cargolux Italia, over which fears were raised of outsourcing.

After the decision of a court that gave the green light for a second port the transport trade unions have made clear that there is a clear need for discussion around a phased implementation of Maasvlakte 2 with the trade unions.

Recently, collective bargaining started in the metal sector. The outcome always sets the standard for the wage trend in other industries. The six employers federations for the separate branches, in a sector with in total 180,000 employees, negotiate separate wage levels.

Deva Holding a Turkey-based pharmaceutical company, has sacked 24 workers, simply for signing up with a union. Management announced that there would no longer be a collective agreement using the pretext of high production costs and government policies in the pharmaceutical industry.

A group of 30 cleaners attended the first European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg on 16 September, exactly one year after they were unexpectedly fired by the Ministry of Finance. The 30 cleaners are among 595 workers – mostly women aged between 45 and 60 – who used to work for the Ministry of Finance.

Services union Ver.di has hit Amazon’s distribution centres with another series of walkouts. Work stoppages were organised in facilities in Leipzig, Bad Hersfeld, Rheinberg and Graben. On the third day of strike workers at 6 out of 9 logistics centres participated.

After 14 weeks of strike action, an agreement has been reached at Greyhound Recycling, bringing a bitter labour conflict to an end. The conflict started when Greyhound proposed major wage cuts, allegedly to keep the company from going bankrupt and closing down.

Public sector workers have taken to the streets in a 24-hour strike against the upcoming round of public sector cuts. The cuts, imposed by the EU and IMF lenders, are expected to lead to more layoffs and pay cuts.

Employers have criticized the number of holidays in the country. There are 246 working days in Slovakia in 2014, the lowest number among all Visegrád Group (V4) countries, an alliance of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Poland has 251 business days and Hungary and the Czech Republic both have 252.

The national carrier Czech Airlines has announced layoffs in an effort to keep the troubled company afloat. The airline will let go around one third of its staff including dozens of pilots and stewards and ground personnel.

Fiat had decided to temporary suspend the production at the Pomigliano plant near Naples. Some 1,950 of the plant's 4,500 workers have already been on so-called solidarity contracts since March, under which they agree to work less and are also paid less in exchange for workers retaining their jobs.

The trade union Unison is seeking to enlist one of the world’s biggest pension funds to put pressure on Care UK into paying a living wage to disability support workers in Doncaster.

The labour inspectorate has published a brochure that explains to workers the difference between a business trip and the posting of workers. In the brochure potential abuses are defined as the withholding of payment, the deduction of administrative costs and the refusal of a decent contract.

Mid-September, the government has made it known that it will increase public employees’ salaries by 3.5% starting from 1 November 2014 instead of 1 January 2015.

The labour inspectorate, in cooperation with the police, has cracked down on illegal work and hazardous working conditions, leading to the closure of several construction sites.

A public sector strike announced for September 19 was called off after assurances were made by President Anastasiades.

Two thirds of the unionised NHS workers in England voted to strike, announcing the NHS’s first pay strike in 32 years. Up to 88% of the balloted members indicated they would join the strike.

A large conference dedicated to the fight against undeclared labour took place in Vilnius. Several speakers (from the ILO and several European institutes) formulated proposals to deal with formalizing the informal economy, which in Europe often takes the form of undeclared work.

Forty-two miners have refused to leave the Cherno More Mine in Burgas and are staging an underground strike. The miners are demanding the company pay their salaries, which they haven’t received in two months.

Some 14,000 Brussels police officers participated in a protest against the abolition of a special arrangement allowing them to retire in their fifties. Police unions have threatened a national strike if the plan to increase the pension age to 52 will be implemented.

Registered taxi drivers in European, Canada, India and the USA have organised protests and met to discuss the growth of taxi app companies.

A large scale lobby action and protest by public services union Vpod has succeeded in blocking a looming 2% pay cut for city workers in Winterthur. The union’s campaign led to the proposal being rejected by the city council.

Pilots and flight attendants of airline company Tarom went on a spontaneous strike on 16 September. Three days after the start of the strike, the transport ministry, Tarom management and trade unions were meeting to discuss the situation.

Data of the Central Statistical Bureau show that, compared to the 2nd quarter of 2013, hourly labour costs in the 2nd quarter of 2014 grew by 8.6%, reaching 6.58 euro.

Government officials, trade union leaders and employers have failed to agree on a hike of minimal wage by CZK 700. Despite employer objections, the ministry of labour and social affairs announced on 15 September that it will be raising the minimum wage.

Hotel and catering workers in Granada have been on strike for two weeks to protest against reduced wages and lack of job security. Despite employers’ threats that contracts of striking workers will not be renewed, the workers continue to strike, picket and protest.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) and Swedish based H&M have forged a unique partnership to promote sustainable global supply chains in the garment industry.

In a document that was leaked to the newspaper Les Echos the MEDEF employers association came up with controversial proposals how to increase jobs. The trade unions opposed the suggestion from the country's main employers' association to cut the number of holidays, increase the hours that workers put in each week and pay below the minimum wage.

Over 5800 glass workers in ten factories of the Sisecam group have a new collective agreement. The agreement was reached after a long struggle.

Workers of the Lisbon metro have gone on strike over recently approved salary cuts for civil servants. The workers went on strike on September 10, staying away from work between 5am and 11 am.

Employment grew in information and communication by 12.2 %, wholesale by 7.8 %, selected market services by 7.7 %, food and beverage service activities by 7.5 %, industry by 1.7 %, and in accommodation by 1.6 %.

The workers’ strike at Autogrill service stations in Thuringia and Bavaria, reported in the May 2014 newsletter, has led to an agreement. In April, the workers went on indefinite strike to conclude a standard general wage agreement with better working conditions.

Construction workers at a new tower complex in the Mecidiyeköy area of Istanbul held a successful protest action against unsafe working conditions after ten colleagues died when an elevator plunged from the 32nd floor on September 6.

Airline company Finnair has announced its intention of replacing its own personnel with rental employees from the Far East. In the first phase of the changes cabin crews on flights to Hong Kong and Singapore will be outsourced to OSM Aviation.

Workers at the Fiat factory in Kragujevac have had three non-working days early September and are expected to have more non-working days as the company plans to temporarily close its factory to adjust to lower demand.

For security reasons workers at the AkzoNobel plant MEB have postponed a planned strike. The reason for the delay is that workers want to guarantee a safe phasing out of chlorine production, including for customers. The demand of the workers in this industrial action is a 10% pay rise.

The trade union confederation ZSSS underlined at a press conference that the country needs to improve its administration system as regards migrant workers. Exploitation of migrant workers is still an ongoing problem. In many cases employers send migrant workers to do a job abroad and when the work is completed and the person comes to collect the wage, they either do not get paid at all, or receive much less money than previously agreed.

Trade unions, active in the hotel branch, are complaining about exploitation practices in this branch. Whilst the hotels are exploiting migrant workers, the local workforce is really suffering due to attitude in the tourism sector to favour cheap foreign labour.

PWC published a wage report. Despite the increase in the minimum wage, which was twice increased in the last 12 months, salaries in the private sector registered only a modest growth in 2014.

Oil workers at the Polar Pioneer rig are confronted with a downsizing process because the market is not developing in the way thought previously. In addition to redundancies, some workers will be offered other jobs, but in a more junior position.

About 2,000 police, firefighters and coast guards have held a peaceful anti-austerity protest in the northern city of Thessaloniki, on the eve of a visit by prime minister Samaras. The trade unions that organised the protest are angry at pay cuts and government plans to merge their pension funds under a major pension reform.

The Prison Offices Association (POA) served notice of industrial action on the Irish Prison Service. Prison officers at two of the country's largest prisons are to begin work stoppages later this month in a dispute over staffing levels.

During a conference attention was paid to the growing problem with the shadow economy. It was reported that the shadow economy represents nearly a third of the country’s total GDP, which is well-above one and a half times the EU average.

The social partners in construction have initiated the ‘fair prices initiative’ that aims to encourage debate and establish dialogue among participants of the process of public procurement and politically responsible bodies and individuals as well as to interrupt neglect, silence and tolerance by the public contracting authorities.

The decision of Doosan Infracore to close its excavator factory and parts distribution facility in Frameries, with the loss of up to 313 jobs, was met with surprise from the works council.

An analysis of the Labour Force Survey by the trade union confederation TUC shows that the number of people who count as underemployed – people working part-time because they can’t get a full-time job, or wanting more hours in their current job – has increased for both employees and the self-employed.

According to a report from the ‘Comité de conjoncture’, which analyses employment indicators, 16 firms applied for state funding to reduce working hours and save costs.

The trade unions have stated that they are extremely worried about the treatment of workers in the tourism industry. Unions around the country have had to deal with reports of employees filing grievances, mostly about being paid unfairly.

Economic institute GKI published a report on the economic outlook. In the first half of 2014 employment mounted by 5.5% including those employed in public workfare schemes and by about 2.5% without them.

Following an interview in which the social affairs and health minister questioned how many people actually earn less than 2,600 euros per month, the JHL trade union met with the minister to explain ‘what life is like for those in low-paid jobs’.

The Wages and Salaries Statistics Survey reported in the 2nd quarter an average monthly gross wage of 1,023 euro, an increase of 4.8% year on year. Average hourly gross wages were 6.21 euro and increased 8.8% compared to the same quarter of 2013.

Two researchers have formulated serious question marks with regard to the trade impact studies that are used to ‘motivate’ the negotiations between the EU and the United States in the frame of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

A recent analysis from the think-tank Cevea shows that income inequality is on the rise. The analysis shows that the wealthiest one percent of Danes – about 46,000 individuals – own nearly one third of the country’s total wealth. The gap is increasing.

In the middle of a political crisis in which the country is being governed by a caretaker government, its caretaker Minister of Labour and Social Policy has opened up the debate about the minimum wage. Minister Hristoskov said the minimum wage could be increased from BGN 340 to BGN 400 without the business sector experiencing negative impact.

According to a report, more than 14,000 Slovenians regularly work in Austria, with around half commuting daily across the border, an increase with 2,500 during the past 12 months. The main motives for people crossing the border to seek work are a lack of jobs at home and higher earnings.

An amended Labour Court Recommendation on a cost cutting plan for the railway company was rejected in a ballot. The plan included temporary pay cuts for 28 months ranging from 1.7% to 6.1%.

The proportion of workers aged 21 to 30 who are now classed as low paid has more than tripled over the past four decades. Too many low-pay, low-skill and low-productivity jobs in low-investment workplaces are hampering the chances of a recovery.

The Portuguese and British trade unions signed a co-operation (28 August), aimed at ensuring Portuguese migrant workers in the UK can join unions and enforce their rights at work.

Over the last five years, the airline dismissed eight trade union leaders. The Civil Aviation Secretaries of the international and European trade unions ITF and ETF are demanding the reinstatement of the dismissed union leader in a joint letter to the President of LOT Polish Airlines.

The number of social security claimants has risen by 8 thousand to 434 thousand in the second quarter of 2014.

According to figures from the statistical office ISTAT, the unemployment in the south is twice as high as compared to the north or the centre of the country. Youth unemployment still peaks at 41.5%.

In an effort to maintain their early retirement scheme pilots at Lufthansa's budget carrier Germanwings staged a six-hour strike. The scheme allows pilots to retire at 55 and still receive up to 60% of their pay until state pension payments start.

Since the austerity, hospitals take no responsibility for the heavily understaffed Basic Emergency Services (SUB). Unions say many nurses work 16 hour days for 15 or 16 days in a row to staff the units. The participation in a 24-hour strike to protest against long working hours, often without intervals.

Trade unions representing the pilots have announced a week of strike between September 15 and 22, as part of a running dispute with the company over its strategy to compete against low-cost airlines. Pilots say they there is a complete lack of dialogue over the reorganisation of the airline.

Based on the collective agreement for the commercial sector shop assistants are entitled to a 5% pay supplement when they use more than one language ‘almost daily’ in the course of their normal daily customer service.

Many are seeking work abroad as cost of living continues to increase and many people cannot make ends meet with their wages.

Staff of the National Theatre will receive a modest pay raise of 3.5% as of 1 January 2015. The employees have welcomed the pay hike, but also indicated that they will remain underpaid.

Statistics Sweden for the 2nd quarter of 2014: number of employed = an increase of 1.2%, private sector employed persons = increase by 1.1%. Gross pay increased in total by 4.3% during the second quarter.

Transport workers have organised actions at several IKEA stores in the Netherlands and Belgium, accusing social dumping. The Belgian transport trade union BTB and FNV Bondgenoten in the Netherlands claim that IKEA is bringing in cheap labour from eastern European countries to transport their products.

Meat inspectors at the Food Standards Agency (FSA) are to stage two four-hour strikes in a row over pay. The move follows a ballot earlier this month, voted by 63% in favour of strike action, over an imposed pay offer of 0.75%.

Trade union GMB has described an offer of compensation between £4,000 and £100,000 for blacklisted construction workers as grossly inadequate. They have been denied work for years as a result of being blacklisted for union activities or raising health and safety concerns.

Workers at Madrid's Adolfo Suárez Barajas airport have called a strike for the last weekend of August to protest the privatisation of the state-owned airport operator AENA.

The government’s decision to significantly reduce social security contributions for new self-employed workers has encouraged thousands of people to work for themselves. Over 267,000 people have particularly embraced a measure that allows them to pay €53 a month for half a year, compared with the regular rate of nearly €260.

Carmaker Škoda Auto wants to hire some 800 employees for its plant in Mladá Boleslav. The agreement on employment signed with the unions last year guarantees jobs to people who are interested in raising their skills and educating themselves.

Eurofound has analysed several aspects of working conditions. The resulting report aims to identify occupations and groups of individuals experiencing relatively lower levels of earnings, job and career prospects, poor working time and intrinsic job quality.

Data on pay and employment: paid employment, average monthly net earnings, the registered unemployment rate, youth unemployment, etc...

Improvement of the pay for teachers will remain one of the most burning issues in education for the months to come.

Trade union SAFE came to an agreement with oil service companies, calling off a strike that would have affected a unit of Baker Hughes. Some 89 oil workers would have walked off the job if the talks had failed. Collective agreements cover about 6,000 workers employed at oil service firms.

The powers of the politically-appointed Media Council still exist. The OSF report claims that the power of the broadcast media arm of the Media Council, is ‘absolute’ and ‘unprecedented in other European democracies.’ The Modified labour legislation, has further weakened the bargaining power of journalists’ union.

The Constitutional Court struck down a government measure that would impose a levy on better-off pensioners, and rejected part of a of legislation that would impose pay cuts on public sector employees on more than €1,500 a month in the years to come.

Statistical office figures: unemployment rate end June 2014 = 11.2%; youth unemployment (persons aged 15-24) rate stood at 21.3%.

According to the TUC the jobs being created are low paid, insecure and could lead to a recovery being built on sand. Any fall in unemployment is to be welcomed, but working people are not feeling the benefits of recovery.

Women and mothers of young children, as well as women approaching retirement age are among the most disadvantaged groups on the labour market.

Women's salaries are, on the average, about 17% lower than men's salaries; even if they work the same jobs as men. The proportion of women in the country is one of the largest in Europe.

Two Condor Ferries workers have taken the firm to a tribunal over employment rights. They are arguing all St Malo-based seafarers should have the same package of benefits as anyone who lives in France.

A survey of business leaders has revealed that more than half of them expect employees to answer their email and phone calls after normal business hours; a frightening development that further blurs the lines between work time and free time.

A strike that began with 36 Union of Education of Norway (UEN) teachers at one school in Bergen is about to explode in size as 5,500 additional teachers from 130 secondary schools will join the labour action.

Trade unions have reacted favourably to indications by the minister for Public Expenditure and Reform that collective negotiations in the public sector may be restored in 2015. Since 2009, the public sector has been subject to pay freezes and across the board cuts as a part of the Croke Park Agreement.

Union demands like the criminalisation of underpayment and the prohibition of shopping around for collective agreements have not been picked up by the employers.

As part of the planned merger with Abu Dhabi carrier Etihad; redundancies have been a major hurdle, with Etihad asking for 2,171 job cuts. In mid-July: partial agreement on laying off 1,635 workers out of a workforce of some 12,800 has been reached.

The Fire Brigades Union FBU has been in negotiations with the government for three years in an attempt to avoid the implementation of proposals that they say would see firefighters paying more, working longer and receiving less.

Workers at a Kimberly Clark plant reached a settlement after two particularly major demands of the strikers were accepted by the local management. Particular regulations have been made for lower-wage earners which has brought more equality in wage scales.

The employment situation: number of registered unemployed people inched up in July for the first time in six months, although the national jobless rate remained at 2.9%. Youth unemployment increased to 11.3%.

The national statistics office Statec is expecting the next indexation of wages to take place in the first quarter of 2015, with inflation to stay below 1% this year. For 2014, Statec estimates that inflation will be at 0.9%.

Results of the regular economic survey for the 2nd quarter of 2014: companies that participated react rather optimistic about the economic outlook.

An article describing poor perspectives and the financial and psychological struggle that comes with being older and unemployed. Experts say that the shock has been so severe that older workers are unlikely to ever hold full-time jobs again.

PKC Estonia, workers’ representatives informed that factory in Haapsalu will close by year end, resulting in 347 local jobs being terminated or transferred. The plant in Haapsalu manufactures wiring components.

IT company KMD announced the cutting of 120 positions. The job cuts – motivated by dropping prices and greater competition – will be scattered throughout the company.

Employees of Larnaca bus company Zinonas cut short a 24-hour strike after the confirmation that they will receive in full their wages for July.

The central employers’ organisation has stated that the fund of gross salaries in the public sector must be reduced by 25%. The organisation said that it is better to do it now and avoid bankruptcy, than to afterwards cut salaries by 40%.

A collective agreement for academic staff at the University of Malta and the Junior College for the period between 2014 and 2018 was settled. The agreement places salary increases for academic staff in parallel with those of other civil service workers.

The AS Tallink Grupp management reported that changes are necessary to improve the company’s operational efficiency and profitability. The ferry M/S Isabelle Silja Europa will become the new ferry hub to Australia, starting with August.

Korean owned tire maker Hankook has been relentless in its union busting. The firing of a local union president became the last violation in a series of totally unusual and extraordinary examples of the bad industrial relations practice for years exercised by the Hankook management.

Statistics Austria compiled an updated Index of Agreed Minimum Wages (basis: 2006 annual average = 100). The index is a key evaluation criterion for wage and salary negotiations.

The Institute of Economic Research (EKI) has calculated that the real wages in the country have increased 279% since 1993.

According to figures released by the Statistics Office the country has the fourth lowest unemployment rate in the EU, after the Netherlands, Germany and Austria. In 2013 the Czech Republic had an average 7% unemployment rate, compared with the EU average of 11%.

The trade union Efling, active in hospitality services, has criticized the exploitation of restaurant workers. Many restaurant workers receive one hourly wage for any shifts, regardless of the day or time. This pay is known as a jafnaðarlaun, a form of offsetting wages.

The Cabinet has approved the drafting of new legislation to reinstate Registered Employment Agreements (REAs), which set pay rates for certain sectors, on a constitutionally secure basis.

Air France had to cancel some of its short and medium-haul flights from airports after several unions called their ground workers to go on strike over work conditions and salaries. Workers are calling for better work conditions and salaries and increased flight security.

A report of the national statistical office documents the evolution of the workforce and notably the labour migration with facts and figures. As a result the country has to face an increased ageing of the population. Up to three quarter of the migrants leave for Italy and Spain.

The Ministry of Labour and Pension System announced earlier in 2014 proposals to modify working time legislation that will make internal organisation of work easier for employers. The aim is to help them cut operating costs by being able to respond quickly to short-term fluctuations in orders.

The train companies RENFE and ADIF have been forced to cancel more than 500 trains due to strikes by the CCOO, SF and CGT. The three trade unions motivated the strikes by a lack of personnel.

The Polish Confederation of Employers of the Building Industry (Polski Związek Pracodawców Budownictwa PZPB) and the Confederation of the Polish Crafts (Związek Rzemiosła Polskiego ZRP) and trade unions Solidarnosc and ZZ Budowlani have signed an agreement setting a minimum wage in the construction sector.

Retailer Hema no longer wants to pay employees for taking short breaks. Workers’ hours will be expanded to make up for the lost hours.

The bureau for Economic Policy Analysis CPB investigated the anatomy of older workers’ wages. In the public sector, CPB finds no evidence of a wage cushion.

The Bundesbank that historically has been a strong advocate of wage restraint has welcomed above-inflation wage increases in some sectors, with euro zone inflation stuck below 1% and consumer prices rising just 1.0% in June in Europe's biggest economy.

Ninety percent of workers of the Eni oil and gas group have participated in a one-day strike to protest against plans to close or convert some of its unprofitable refineries.

Steel workers at ThyssenKrupp Terni plant just outside of Rome have gone on strike over job cuts. ThyssenKrupp has announced it intends to lay off 550 workers, representing a fifth of the workforce at the plant.

The prime minister announced that a deal had been reached and that the wages of all state employees will increase by at least 3.5% from January 2015.

According to a report on the cost of living from the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CITUB) 23.3% of the households live below the poverty threshold.

A new collective agreement at Georg Fischer Hakan Plastik was negotiated under harsh conditions and finally came about after a long fight and an international solidarity campaign in alliance with IndustriALL.

A first round of talks between LuxairGroup and trade unions OGBL, LCGB and ngl-snep at the national conciliation office has failed. The trade unions report that Luxair refuses to make any real wage offer, being only interested in an indefinite wage freeze despite a 1.9 million benefit in 2013.

An analysis of Eurofound describes the labour market situation of young people in Europe, focusing in particular on their school-to-work transition, while also monitoring their more general transition to adulthood.

Trade unions organised a general strike to protest against the mounting pressure on wages and working conditions in the country.

Cosco Pacific workers at Pireaus dock have earned a seat at the negotiation table after threatening a three-day strike. The dock workers are angry that their labour contracts do not allow them to unionise.

Workers of the Avtomagistrali-Tcherno More construction company have started an ongoing protest. They first staged a peaceful protest due to unpaid salaries for April and May.

Members of the Finnish Electrical Workers’ Union working for railway company VR Track have gone back to work, but announced new strikes might be organised. The workers, who fall under the labour agreement for railway workers demand to be treated equal to electric installation specialists under the Electrical Workers’ Union collective agreement.

Trade Union Unite is taking legal action against Northampton General Hospital (NGH) for replacing striking workers by agency workers. The hospital’s haematologists have been on strike for three weeks over an imposed £6,000 ($10,272) cut in out-of-hours pay and a proposal to double their night-time shift patterns.

Weeks after being recognised as the plant’s official union, Basin-Is reached a collective agreement that will cover all 200 workers at the Amcor Tobacco Packaging Izmir plant.

The 64 unions representing energy workers have reached a new collective agreement with energy company Energias de Portugal (EDP Group). The agreement covers some 6,700 employees working in 23 companies controlled by the EDP Group.

With negotiations are still ongoing a labour dispute that saw a cargo ship with 18 Romanian sailors and their Russian captain stuck in Canada for two weeks without food and water has been partially resolved.

Negotiators of employers and trade unions have reached a collective agreement that will run from 1 September 2014 until 31 December 2015 if approved by the union members. The agreement includes a wage increase of 1.25% from 1 September 2014 and another 0.75% from 1 June 2015.

The Journalists Union of Turkey (TGS) and BirGün newspaper have reached their second collective agreement. The agreement includes a 12% wage increase, a child allowance of 500 TRY (€ 175), marriage or partnership allowance of 500 TRY bonus and protection against harassment at workplace.

In a statement published in the Financial Times the metal workers trade union and the confederation LO declared their commitment to an ambitious agreement on the TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership).

The calculation for the annual price indication, based on the price development of a series of services and goods (called the ‘index-basket’), has been updated and modernised.

Public sector workers organised a nationwide 24 hour strike to protest against falling purchasing power due to pay freezes. The public sector workers received their last pay rise in 2010 and have seen their real wage deteriorate.

Trade unions have held mass protests against further pay cuts and the privatisation of water. The unions also demanded an increase in the minimum wage and a clear commitment to the 35-hour working week.

Seventy workers at Sony Online Store lost their jobs after the company broke off the agreement with the ManPower group. A number of temp workers received new contracts, but 42 workers were dismissed without a social plan and on minimum benefits.

The 75,000 steel workers in north western Germany have a new collective agreement. The collective agreement foresees a 2.3% wage increase from July and another 1.7% from May 2015.

The board of the trade union in the energy sector will meet to decide whether to call a general strike over growing unhappiness about conditions in the sector, especially at the state-owned power group HSE.

Two years of discussions have led to proposals for a ‘dual’ approach of education at schools, which calls for secondary school students to gain practical work experience in specific fields with companies that have signed an agreement with their school.

The report ‘Quality of Life. Social Capital, Poverty and Social Exclusion in Poland’ contains statistical information that allows a reliable diagnosis of many aspects of the quality of life.

After two years of protests, Prime Minister Rømer acknowledged that a comprehensive reform of both the quality and working conditions in the education sector needs to be negotiated with trade unions.

With one in five people unemployed and pensioners outnumbering those in work, the country is struggling with a record budget deficit and could sink into bankruptcy, analysts say.

A large minority of youngsters (39%) believes that the possibilities of getting an appealing job position are ‘poor’, according to a study conducted by the Youth Competence Center. The qualification good was substantially lower (16%).

Court hearings in six cities were reduced to a minimum as lawyers took to the streets on 7 July. The lawyers are protesting against a new tax on legal fees that is supposed to finance legal aid in the future.

The Guardian reports that declassified files at the National College for Studying the Securitate Archives (CNSAS) in Romania show that furniture giant IKEA agreed to be overcharged for Romanian-made products and some of these funds were handed over to the Securitate, the infamous secret service.

Thousands of workers have taken part in a rally in Madrid to protest at the arrest and possible imprisonment of several hundred workers for taking part in strike action.

Hundreds of striking artists, actors and technicians took to the streets of the southern French city in a silent march to publicise their battle over proposed changes to their unemployment benefits.

A publication in German (with an English summary) provides topical figures about the labour market. In 2013 (yearly average) the number of employed persons (ILO-definition) was 4 175 200.

The parliament's lower house approved a 5% point cut in social security taxes for employers that is intended to boost economic growth but will leave a gap in the budget, going against a recommendation from the International Monetary Fund.

Workers from the Public Power Corporation (PPC) have started organising rolling strikes, leading to power cuts throughout the country.

The parliament has passed an act that strengthens the autonomy of the social partners in collective bargaining. The act (called Tarifautonomiestärkungsgesetz) introduces a statutory minimum hourly wage of €8.5 in 2015.

Union leaders from Britain, France and Germany held talks in Berlin with colleagues from Poland, the Czech Republic and the United States to discuss the rise of Amazon in Europe and how to engage with the online retailer on job security, warehouse working conditions and low pay.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation's minimum income standard (MIS), now in its sixth year, has become an essential, annual benchmark of what is thought to be the reasonable financial underpinnings of a modest life; not starvation rations, just sufficient to achieve a decent standard of living in the 21st century.

A court in Istanbul has ruled that a company that employed an unregistered worker from Türkmenistan, but disowned him after he died in a work-related incident, must pay a record amount of compensation to his family. The court found the main contractor liable.

Long after it expired (the end of 2012) the collective bargaining partners in construction renewed the sectoral collective agreement that covers approximately 800,000 workers. In addition to a wage increase that starts at €40 for the basic level, it provides for a reform of the sector’s paritarian organisations.

The High Court has lifted the three interim injunction orders granted to Greyhound Household Ltd in June. The decision means that management cannot interfere with official union pickets or prevent workers from describing its actions as a lockout.

An English version of the annual report of the official statistical office is available online. The section Labour, Earnings and Income summarises data on wages and labour costs, (un)employment, labour migration and other relevant items.

Due to the reopening of the talks the trade unions in the national electricity supply company HEP have postponed their strike announced earlier on. The protest was initiated as workers feared their rights were endangered with the new contracts they were offered.

Food giant Nestlé has become the first leading manufacturer to commit to paying the living wage. The firm already pays at least the living wage to its 8,000 staff but the move will benefit contract employees and agency workers.

Local government workers will join up to two million council workers and teaching staff in taking strike action on Thursday 10 July against the government public sector austerity pay policies after voting overwhelmingly against the ‘insulting’ 1% pay offer.

On July 1 2014, the minimum wage for a single worker without children will be net 891 Liras monthly, which is approximately 306 euro. The country’s minimum wage is updated twice annually.

Sergio Marchionne, chief executive officer of parent Fiat SpA made a surprise return to Italy from the U.S. to solve a labour dispute at the Grugliasco car factory near Turin.

Workers are to take to the streets in another of hundreds of protests over austerity measures over the last four years, at the same time the government is moving to restore the pay of police, military and uniformed officers to obey a court order.

Spanish workers who emigrated and, once in the so-called ‘German paradise’, found themselves in jobs with abusive conditions or salaries clearly below those paid to local workers are getting organised.

Railway workers trade union ACOD/CGSP has called for a 24 hour strike because the network is so understaffed that workers are unable to take days off.

The bank UniCredit has reached a deal with unions to cut 2,400 jobs in the first stage of workforce reductions foreseen in the bank's 2013-18 restructuring plan.

After two weeks of negotiations and two-hour strikes that caused chaos at the country's airports the trade unions representing the air traffic controllers and the management of the air traffic control service Belgocontrol have reached an agreement on (amongst other things) conditions for retirement.

After several bargaining rounds the management of the national postal service (Österreichische Post AG) and the postal and telecom trade union GPF concluded a collective agreement with on an average a 2.2% wage increase with a guaranteed minimum of €40 a month (for the lowest wages this means an increase of 3.24%).

Glass workers at Sisecam went on strike after wage negotiations broke down. Soon after the government decided to postpone the strike at some of the factories connected to Şişecam for 60 days … as it ‘is considered disruptive of public health and national security’.

Employees of Veolia, operating trains in Southern Sweden, went on indefinite strike, effectively halting transport in the region and stranding over 75,000 passengers. The workers called the strike after they were fired only to be re-hired under worse working conditions.

Dockers in Mosjøen are in dispute over claims that their employer, Mosjøen Industri Terminal (MIT), a subcontractor at Alcoa's facility, has failed to pay money owed to them for their work and that they have been illegally locked out since early May 2014.

In a large article the pros and cons of cooperatives led by the trade unions are treated. The author was invited by several organisations, including trade union IG Metall to give an answer to such questions as: Why should trade unions and cooperatives partner together?

Up to 2,500 older workers will leave PSA Peugeot Citroen in 2014-15 under a deal struck with the trade unions in 2013. Peugeot, which employs some 70,000 people in France, has pledged to cut payroll costs to 12.5% of group revenue by 2016 from 15.1% in 2013.

Trade unions and employers' federations have signed an agreement with the main clients, Fennovoima and Rusatom Overseas companies, regarding common rules for the future construction work on a nuclear power plant in Pyhäjoki.

A green investment fund created by the government will be able to lend money to companies that intend to invest in environment-friendly projects.

The official statistical office came with wage figures for 2012. Gross average annual earnings per worker decrease a 0.8% as compared with 2011 to 22,726.44 euro in 2012 (25,682.05 euro for men, and 19,537.33 euro for women).

The Labour Relations Commission (LRC) has invited IMPACT and South Dublin County Council to talks after 600 IMPACT members took strike action in a dispute over the unilateral imposition of pay cuts.

Trade union PDSZ stated after talks with the national board of teachers NPK that a survey should be conducted to assess the workload of teachers, and that the current teacher qualification system should be reconsidered.

The third biggest air traffic controller union, Unsa-ICNA had planned a six day strike from 24 June onwards. After talks between union leaders and the government the strike was cancelled.

In a dispute over a proposed wage cut (of 500 euro for some parts of the workforce) drivers and terminal workers of the national postal carrier Itella have organised a walk-out.

A green investment fund created by the government will be able to lend money to companies that intend to invest in environment-friendly projects. Aside from the fund, a green innovation pool will also be created to strengthen small and medium-sized enterprises innovation.

Strikes by performers, actors and technicians are threatening to shut down some of the leading arts events, including the renowned Avignon festival. Part-time and temporary workers are angry at plans to reduce their right to extra benefits and social security, aimed at cutting government debt.

The planned labour reform that passed the upper house of the parliament with a large majority has to provide temporary and freelance workers with greater protection, ensure equal treatment and compulsory procedures in redundancy and tackle ‘sham’ employment arrangements more effectively.

The results of a recently conducted workplace survey, in which both employers and employees indicated their preferences and priorities regarding office environment and work space, reveal important controversies.

After negotiations between platform workers and the oil companies already broke down, onshore workers broke off talks too. Both processes moved into public mediation, the last step before strike action can be taken.

Trade unions and employers in the dairy industry have reached a collective agreement that will run retroactively from 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2016. The 10,000 employees in the sector will receive a 2% pay hike from 1 April 2014 onward and a second 2% increase from 1 April 2015.

Talks between airline Luxair and unions for a collective working agreement have failed, after the latter decided to walk out on the latest round of negotiations. The OGBL, LCGB and ngl-snep trade unions have complained that Luxair is unwilling to acknowledge its workers despite a 1.9 million euro benefit last year, for example by wanting to freeze wages.

On 12 June 2014 Parliament voted in favour of ratifying the ILO convention on domestic workers (C189).

A 1997 agreement between Danone and global food, farm and hotel workers union IUF that regulates major employment changes anywhere in the world, is being put to the test as Danone announces its intention to close three plants in Germany, Hungary and Italy. In Hungary, the cuts are expected to lead to the layoff of 155 workers, while total job cuts in all three countries would amount to 325 jobs.

After the airline SAS reported over one billion kronor in losses for the second quarter of 2014 the management stated that at least 300 employees will be dismissed. The measures are expected to have an impact of one billion kronor in the financial year of 2014/2015.

Data released in the Quarterly Survey of Labour Costs indicate that average incomes fell during the first three months of 2014.

Trade union UHM has organised a two-hour strike in a dispute over becoming the sole recognised union representing the workers of the Malta Public Transport Services (MPTS).

Teachers from all over the country organised a protest in Vilnius on 18 June, demanding better pay, working conditions and education. The teachers demanded a long term plan to raise investment in education to 6% of GDP by 2020 and to start raising wages from 2015 onwards.

A strike of Icelandair mechanics was called off on 19 June after Parliament was recalled from summer recess in order to vote on a law banning the strike in the public interest.

Trade union, employer and government representatives have announced they intent to start talks on the rules governing the take-up of annual leave. Currently, schedules for the annual leave for the next year must be published by employers before the end of the current year and employees are not allowed to transfer more than 10 days of unused paid leave days to the next year.

An investigation by the Clean Clothes Campaign in ten eastern EU member states, including Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia, showed that working conditions are sometimes worse than in China and Indonesia, busting myths about the ‘Made in Europe’ label.

An Eiro report explores the impact of the crisis on wage-setting mechanisms (based on separate reports for the 28 EU Member States plus Norway) and examines the impact of the EU’s new economic governance regime – specifically the requirements of the country-specific recommendations and Memoranda of Understanding.

Over hundred employees of Tyneside Safety Glass went on a seven day strike starting from 16 June. The workers at two sites of the company that makes laminated glass for bus windows and windscreens voted in favour of industrial action after rejecting what they called a “paltry and insulting” pay offer.

According to Statistics Estonia, the average monthly gross wages and salaries increased 7.0% in 2013, compared to 2012, and the average hourly gross wages and salaries increased 7.3%.

After nine and a half years since the robust pension reform and the launch of the so-called second, private pension pillar, the rules for paying pensions from this pillar have finally been set.

KLM has announced an austerity plan to cut costs. The Dutch management of the Air France KLM group stated that it wants to come up in September 2014 with a next round of ‘working more cleverly and flying more efficiently.

The European Network of Migrant Women [ENoMW] drew the attention of the EU institutions and all national and European stakeholders to the situation and treatment of domestic workers within the member states, as well as their contribution to European society on the occasion of International Day of Domestic Workers.

Madrid’s national court has ordered Coca-Cola to rehire 821 workers it had laid off and to pay them their outstanding salaries. According to the court the US drinks giant had undermined workers right to strike and not adequately informed or negotiated with staff. A spokesperson of the food workers trade union of CC.OO stated that the company had violated fundamental workers’ rights.

Trade unions CGT and Sud called a national rail strike. The strike comes as Parliament discusses a draft bill proposing a merger of the two companies operating the railway system, the SNCF and RFF, and to allow competition on the tracks.

The Mandate trade union members in Marks & Spencer voted overwhelmingly in favour of a new set of proposals. The dispute between Marks & Spencer workers and their employer was over the company seeking cost cutting measures.

Cyprus Airways plan to sell its remaining slot at Heathrow Airport has led to harsh criticism from the trade union side. The airline’s pilots union PASYPI is dead set against selling the remaining Heathrow operation, warning that this could jeopardise the airline’s long-term viability.

Trade union RMT confirmed a fourth wave of industrial action across Heathrow Express after the company sabotaged ACAS talks and resorted to issuing blanket threats to sack hundreds of staff if they don’t call off their fight over a package of multi-million pound cuts which amount to an all-out assault on pay, jobs and safety.

Nearly 1,100 workers of clothing maker Aha Mura will become officially jobless. All hope is not lost, as 400 will be able to return to their sawing machines at least until the end of July to finish the existing orders.

Trade union Siptu and management of pharmaceutical company Bausch + Lomb, the single largest employer in the South East, are in crisis talks as management announced its intention to lay off 200 employees and cut wages of the remaining staff by 20%.

Wages have increased 1.9% on average from the previous quarter according to the quarterly wage index in 1st quarter 2014. From the previous year the increase was 5.5% on average, 5.7% in the private sector and 4.9% in the public sector.

A vast majority of employees of the semi-state power company (EAC) have resumed their struggle against the privatisation of the company by the government, with mass appeals to the Supreme Court requesting the repeal of the Council of Ministers’ decision slating it for privatisation.

The management of Delhaize, one of the largest retail chains in the country, announced during an extraordinary meeting of the works council its intention to implement major changes to its organisation that could lead to the dismissal of 2,500 workers in the next 3 years as part of the company’s strategy for 2015-2017.

Statistics Austria has produced the Austrian Economic Atlas, a straightforward and well organised tool for gaining an overview of the structure of the economy. The databank is providing a comprehensive package of key economic and social data information about the economy online (available in German only).

Advertising producer M&T Reklam began union busting after trade union Birlesik Metal-Is, an IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, conducted a successful organising campaign at both plants belonging to the group.

After a consultation period in which no objections were received, the Parliament has declared the collective agreement in the IT sector legally binding. The Parliament’s decision means that all workers in the IT sector now have the right to the pay hike that what previously negotiated.

Management and the cabin crew trade union IMPACT have accepted a Labour Court recommendation on the dispute over rosters.

Dock workers at the HaminaKotka harbour and everywhere else in Finland have returned to their jobs after a day-long strike brought the sea ports to a standstill.

The Food and Allied Workers' Trade Union NNF and the Confederation of Danish Industry developed a joint rescue plan for the facility in Rønne on the Danish island of Bornholm.

The central statistical office has published the annual figures for 2013 with sections on the labour market, the economy and the living conditions of the population among others.

The trade unions OGBL and LCGB have called on the help of the national mediation office after negotiations with Lux-Airport for a new collective working agreement failed.

Media employees went on strike to express solidarity for ERT state broadcaster workers one year after Greek State television was shut down by the government, on June 11 last year.

The governor of the central bank stated in front of Parliament that the idea proposed by banker Indrek Neivelt to raise the minimum wage to 1,000 euros by 2018 is unrealistic.

Fifty people lose their jobs in the eastern Croatian city of Osijek after the corn seeds factory DuPont Pioneer closes down.

A Eurofound report examines the concept of undeclared work, the characteristics of those supplying goods and services on an undeclared basis, the types of work activities that are undeclared, and income levels from undeclared work, including the extent of the practice of offering cash in hand.

Airline Alitalia is expected to lay off as many as 2,200 as a part of an alliance with Gulf carrier Etihad Airways. The heavily indebted company Alitalia has been negotiating with Etihad to save the company before it runs out of cash in August.

All doctors at Sofia’s emergency care unit have resigned collectively to express their solidarity with the services’ head, who was dismissed by the health minister for mismanagement.

A new report by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung documents efforts by employers to undermine the right to strike guaranteed in ILO conventions.

In its annual report on wage developments in Europe, the European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO) finds that nominal wage increases in collectively agreed wages were lower in 2013 than in 2012.

The trade union UNIA and the Living At Home Association have negotiated a collective agreement in private care for the elderly in the German-speaking region. The agreement, which covers over 6000 employees, offers higher wages in a fast growing sector.

Representatives from the Autonomous Trade Unions of Serbia (SSSS) have said that they never agreed to any of the changes in the draft labour law, refuting rumours to the contrary. SSSS said it cannot support the law, which would weaken trade union rights and working conditions of their members.

Employees and the Board of Directors of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation (SRR) have clashed over a ban on external employees’ representatives in the SRR’s Administration Council. Currently, employees are allowed to elect two representatives to the council without restrictions.

Per 1 July a series of increases including higher minimum wages, prices and fines will become effective. The national minimum wage will increase from RON 850 to RON 900 (€ 205), the second increase in 2014.

The National Civil Aviation Workers Union (SINTAC) has announced an all-out strike that is scheduled to last from 18 to 28 June and disrupt all SATA flights to and between the nine Azores islands.

In an updated profile some specificities of the collective bargaining structure for the entire economy are described. The article illustrates the developments in the collectively agreed wages by the examples of the chemical sector, retail and civil services.

Rome’s police officers, social workers, teachers and municipal civil servants, organised by Fp-Cgil, Cisl-FP, Uil-Fpl and CSA, organised a common protest on 6 June.

Lengthy talks over workload and resulting health issues between trade union Ver.di and the Berlin based Charité hospital group have yielded an agreement on jobs.

Trade union Ver.di has called out strikes at more Amazon warehouses as the company continues to refuse to apply the correct collective agreement. In a long-running conflict that has seen dozens of strike actions, reported in this newsletter over the last years, Amazon pays its staff according to the collective agreement for logistics workers, whereas all other delivery services in the country correctly apply the collective agreement for retail and mail order workers.

Data compiled by the Central Statistical Bureau show that in the 1st quarter of 2014 average monthly gross wages and salaries, compared to the 1st quarter of 2013, increased by 7.7% from 689 euro to 742 euro.

Post office workers have until Wednesday 11th June to vote on a pay deal reached after months of industrial action and negotiations between trade union CWU and Post Office Ltd.

A draft federal law to set uniform national opening hours for shops is running into opposition from cantons, municipalities and trade unions representing store workers. The law would allow shops across the country to stay open on weekdays from 6am to 8pm and from 6am to 7pm on Saturdays.

Flights at Rome Fiumicino and Milan’s Malpensa and Linate airports were facing disruption resulting from a strike coordinated by the trade unions, including baggage handlers and staff working with airlines Alitalia and Easyjet.

The Youth Poverty Monitor 2014 reports that the country’s youth is having an increasingly hard time. Every fifth teenager lives in poverty or is on the borderline.

The trade union confederation CGTP staged a week of protests and strike action as a form of national action to fight for the improvement of the national minimum wage. The demand was to hike the minimum monthly wage by €30, from the current €485 to €515.

Aer Lingus cabin crew organised a 24-hour strike over rosters. Pickets were placed on Dublin, Cork and Shannon Airports and the cabin crew marched through Dublin Airport to Aer Lingus headquarters to hand in a letter to management outlining their position.

Around 6.5 million employees in the UK were trade union members in 2013. The level of overall union members was broadly unchanged from 2012, with a reduction of only 6,000 over the year (a 0.1% decline), but well below the peak of over 13 million in 1979. The overall number of employees increased between 2012 and 2013.

Hotel workers throughout the Balearic Islands are planning sit-in protests and possible strikes unless agreements can be reached over their working conditions and pay.

The trade union confederation KOZ is asking for an increase of the minimum wage to €400 per month. Their claim is that a person who works eight hours a day should not earn an amount that is below the poverty level.

Trade unions at the Slovak division of German carmaker Volkswagen called off a warning strike in Volkswagen's plant in Bratislava. A new collective agreement raises the basic salary 2.4% retroactively as of April 2014. Another pay rise of 2.3% is scheduled to take effect at the start of 2015. Employees will also get a bonus of 280 euros.

The level of unemployment fell from 13.5% to 13% in April. Analysts predict that with winter over, the level will continue to decrease, as an increasing number of seasonal jobs become available.

Two trade unions representing workers who operate oil drilling rigs reached a deal with the Norwegian Shipowners' Association, averting a strike after similar negotiations with other oil sector workers broke down in recent weeks. The unions were pleased with the overall financial settlement.

The social plan negotiations for the loss of 1230 jobs at the Philip Morris cigarette factory in Bergen op Zoom came to a halt. The social plan drafted by the management was rejected by the workforce that called for a strike on Wednesday 28 May.

Anticipating the adoption of legislative changes that will grant police officers and members of other disciplinary forces the right to join a union, the Malta Police Association announced it intends to become an independent union as soon as possible.

Although the economic indicators are relatively positive the employment outlook is still not promising. Government authorities granted 20 applications by companies to place workers under reduced working hours.

The real income of households dropped in 2013, according to the Statistical Office’s Standards of Living in 2013 survey that reflects the situation in 2012 and spring 2013.

The trade unions (FNV Bondgenoten and CNV Vakmensen) reached an agreement with the Employers’ organisation Cleaning and Office services (OSB) for a collective agreement in the cleaning sector after a long period of negotiations and strike actions that, according to an opinion poll, had a 70% public support.

The statistical office published the final employment figures for 2013 and the March 2014 data on average monthly earnings. After a serious fall of wages that started in 2011, wages stabilised (with seasonal differences) around 1,500 euros.

Hours before state and local government workers were due to initiate strike actions, negotiators reached two new collective agreements, with a third being expected soon.

Technicians working nationwide for the telecommunications group TDC laid down their tools. TDC and the trade union Dansk Metal, which is negotiating on behalf of the workers, acknowledged that they were very far apart on wage demands.

National airline Finnair is looking to cut costs to remain competitive. The management wants to start with subcontracting and the hire of cheap labour.

In the 1st quarter of 2014, the average monthly gross wages were 966 euro. Compared to the same period in 2013, the average monthly gross wages and salaries increased 7.3%.

A joint advice of the social partners on the reform of health and safety at the workplace has been transposed into legislation. The official journal published two royal decrees that bring within reach a multi-disciplinary policy of prevention at the workplace.

The statistical office GUS published the results of a survey on working conditions.

The governmental Office of Statistics published new analysis for the year 2013. The employment figures show that in manufacturing (mainly food and automobile services) and in general and financial services the perspective improved.

n the national economy (in companies employing at least 5 persons, budgetary and designated non-profit institutions) average earnings increased by 1.8% in the first quarter of 2014, compared to 2013.

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has ranked Greece amongst the worst countries to work in.

Since 16 April 2014 workers at Autogrill service stations in Hörselgau and Eisenach (Thuringia) and in Donautal, Rhön and Greding (Bavaria) have been taking indefinite strike action. The aim is to conclude a standard general wage agreement with better working conditions.

Municipal workers in Amsterdam staged a two-hour strike on 19 May to demand a new collective agreement with decent pay, clear employment agreements, steady jobs and more respect for their work.

Trade union leaders in Sicily threatened to call a general strike if as many as 30,000 workers on the regional government payroll do not receive months of unpaid back wages.

The Nurses' Association and the Union of Public Servants (SFR) have joined the public sector protests, organising two one-day pay strikes.

Destatis, the official statistical bureau, published figures that show that the population is getting older fast, but the number of workers over 60 is rapidly outstripping that increase.

An analysis of Eurostat shows that the state of the EU labour market in 2013 was determined by the economic crisis, as in previous years. The key EU figures did not improve: the figures either continued to show a negative trend (unemployment) or remained relatively stable compared with the year before (employment).

The proposal to introduce a minimum wage was rejected by 76% of voters in a referendum. Under the plan, employers would have had to pay workers a minimum 22 Swiss francs (about 18 euros) an hour.

Data from the statistical office ČSÚ reveal that 18% of working Czechs live in poverty since their low pay hardly suffices for their subsistence. Some professions are the most threatened with poverty, primarily unqualified workers, such as cashiers in supermarkets, cleaning ladies and security agency workers.

Security workers at Amsterdam Schiphol airport have initiated industrial action against indecent working conditions. Hundreds joined a manifestation whereas others wore protest badges on the job. The workers are protesting against insecure contracts, being made to work long hours without sufficient breaks and irregular pay and hours.

The government signed a deal with the trade unions and representatives of the home appliance maker Electrolux to stave off the threat of closure for one of the company's factories and to save 1,200 jobs.

The Turin Court of Appeal has condemned Fiat Industrial for anti-union behaviour. The case concerns a three year ongoing industrial conflict, reported in the October-December 2011 and August-September 2013 CBN newsletters, in which Fiat scrapped all labour contracts in its factories to reinstate the workers on longer shifts.

Tens of thousands of public sector workers joined the 15 May public sector strike to demand higher wages and an end to austerity. The strike was felt in schools, hospitals, airports, city transport, police stations and government buildings around the country.

Although net profit rose in the first quarter of 2014 from the same period a year earlier, thanks to returns on its investments, Zurich Insurance is continuing with a plan to cut hundreds of jobs in Switzerland and elsewhere.

A report by local government union Kommunal reveals that temporary workers employed at municipalities earn less than their permanently employed counter parts, as well as that their number is growing.

Employers’ organisations CEOE and CEPYME on the one hand, and trade unions CCOO and UGT on the other, have started negotiations over the framework agreement on pay.

Partners in collective bargaining concluded a collective agreement for the banking sector, after almost five months of negotiations.

Results of the Labour Force Survey conducted by the Central Statistical Bureau show that in the first quarter of 2014 there were 118.7 thousand unemployed persons aged 15-74, of which 15.5 thousand or 13% were young people aged 15-24.

Negotiations between pilots and Icelandair on a collective bargaining agreement were broken off. The International Transport Workers’ Federation stated: ‘The company has had tremendous success over the last four years, resulting in substantial executive bonuses and an excellent return on investment for shareholders’.

The government gave itself new veto powers over foreign industrial takeover bids, which will allow it to control the fortunes of, for instance, French giant Alstom, a current target.

The site www.kollektivvertrag.at is the result of a cooperation project of the trade union confederation OGB and its affiliates with the ministry of labour. It provides information (in German) on all collective agreements in force, summaries of a selection of agreements, news on ongoing negotiations and thematic background information.

The Index of Agreed Minimum Wages (basis: 2006 annual average = 100) measures the minimum wage trend. This index is a key evaluation criterion for wage and salary negotiations and, with other indices relating to wage and price trends, an important economic indicator.

Hundreds of coal miners were trapped underground after an explosion and fire in Soma (western Turkey) that left almost 300 of their colleagues dead. A blast in the power unit of the mine triggered an electricity cut, making the lifts unusable and leaving hundreds of miners stranded underground.

The minister of finance announced strict measures against the grey market, adding that in the way the budget revenues could increase by 500-700 million euros annually.

Danish and Norwegian workers of low-cost air carrier have been in conflict with management since the company announced it intends to transfer its cabin crew to new holding company subsidiaries in a move that workers fear will affect their wages, working conditions and pensions.

Education and science workers mobilised on 12 May in order to demand decent wages and reform of the education financing model. Latvian teachers’ salaries fall far behind the EU average.

The government has drafted proposals that aim to deliver on the commitment in the coalition programme to legislate on employees’ right to engage in collective bargaining. Workers will get new protection from employers in disputes over pay cuts, pensions and other conditions.

According to figures published by the National Statistical Institute (NSI) the number of employees under labour contract has increased at the end of March 2014 by 2.5% as compared to the end of December 2013 and reached 2.22 million.

Randstad commissioned a study into the undeclared economy to the University of Sheffield and Regioplan Policy Research. The report reveals the important role that well-regulated employment can play in tackling the undeclared economy.

Teachers’ unions have criticised a government plan to freeze their salaries in 2015 while increasing the pay of other public sector workers.

Ryanair is called before the Commercial Court of Brussels by BATA (Belgian Air Transport Association) which includes major companies in Belgium (Brussels Airlines, Jetairfly, Thomas Cook Belgium). BATA accuses the low cost airline of unfair competition.

In the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) congress papers a critical assessment of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) policy is made. The papers state that the IMF has received attention for its research documents which show that income inequality harms economic growth and stability.

David Cameron’s statement that next year’s Tory election manifesto would impose a threshold in the number of union members who have to vote in favour of industrial action for it to be legal has led to angry reactions.

Some 700 employees of the State Railways (BDZ) will be laid off in order to cut the costs of the financially troubled enterprise.

The website Fizetesek.hu has investigated how the gender pay gap has changed during recent years. The results show that women receive 21% less money than men for the same amount of work, and in higher positions the difference is even greater.

Hours before another strike of London Underground personnel, representatives from the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) trade union and management reached a working agreement.

Figures, compiled by the House of Commons Library, highlight the growth of ‘in-work poverty’ in recent years while wages fell in real terms and rents continued to rise.

Strikes over pay and working conditions are looming in the hotel and restaurant branch, the harbours and farming.

While annual unemployment was falling across the Eurozone, Cyprus recorded by the end of March 2014 the highest increase compared with a year ago (from 14.8% to 17.4%).

Workers at An Post and Eircom are to seek pay rises of 6%, one of the largest percentage increases to be sought in the current series of claims being lodged by trade unions following several years of pay freezes and cuts for many workers.

Of the twelve activists that were arrested during a shipbuilding workers’ strike, eleven have been released by court order, while the 12th received a suspended six month sentence.

The government and the social partners agreed to promote the vocational training and retraining of the workforce. A fund will be created that aims to upgrade the adult education and continuing training.

Postal workers throughout the country have gone on strike against low pay, bad working conditions and mismanagement. The workers demand a 20% pay rise, paid overtime, new uniforms, new staff to fill the vacant jobs and for current management resign.

After four rounds of negotiations the partners in collective bargaining for the construction sector (approximately 780,000 workers) have agreed on a compromise two-year pay deal. Partners agreed to further reduce the pay gap between East and West Germany.

The new head of the Trade Union Confederation, Peep Peterson, wants trade unions to become a force of progress through increased cooperation with social partners.

A daily newspaper reports that the Croatian government has prepared a deal with Qatar authorities over work contracts where workers are recruited for the building of football stadiums.

The minimum wage data bank NMW provides overviews of the minimum salary that most workers are entitled to be paid.

Pilots union SNPL called off a strike scheduled to run until 30 May after speaking to transport minister Cuvillier. The union protest was aimed to protest against a 2012 law imposing a 48 hour notice period on transport workers who want to strike.

Thousands of workers at Keslog, Inex Partners, Oriola, Tuko Logistics and Lidl warehouses went on strike after the deadline for a collective agreement expired on 30 April 2014. Focus of the dispute between the Finnish Commerce Federation and trade union PAM are working hours and low pay rates for sick leave.

Trade unions at the Nosovice plant of Hyundai declared a strike alert. The unions have been negotiating a collective agreement with the car manufacturing since March, but have found no agreement on the wage increase.

Police and trade union members clashed at Taksim square as activists braved the demonstration ban on the square that has been the centre for protest and 1st of May parades for decades.

Police officers have announced they are preparing a leafleting action targeting tourists arriving to the country’s ports and airports. The officers are protesting the far going cuts, which have left them with lower salaries, fewer colleagues and higher work pressure. Through the action, tourists will be made aware of the situation.

After trade unions called on Lidl to respect the 1 May bank holiday, the supermarket chain agreed to keeps its shops closed.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union have organised a 48 hour strike in the London Underground and have announced further action for 5 May. While three other unions decided against industrial action, RMT members voted in favour of opposing the looming closure of every one of the underground’s ticket offices.

The initiative launched by an au pair bureau to reward Filipino au pairs for not getting pregnant within the two-year period of their stay has been sharply criticised by the trade unions. Aupair Agency Denmark motivated it as a bonus that will be attractive for those who ‘are only interested in money’.

A recent study by Statec has shown that Luxembourg has more work related accidents (2,900 per 100,000 workers) than the EU average (2,300). In 2010, a total of 16,000 work place accidents were reported, 14 of which resulted in the death of the worker.

The government has approved a mechanism for court-mandated compensation for pension cuts made during the crisis, under which payments will be phased over several years starting in the fourth quarter of 2014.

A publication of Statistics Portugal marks the 40th anniversary of this research and uses statistical data to illustrate the path taken and the major changes recorded in the last four decades.

In a recent Eurobarometer poll, a mere one in three Romanians said they would consider their working conditions to be good and 55% stated their working conditions are worse than 5 years ago.

Sixty call centre workers have founded the Sindicato Nacional dos Trabalhadores de Call Centers, which aims to represent call centre workers and claims independence from established unions UGT and CGTP. The founders say their primary aims are to combat precariousness and to establish effective collective representation in a sector with extremely high turnover rates.

Trade union UHM urged the health minister to keep a set of promises that was made before the 2013 elections.

Public service unions announced that they will be seeking pay increases in 2015 if public finances continue to improve. From the beginning of the financial and economic crisis, public service unions and the government have agreed on wage moderation in exchange for job guarantees.

Over half of European workers perceive working conditions in their country to be good (53%),a majority (57%) nevertheless thinks that their working conditions have deteriorated in the last 5 years.

According to an analysis of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) 80% of households in Bulgaria live on incomes below the monthly maintenance rate.

After 2.5 years of negotiations, trade union TUMTIS and DHL management have concluded a collective agreement. The long struggle, which was backed by a number of international unions, started picking up speed at TUMTIS was recognised as the lawful union of choice for DHL Turkey Supply Chain staff in November 2013.

Authors have supported a 24 hours strike by FNAC staff in Barcelona on St. George’s Day. Trade unions have been reporting that book retailer FNAC has put the majority of its staff on part-time contracts and meagre wages as well as the company’s policy to continuously pressure its staff into reaching unattainable sales targets.

Railway workers went on a two-hour strike when collective agreement negotiations with the transportation ministry broke down.

The trade union SAFE and Industri Energi lost a case in the Stavanger District Court but choose to continue their pension battle on behalf of 7,500 current and past rig workers at 18 companies.

The annual Loonwijzer/Monsterboard Wage Index report, based on a survey among 185.000 respondents, describes that wages have decreased in 2013 by 6% compared to 2012. The average hourly wage went down from €15.50 to €14.60.

The teachers’ trade unions have reminded the newly appointed government of the urgent need for quality education and training as well as good working and living conditions for teachers.

The Office of Statistics published the statistics for the year 2013. Chapter 3 provides detailed figures on wages, according to sectors. Agriculture is the sector with the lowest monthly pay, followed by hospitality and gastronomy.

The postal trade union is warning that mail workers that have to begin with new daytime delivery routes, to accommodate some of the 500 job cuts that postal services company Itella is making, will be confronted with longer distribution rounds.

Vienna's public transport stood still as the trade unions held emergency meetings to discuss the safety of Wiener Linien staff.

Trade union Kommunal and the employers’ organisation in the health and social care have reached a collective agreement that will run from 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2016. The deal includes a pay rise across the board of SEK 550 (€60) in 2013 and SEK600 (€66) in 2014.

Imperial Tobacco has outlined plans to close factories in Nottingham, UK and Nantes, France. As many as 900 workers may lose their jobs at the two factories.

Hours before the start of an all-out strike, SIPTU and the Dublin Street Parking Services (DSPS) management confirmed industrial action had been cancelled and that negotiations were in the final stage.

After a series of warning strikes that was reported in last month’s newsletter, a pay deal was reached for the 2.1 million federal and municipal workers. The agreement includes an immediate 3% pay rise, implemented retrospectively from 1 March 2014, and another 2.5% from 1 March 2015 onwards.

Unions and management of the Turnhout H.J.Heinz plant agreed on a social plan for the 190 employees that will lose their jobs as the factory closes.

Trade union JHL has welcomed the health reform passed by the Parliament, but added it still has concerns over the situation of employees.

Statistik Austria has published a report that reveals that women are earning on average 23.4% less than men in the country, one of the largest gender wage gaps.

A protest of retail employees with banners reading ‘Never on Sunday’ led to a clash with the riot police.

The trade union action that was announced in the engineering company PPS Group Detva has been cancelled thanks to an agreement between the unions and the company’s leadership on an across-the-board pay rise of €25 per month and on retaining all social benefits.

According to the country specific social indicators in the OECD-report Society at a Glance 2014 real public social expenditure dropped by 11% between 2007/08 and 2012/13.

The organisation of small shop owners (POVEK) has appealed to the head of the Church of Cyprus to use his influence to change the opening hours of shops.

On ‘Equal Pay Day’, an initiative of the Ministry of Social Affairs, debates took place on the gender gap. In Estonia, women earn on average 30% less than men - the greatest difference in salaries in the European Union.

Deutsche Telekom quickly reached a two-year wage deal for about 72,000 of its workers, avoiding drawn-out negotiations which could have hampered the roll-out of its high-speed fibre optic broadband network.

Following five general strikes in 2013, the first general strike of 2014 was held on 9 April.

Employers' organisations and trade unions have signed a legally binding collective agreement that will require employers to make sure staff ‘disconnect’ outside of working hours.

Municipal staff in Gothenburg will act as guinea pigs in a proposed push for six-hour workdays with full pay, with hopes that it will cut down on sick leave, boost efficiency, and ultimately save money.

The editor of the report Macroeconomic Analysis and Trends commented on recent statements that pensions will have to be cut.

After a turbulent first week in April with a three-day strike Lufthansa has stated that it will meet with its pilots' union to discuss union demands for an early retirement scheme and higher pay.

The state-owned airline has not yet reached a deal on a new collective agreement with its pilots, although the previous contract expired on 1 February 2014.

Trade unions Fp-Cgil, Cisl-Fp, Uil-Pa and Fialp-Cisal requested an urgent clarification on the employment status of 4000 Red Cross employees. In October 2013, the government changed the organisation’s status from a public entity to one covered by private law.

Three out of four of 2,000 respondents in a poll reported that they personally experienced discrimination at work and another 8% know someone who has experience with discrimination at work or when looking for a job.

The Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria (CITUB) has claimed that a substantial pay increase is possible without resulting in bankrupting businesses and increasing unemployment.

GMB called off a strike action at Ealing Hospital after members accepted an offer following talks. The offer accepted by the members includes an increase in the hourly rate from £6.31 to £7.31 per hour, effective 1/4/2014.

Trade union Byggnads and the Swedish Construction Federation (BI) have reached an agreement on main contractor liability in the construction sector. Abuses of labour rights by subcontractors have long been on the agenda in construction.

A Madrid magistrate has ruled that the wildcat strike by air traffic controllers that caused chaos at the country’s airports over a holiday weekend in December 2010 after the closure of national airspace was neither ‘legitimate’ nor a protected right.

Tobacco firm Philip Morris is closing its factory in Bergen op Zoom, the largest production facility world-wide, on 1 October 2014.

A new collective wage agreement for teachers was signed and the strike, which lasted almost three weeks, came to an end, according to the head of the negotiating committee.

On the 2nd of April, the government has introduced an €8.50 national wage floor, which from 1 January 2015 will become the gross national minimum wage per hour.

Private care company Kære Pleje, employing around 100 employees and servicing over 500 elderly in Kolding has gone bankrupt.

Workers of the chemical industry company Kemoplast from the village of Policnik in the southern part of the country decided to go for a strike to protest after not receiving 17 consecutive wage packets.

Trade unions have demanded the Swiss-based multinational company Georg Fischer to put an end to violations of union rights in Turkey and demands immediate reinstatement of 37 dismissed workers.

Translation office Euroscript has announced it intends to lay off 13 employees over the next two years.

The Eurofound report Impact of the crisis on industrial relations and working conditions in Europe analyses the impact of the global financial, economic and public debt crisis on industrial relations and working conditions at national level in the EU Member States from 2008 to end 2012. The clearest finding has been an accelerated trend towards decentralization in collective bargaining in many countries.

The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), a conservative think-tank, has opened the attack on the statutory minimum wage for youngsters and the demand for a significant increase in the National Minimum Wage (NMW).

Trade union Unite has reached a settlement to offer compensation to eligible ex-Visteon employees who filed legal claims in connection with reductions in their pensions resulting from Visteon UK being put into admi­nistration in 2009.

The industrial workers struck a last minute wage deal, averting a strike that would have involved some of the country's top oil services firms, unions and employers said. The sides agreed on wage rises worth about 3.3%, which will favour lower paid employees.

Latvian union FNA and Estonian union EFL, both representing workers in the financial sector, have signed a memorandum of cooperation.

Mercure workers responsible for cleaning the rooms started a strike to protest against the management's plans to outsource their jobs and employ them via a private firm.

The Swedish-owned clothing retail chain has announced that it will introduce a minimum wage on January 1st 2015. H&M said a fair and proper wage policy allows it to attract the best employees.

Effects of the crisis analysed. The decline in economic activity during the crisis was among the largest in the EU.

Three trade unions have stated the intention to organise a strike at Warsaw's Chopin International Airport on 7 May. The action follows an announcement that several hundred employees are due to be laid off as part of a restructuring programme.

ILO Committee on freedom of association at FIAT. In the published proceedings the committee asks the government to act quickly in the case.

The social partners in the banking sector, with a workforce of 80,000 workers, could come to an agreement after 4 rounds of negotiations. A wage increase was agreed of 1.93% plus a nominal 6 euro.

The OECD report Society at a Glance 2014 takes stock of available information about the social challenges emerging since the beginning of the economic crisis, and countries’ policy responses to meet those challenges.

Romania -Workers’ contracts at Rosia Montana suspended

Turkey -Draft education bill foresees in dismissal of all school managers

France -Temporary workers occupy recruitment offices

Serbia -Serbian workers exploited in Sochi

Poland -Highest wages earned in Warsaw