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  • 01.06.2018 Page

    Full-time work and fair pay underpin gender equality in Sweden

    An extra pay boost for low-paid care workers forms part of a new two-year collective agreement reached after long negotiations between Swedish municipal workers’ union Kommunal and private care providers. On top of a general pay increase of 2% in 2018 and 2.3% in 2019, companies where average pay is below €2,330 a month (€2,380 in 2019) will pay a flat rate increase of €47 this year and €55 in 2019. Assistant nurses will get a further 0.5%.
  • 01.06.2018 Page

    Cross-border network for better conditions in the care sector

    Workers’ representatives in the French multinational care provider Korian have kicked off the process of setting up a European Works Council by launching a network with  Italian, German and Belgian trade union counterparts. In April, an exchange of views on working conditions in the Korian Group’s subsidiaries across Europe revealed that the company is keeping wages low and staffing levels to a bare minimum. Even though Korian is a highly profitable business, inadequate pay, part-time contracts and precarious working conditions are commonplace.
  • 01.06.2018 Page

    Union survey reveals teachers under stress

    British teachers’ trade unions have teamed up with the government’s Department for Education, the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) to tackle the problem of excessive workload among school staff.
  • 01.06.2018 Page

    Mental health is a workplace issue

    Large numbers of European workers suffer from stress at work. In the Netherlands, trade unions and employers’ organisations have signed a manifesto promoting measures to deal with mental illness, depression or burn-out in the workplace.
  • 01.06.2018 Page

    A new impetus for collective bargaining in Estonia

    An agreement to extend the provisions of collective agreements across industrial sectors has been welcomed by trade unions and employers in Estonia.    The deal sets out representation criteria and procedures for extending collective agreements, similar to the Nordic industrial relations model. "It is good practice for sectoral collective bargaining companies to adhere to ILO principles. Failure to do so can cause disagreeable disputes," commented Peep Peterson, Chair of the Estonian Trade Union Confederation EAKL.
  • 01.06.2018 Page

    Looking out for young people in Belgium

    Jobless youngsters may risk falling into long-term unemployment unless they get prompt advice and support. Belgian trade unions are working together to help 18-24-year-old ‘NEETs’ (Not in Employment, Education or Training) to enter the labour market. The ‘Coup de Boost’ project, supported by the FGTB and CSC unions as well as the public employment agency Forem in Belgium’s Wallonia region, offers a six-month training programme including job searches, work experience, confidence-building and personal counselling.  
  • 01.06.2018 Page

    Denmark and Romania unite to stop social dumping

    A new bilateral agreement between Denmark and Romania on the provision of services and the posting of workers constitutes an important win for Danish trade unions – the culmination of efforts to improve collaboration with Romanian officials to combat social dumping.
  • 01.06.2018 Page

    Social partners on German pensions reform group

    Trade unions will join employers, politicians and experts on a new ‘Pensions Commission’ to examine the future of pensions in Germany, following a campaign by ETUC German affiliate DGB. The campaign demand: ‘Pensions must be adequate - change course now!’ put pressure on the coalition government to confront the challenge of guaranteeing sustainable protection for pensioners in the future, from 2025 onwards.
  • 19.03.2018 Press release

    National UPdates n°8 - March 2018

    Dear readers, The ETUC is pleased to send you the new edition of the ‘Workers’ Voice – National UPdates’ newsletter, outlining a selection of recent trade union successes and innovations at both national and sectoral level. This bulletin is published online four times a year. We focus once more on how European unions are working constructively, in different countries and at different levels, with other actors such as employers, governments and civil society organisations, to promote justice and social progress, and to improve the lives of workers.
  • 31.01.2018 Page

    Italian social partners unite on the way forward

    Trade unions and employers in Italy have agreed on a new industrial relations framework, which reinforces the vital role of the social partners in the country’s social and economic development.
  • 20.01.2018 Page

    Croatian union helps to save vital jobs

    The Croatian metal workers’ union SMH-IS has taken steps to preserve 6,500 jobs in the country’s Uljanik shipyard, and secure wages for some of the workers who had not been paid for three months. The SMH-IS together with the European trade union federation IndustriAll, persuaded the European Commission to approve a €96 million government loan for restructuring and salaries. Under EU rules, state aid has to be approved at European level.
  • 19.01.2018 Page

    Estonian finance workers secure ground-breaking deal

    A union recognition agreement with one of the biggest banks in the Baltic region represents a significant victory for a young trade union organising financial sector workers. The Union of Estonian Financial Sector Employees (EFTL) was set up in 2013 as the first trade union protecting the specific interests of banking workers in Estonia. According to EFTL, the new two-year agreement – the first of its kind in the Baltics – shows that Luminor recognises the union’s right to bargain for its members. More than half of the bank’s 610 staff are unionised.
  • 17.01.2018 Page

    Understanding the menopause in the workplace

    Huge numbers of women have to cope with the side-effects of the menopause while at work – most often in silence. Very few workplaces have policies in place to support women who experience difficulties during this stage of their lives, although a survey of 4,000 workers, carried out by the TUC in Wales, found that nearly nine out of ten said they wanted them.
  • 16.01.2018 Page

    A better life for young and old(er)

    An innovative ‘generation pact’ in the new collective agreement between Dutch unions FNV and CNV and healthcare provider Fokus allows for working hours to be transferred from older to newer employees, while safeguarding pension rights. Fokus provides care for people with disabilities, enabling them to live normally in their own homes. The 1-year agreement, which came into force on 1 January 2018, offers its 2,400 employees a wage increase of 2.8%.
  • 15.01.2018 Page

    Lufthansa deal limits long-term temporary contracts

    After four rounds of collective bargaining, German union Ver.di has welcomed the conclusion of a long-term agreement with airline Lufthansa, bringing wage rises of up to 6% for some 28,000 ground staff. The deal also brings to an end the long-term employment of temporary staff in the technology/IT branch Lufthansa Technik, confirming the maximum employment quota for temporary workers of 12.5%.
  • 14.01.2018 Page

    Hotel workers pledge to combat racism

    Trade union members working for the NH Hotels group in Belgium have set up a ‘Committee for a company without racism’ (Comité pour une entreprise sans racisme) as part of the 'Racism Game Over' campaign. The three Belgian organisations, FGTB, CSC and CGSLB, are taking part in an inter-union forum on 21 March to discuss the next move in the campaign.
  • 13.01.2018 Page

    Austrian union pursues collective agreement for delivery riders

    A deal concluded between the trade union Vida and employers in the small delivery industry in Austria has brought a salary rise of up to 5% for the lowest-paid workers. Under a minimum wage agreement originally drawn up in 2017, employees in the highest pay bracket increase their incomes by 3%, while those in the lowest get a raise of up to 5%, backdated to 1 January 2018, and valid for 12 months.
  • 12.01.2018 Page

    A joint commitment to the future of Ford

    Trade unions and management have agreed a deal to preserve jobs into the next decade at the Ford car factory at Almussafes, near Valencia, in Spain, with pay rises to be implemented over the next three years. At the end of 2017, the company announced plans to invest €750 million in modernising the plant, to cover production of its new Kuga SUV model. Ford employs almost 8,000 people at the site, which is one of its two largest assembly operations in the world.
  • 11.01.2018 Page

    "Win-win" for London bus drivers

    Bus drivers in London have secured a fair pay deal that will safeguard drivers’ pay levels and experience if they switch to a different operator in the British capital, with a starting minimum wage of £23,000 (€26,000). The new ‘Licence for London’ scheme, covering the city’s 25,000 bus drivers, has been agreed between Unite the Union, Transport for London (TfL) and all the bus operators. London Mayor Sadiq Khan greeted the deal as “a win-win” for workers, passengers, TfL and bus operators.
  • 10.01.2018 Page

    EU acts on demand for universal access to water

    The European Commission is proposing new legislation to ensure all Europeans have access to safe drinking water, in response to a campaign led by trade unions and citizens’ groups.
  • 12.11.2017 Page

    It's official: trade unions are a good thing!

    New research published by the British TUC demonstrates that strong trade union organisation in the workplace benefits both workers and employers. Independent academics Alex Bryson and John Forth analysed employment relations surveys from 2004 to 2011, taking account of different types of workplaces and employee profiles so as to produce robust evidence of the impact of unions and collective bargaining agreements.
  • 11.11.2017 Page

    Tripartite accord in Lithuania

    The government and social partners – business representatives and trade unions – in Lithuania have signed an agreement in favour of higher wages, cutting taxes on labour and encouraging collective agreements. These pledges will be implemented in line with the principles of “good will, honesty, confidence and constructive dialogue”, says the accord, with a further agreement to be concluded on higher wages.
  • 10.11.2017 Page

    Fairer pay and security for Dutch temporary workers

    Thanks to a deal concluded by the FNV trade union in the Netherlands, temporary workers have the right to fairer pay and better protection. The revised rules come under the ABU-CAO (employment agencies) collective agreement, with new guidelines on wages and security for temporary workers. Agencies must now provide full and accurate information on wages, surcharges and expenses. Temporary workers can claim back-pay if the salary is not correct, or inaccurate information is provided. Holiday entitlement also goes up from 24 to 25 days.
  • 09.11.2017 Page

    Awards for Romanian union recruitment

    Two trade unions in Romania have received awards for their outstanding union organisation efforts. Romanian IT union SITT (Sindicatul IT Timisoara) received a UNI Global Union 2017 Breaking Through award for recruiting over 1,100 new members in less than six months as part of its campaign to improve conditions for hi-tech workers. It is now negotiating a collective bargaining agreement.