Workers in the municipality of Dobrich in Bulgaria celebrated May Day 2019 in style, with a pay rise negotiated by local trade unions. The framework agreement between the municipality of Dobrich and CITUB Dobrich means an increase in the incomes of workers in specialist areas designated by the state and the local authority. 

Proposals for a new parental leave scheme in Ireland have received a guarded welcome from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. "These are positive developments for working parents," said Equality Officer David Joyce. "It represents real progress even if it could have gone further. Congress will be studying the scheme to examine whether it is consistent with the proposed EU Work-Life Balance Directive. The social partners will have an important role to play in transposition and implementation and Congress looks forward to participating in those discussions.”

Social partners in Italy signed a joint ‘Call for Europe’ (Appello per l’Europa) in advance of the EU elections, calling for further integration and stronger social dialogue. The three Italian trade union federations, CGIL, CISL and UIL, joined with the employers’ organisation Confindustria to reconfirm the country’s commitment to the EU and set out a vision for the future. It called on Europeans to cast their vote in favour of democracy, sustainable economic growth and social justice.

The Union of Free Trade Unions of Montenegro (UFTUM) and the Union of Independent Trade Unions of Albania (BSPSH) have concluded a cooperation agreement for the next four years, pledging mutual respect and an exchange of knowledge and experience. Srdja Kekovic, the Secretary General of UFTUM – an existing ETUC affiliate – and Gezim Kalaja, President of BSPSH, which has requested affiliation, signed the deal in the Montenegrin capital, Podgorica.

The CCOO confederation in Spain has published a trade union information booklet celebrating the 100th anniversary of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2019. The publication, one of a number of initiatives to mark the ILO's centenary, was launched by the Secretary General of CCOO, Unai Sordo, in Madrid on 5 June at the Economic and Social Council of Spain.

Dear readers We are pleased to bring you the April 2019 issue of Workers’ Voice National UPdates, showing how trade unions are constantly taking new and innovative actions for social justice and progress in many European countries. National UPdates is sent to your mailbox quarterly. We hope you like it    To read the document, please click here.

Ground-breaking legislation to outlaw the “scourge” of zero-hour and low-hours contracts came into effect in Ireland on 1 March 2019, after a five-year campaign by the trade union movement. Patricia King, General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, described the legislation as “one of the most significant pieces of employment law in 20 years”.

After a three-year wait, public service branches of the ETUC’s Spanish affiliates CCOO and UGT have won a new deal on pay and conditions for 40,000 workers in central government administration. The previous Spanish government had refused to negotiate. The agreement brings an overall wage increase of 14% for the lowest paid employees, covering the three years 2018-2020.

Members of the VDSZ trade union working at the Hungarian plant of South Korean tyre manufacturer Hankook have secured an 18.5% wage rise – surpassing the union’s original claim.

Carers and migrant workers are among the groups benefitting from collective agreements secured by the Fagforbundet public services union in Norway. The union is working to ensure that pay for staff in municipal services, including childcare, fully respects their qualifications and experience, including care responsibilities in the family. This could mean up to six years’ extra service related pay and seniority: a salary boost of some NOK 40,000. 

Members of the Austrian trade union confederation ÖGB celebrated their successful efforts to save the national young workers’ council, the Jugendvertrauensrat,  from abolition by the Austrian government. The young trade unionists helped organise a campaign entitled JVRbleibt (‘the youth council stays’). Nearly 40.000 people signed the petition in support. As a result the government reversed its position and the Jugendvertrauensrat will remain in place.

The ETUC’s German affiliate the DGB has got together with Hungarian trade unions to approve a declaration to ensure quality work and fair mobility. The principal aim of the statement is to raise the minimum wage so as to prevent poverty in the EU.  No full-time salary should be below the national poverty line. Working people should not be expected merely to survive on their wages, they should be able to live in dignity. The signing ceremony was hosted by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung in Budapest, and attended by DGB board member Stefan Körzell.

The trade union federation representing workers in the finance industry across Europe has signed a historic agreement to ensure that bank workers do not suffer from the rapid expansion of digital technologies in the sector.

Social partners in North Macedonia have joined with the government in agreeing a  three-year national Decent Work Programme aimed at providing more and better jobs, local employment partnerships, upgrading workers’ skills and improving health and safety.

In the town of Brighton and Hove on the south coast of England, building workers on local council-controlled construction projects have better working conditions and protection thanks to a ‘Construction Charter’ launched by Unite the Union. The charter ensures that working conditions meet the highest standards. It sets out 11 requirements for contractors and their supply chains, including direct employment status, health and safety, skills development, fair recruitment and measures to support the UK construction industry.

Germany’s ver.di services union has achieved a significant pay increase for regional government workers, and in particular workers in health and social care, after three rounds of negotiations. The basic deal means increases of 3.2% from 1 January 2019 (minimum €100 a month) and 1 January 2020 (minimum €90). There will be a further increase of 1.4% (min €40) on 1 January 2021. Trainees will get two increases of €50 in 2019 and 2020 plus an extra day of paid leave.

With French and international trade union support, employees at Flormar, the Turkish subsidiary of cosmetics multinational Yves Rocher, have reached a deal covering union recognition and protection for 132 laid-off workers. An agreement between the Gebze branch and the national management of the chemicals and rubber trade union, Petrol-Is, and Flormar, provides pay severance, notice and special benefits equal to 16 months' wages to each of the laid-off workers.

The public service workers’ trade union in Switzerland, VPOD, has campaigned with civil society organisations to preserve public access to water and other essential services in Zurich. 54.6% of citizens in the Zurich canton voted in a referendum in February against a government plan to allow partial privatisation of water utilities and give private landowners a greater say over the management of rivers and lakeshores.  

The right to decent housing should be a legal right, say Irish trade unions. The Irish Congress of Trade Unions is backing a broad national campaign for good quality, affordable housing.

Dear readers, Welcome to the December 2018 issue of Workers’ Voice National UPdates, highlighting how trade unions are acting for social progress and justice in Europe. While many EU countries are struggling to respond to extremist and nationalist movements, we take a look at the way unions are supporting Europe’s diverse population and combatting racism and fascism in the workplace and in society. With ETUC backing, the European Commission is currently updating a survey of trade union actions against discrimination.

Trade unions cannot accommodate racist extremism. The constitution of Belgium’s FGTB union is explicit: “There is no place in the FGTB for racist, sexist, xenophobic or fascist ideas or behaviour.”

In Germany, trade unions have taken a stand against the growth of the far-right. Although so-called ‘populist’ parties have tried to woo working people, after the riots in Chemnitz in the summer the DGB union highlighted its opposition to extremism through the slogan #wirsindmehr: ‘we are more’, and posting pro-diversity and anti-racist materials on Facebook.  

Although recent Italian government policies have driven refugees away from the country’s shores, nonetheless over 22,000 people have already arrived by sea this year.

The CFDT union in France has published a guide to help trade union activists to deal with religious diversity in workplaces. Le Fait Religieux en Entreprise offers information on the legal framework surrounding religious freedom, at national, European and international levels. This includes the 1905 law establishing France as a secular state – a principle later embodied in the French Constitution.

As few as 3-4% of the 600,000 clothing and footwear workers in South-East Europe are organised into trade unions. With minimal collective bargaining coverage, wages in some of the countries are as low as €200 per month, falling behind even the earnings of Chinese workers.