CONTINUING TRADE UNION SUCCESSES

Transcription

1 CONTINUING TRADE UNION SUCCESSES Trade unions are famous for improving the lives and working conditions of workers in the 19th century, and in the decades after WWII. Trade unions haven t stopped working for justice for workers. Indeed, important successes were achieved in the 1980s, 90s, and 00s and are still being achieved today Here we set out just some examples of those successes.

2 TODAY S recent successes

3 1 Germany Introduction of a minimum wage came into effect in January Trade unions fought over ten years for a minimum wage. Now some 3,7 million workers in Germany benefit. It has not led to job losses despite opponents claiming it would. The Government agreed in 2014 to lower the pension age to 63 for some workers under certain conditions such as working for 45 years - while gradually raising the pension age to 67. Some quarter of a million workers have applied for this earlier retirement.

4 2 Slovakia 6.6% increase in the minimum wage for Trade unions achieved this important increase and aim for a gradual increase of the minimum wage to 60% of the average wage. real hourly minimum wages increased in the majority of countries according to the ETUI Benchmarking Working Europe 2015 (p47).

5 3 Spain Thanks to the campaign To Strike is not a crime led by Spanish trade unions CCOO and UGT for an end to the judicial procedures against workers exercising the right to strike, all major political parties have pledged to reform a Franco-era law, the Article of the Penal Code that has been used to prosecute hundreds of trade unionists who were involved in perfectly legal strikes. It is a major success for the right of workers to strike.

6 4 Poland In 2015 a reformed Social Dialogue Council was established following a two-year campaign for change by Polish trade unions. The new Council gives Polish workers hope for effective and restored social dialogue at national and sectoral level. Regulations prohibiting self-employed workers from joining or forming trade unions were declared unconstitutional by the Polish constitutional tribunal in June 2015 in a case brought by Polish trade unions. Forced self-employment is a growing problem in Poland and this court ruling enables workers to seek better conditions through a trade union. The first self-employed workers trade union has already been registered.

7 5 Austria In 2015, parliament passed a law reducing the starting tax rate from 36.5% to 25%, and other tax improvements for working people. Trade union confederation ÖGB campaigned in 2014 for a substantial tax reduction on earnings of workers and employees, for more gross pay to go to net pay and got it!

8 6 Ireland The Irish government has launched a review and consultation to tackle bogus self-employment in Irish construction. This followed the launch of a major report by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions on the growth of bogus self-employment in Irish construction, highlighting the loss of several hundred million in revenue and the erosion of worker protections and labour standards.

9 7 Sweden The maximum daily unemployment benefit was raised from SEK 680 to SEK 910. For those with a monthly income of up to SEK this means they are now compensated for 80 percent of their income during the first 100 days of unemployment.

10 8 Netherlands 6,500 young people have joined a Dutch union as part of a campaign against young people under 23 getting only half or less of the adult wage. Started as a means to fight youth unemployment, the youth wage has disadvantaged both young people (who do not receive a living wage) and older workers (who are now seen as too expensive in some sectors). The union has now persuaded a majority of politicians in the Dutch Parliament to support a substantial increase in the youth wage.

11 9 Central & Eastern Europe A study published in 2015 found that across central and eastern Europe trade union membership decreases the risk of losing your job.

12 10 New On Friday 8 April European sectoral trade unions industriall Europe, EPSU & EFBWW signed a Labour Relations Agreement with the ENGIE group of companies. The agreement includes a 100m budget for staff training, a 10m annual fund for retraining and support for group companies in financial difficulty, and recognised skills training for 2/3s of employees every year.

13 AFTER THE POST-WAR DECADES modern successes

14 1 Solidarity & the fall of communism (and fascism) It is well known that the trade union Solidarnosc played a major role in the fall of communism in Poland and inspired opposition to communism in other eastern European countries. Trade unions also played a major role in the opposition to the long decades of fascism in Spain and Portugal, and in the transition to democracy.

15 2 Trade unions reduce inequality The International Monetary Fund, not famous for supporting trade unions, have published research showing that trade unions reduce inequality. The research shows strong evidence that lower unionization is associated with an increase in top income shares in advanced economies during the period and that the weakening of unions can lead to less redistribution and higher net income inequality.

16 3 Safety and Health at Work The European Framework Directive on Safety and Health at Work, adopted in 1989, is a milestone in further improving workers safety and health. It guarantees minimum safety and health requirements throughout Europe while allowing Member States to have tougher measures. Innovations in the Directive included Obliging employers to take preventive measures to make work safer and healthier; Introducing as a key element the principle of risk assessment, including worker participation. The EU has adopted a wide range of legislation improving health and safety, including the world-leading REACH in 2006 improving the protection of human health (and the environment) from risks that can be posed by chemicals.

17 4 Parental leave, part-time & fixed-term contracts, working time As a direct result of negotiations between trade unions and employers, EU laws were adopted in 1997 and 1999 ensuring minimum standards of protection for workers on part-time or fixed-term contracts, including equal working terms and conditions as full-time, permanent workers. Trade unions also negotiated parental leave, which resulted in a 1996 Directive laying down minimum standards across Europe for parental leave, later improved in a 2009 Directive. Trade unions were also heavily involved in achieving further improvements in working time, including a maximum average 48 hour working week, a minimum daily rest period of 11 consecutive hours in every 24, a minimum weekly rest period of 24 uninterrupted hours for each 7-day period, and paid annual leave of at least 4 weeks per year for ALL workers across the EU through the 2003 Working Time Directive.

18 5 Information and consultation for workers European Works Councils are new bodies, enabled by EU law in 1994, for information and consultation for employees of multinational companies. European Works Councils must be allowed in companies with at least 1000 employees, when there are at least 150 employees in each of two EU countries. A request by 100 employees from two countries, or an initiative by the employer, triggers the process of creating a European Works Council. Over 1000 have been set up. Trade unions have played a key role in getting the law passed and setting up the Works Councils. In 2002 a European Directive was adopted providing basic information and consultation rights for all European workers in companies above a certain size. This would not have happened without the campaigning of European trade unions.

19 6 Trade unions adapt to changing labour markets Swedish trade unions have since the mid-nineties recruited some 20,000 self-employed workers showing important progress in the ability to defend the rights of workers and an ability to adapt to rapidly changing labour markets.