Portugal’s Socialist Prime Minister Antonio Costa has promised to raise the monthly minimum wage by 25% to €750 by 2023. The Prime Minister started his second term in office after the country’s elections in October. At the swearing-in ceremony of his new minority government, Costa said that the planned increase should be on top of a rise of almost 20% in the previous legislature. Nonetheless, Portugal still has one of the lowest minimum wage rates in western Europe.

The number of labour disputes settled without industrial action in Serbia doubled this year compared to 2018, says the Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions of Serbia, the biggest trade union confederation in the country, affiliated to the ETUC.

With the support of Dutch unions, two freelance photojournalists have won an important lawsuit that will mean better pay for journalists not only in the Netherlands but potentially across Europe.

The Czech government has approved funding for a pay increase for public sector workers, negotiated with trade unions in September. It will bring a flat rate CZK 1,500 (€59) salary increase, meaning on average a 7% rise, taking effect on 1 January 2020.

Dear readers, Welcome to the September 2019 edition of Workers’ Voice National UPdates. As the Climate Action campaign gathers strength, this month we focus on how trade unions around Europe are working with young people and civil society organisations to achieve climate justice. As usual, National Updates seeks out some interesting and even unexpected examples of how European unions are cooperating and working constructively with employers, governments and civil society to foster social progress.

Trade unions across Europe have been launching action this month to support climate change campaigners. The Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL),  Confédération générale du travail (CGT) in France, Nordic unions and the British TUC are among the many organisations supporting the global climate action.

In Germany, trade unionists have been urged to take holiday or use their lunch breaks to support the #FridaysforFuture climate action "We will call for participation in the events. It's about taking a stand – we need a much more consistent approach to climate change policy," said Frank Bsirske General Secretary of Verdi (United Services Trade Union).

Trade unions, employers and the government met together over the summer to discuss a rescue plan for the Ida-Virumaa region in Estonia. With power plant capacity cut by half, 500 workers have already been made redundant and up to 1,500 jobs could be under threat.

Spanish trade union CC.OO wants to make ecological transition and climate change a central feature of debate in the workplace. “The future is either ecological or not at all, because there will be no jobs on a dead planet," warned Mariano Sanz, CC.OO Secretary for Environment and Mobility. The union wants to be active not only in raising awareness, but also in proposals for change, because the involvement and participation of workers and workers’ representatives in companies is key. 

The Media Trade Union of Montenegro (SMCG) signed a historic collective agreement with the public broadcaster Radio Television of Montenegro (RTCG) in June, after three years of collective bargaining.

Over the summer months, trade unions representing pensioners in Croatia launched action to stop older people being unfairly excluded from access to beaches and tourist resorts. According to the Union of Autonomous Trade Unions of Croatia (SSSH), local authorities in some popular tourist destinations impose such high fees for bus access and parking that they are out of reach for retired people. The Croatian Pensioners’ Union has branded charges of up to 1,000 kuna (€135) per day per bus in some seaside resorts as ageist and discriminatory.

Trade unions, employers and government in the Netherlands have reached agreement on a new pensions system, after years of negotiation.   It means that the current state pension age of 66 years and four months will not increase until 2021. After that, the pension age will rise, but more slowly than originally foreseen.  The current link with the rise in life expectancy is being abandoned. A year’s increase in life expectancy will mean an additional eight months’ work, rather than a full year. 

European journalists’ trade unions have condemned the distribution of ‘LGBT-free zone’ stickers by the weekly paper Gazeta Polska. The ETUC-affiliated European Federation of Journalists says the stickers – featuring a black cross over the LGBT rainbow symbol – promote discrimination and violate the principles all journalists should adhere to.

Swiss union Travail Suisse is supporting a campaign that invites workers to give up an hour’s salary to help young people in Africa and Latin America to get access to education, work, and an income that allows them to live in dignity. What Swiss workers earn in an hour is equivalent to a week’s salary in many countries. “In Brazil, a mechanic earns about 25 francs (€23) a week,” say campaign organisers. A textile worker in El Salvador gets just nine francs (€8.2) for a 15-hour day.  

Trade unionists took part in the five-day Pride festival in Antwerp in Flanders (northern Belgium) in August. More than 60 delegations participated in the Pride march, including the ETUC-affiliated General Labour Federation of Belgium (ABVV/FGTB) and the Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (CSC/ACV),as well as political parties. ACV urged members and their friends to join the party to support equal opportunities for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

Women from trade union backgrounds have moved into influential government positions in both Italy and Sweden. In Sweden, Eva Nordmark, ETUC Executive Committee member and head of white-collar union TCO, is the new Employment Minister, appointed under a government reshuffle by Social Democrat Prime Minister Stefan Löfven.

Progress towards social dialogue on social services took a step forward this summer with a meeting between European trade unions and employers in the sector. The European Public Service Union (EPSU) met with the Federation of Social Employers to discuss better working conditions offering greater dignity to the 10 million social service workers across Europe.

Dear readers, Our latest edition of Workers’ Voice National Updates picks out some interesting examples of how trade union collective bargaining with employers at local and national level achieves real benefits for workers and promotes more equal working conditions across the EU. Every three months we highlight just a few examples of how unions in Europe are cooperating across borders and working constructively with employers, governments and civil society organisations to foster social progress and justice.

A new collective agreement will mean a cut in working hours for some 16,000 textile workers in eastern Germany, bringing them into line with their western counterparts. The deal, concluded with employers by German union IG Metall, marks an important milestone on the road to harmonisation of working conditions in the east and west of the country, 30 years after reunification.

Trade unions in Croatia have collected more than 600,000 signatures on a petition supporting their demand for a referendum on the age of retirement.

The social partners in the Netherlands, together with the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, have agreed on a programme of 'Development Advice' for older workers.  The Development Advice is widely available and free of charge. Anyone over the age of 45 and working at least 12 hours a week – whether employed or self-employed – can register for personal career guidance enabling them to assess their situation in the labour market.  A career coach will then help them to make choices for the future. 

Part-time firefighters in Sweden have won big gains in pay and allowances. The Kommunal municipal workers' union has secured a collective agreement that recognises the importance of this group of workers and the massive challenges they have faced recently as a result of widespread forest fires.

Members of the Belgian ACV-CSC union’s platform for LGBTQI members, LGBT@Work, joined the Belgian Pride celebrations in May, with the slogan: ‘All for One’. ACV-CSC LGBT@Work unites workers and activists who aim to promote non-discrimination and improve conditions for homosexual, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in the workplace. They should have the right to express their sexual identity and to receive fair and equal treatment, as well as the same career and promotion opportunities as other employees.

Trade union solidarity and skilled negotiating by the Lithuanian trade unions have helped raise the monthly minimum wage to €430, an increase on the €420 initially proposed by the Lithuanian government.

French care provider Korian has reached a deal with trade unions on setting up a European Works Council. It will be the first EWC in the sector of care for the elderly and people with disabilities. The groundbreaking agreement comes after months of negotiations and opens the way for further deals in this growing sector. Korian is a major player in social care with over 52,000 workers in six European countries.