In the wait for the improved EWC Directive, industriAll Europe continues its mobilisation for stronger European Works Councils (EWCs) including the organisation of quality training for trade union coordinators and EWC members. From 18-20 October, 15 participants from 7 different companies in the... Find out more

EU: rising inflation creates tensions for sectoral collective bargaining Eurofound has published a new analysis of the adaptation of sectoral collective bargaining to inflation which was carried out for four sectors. After a long period of price stability, inflation has made a remarkable comeback in... Find out more

Adopted in April 2023, the Pay Transparency Directive allows employers and trade unions to establish new data in situations where workers have no actual comparator. It will help to address occupational segregation in the labour market and the gender pay gap, which in the EU is 12.7 per cent, while... Find out more

Bulgaria: Any acts against union association now punishable by law On 7 August in a groundbreaking move, Parliament approved a series of amendments to the Penal Code. This is a great victory for the trade union movement as any crimes committed against workers in their right to freedom of association... Find out more

Germany: ver.di approves public service collective agreement The trade union ver.di’s Federal Collective Bargaining Commission for the Public Sector (BTK öD) with a large majority approved the collective bargaining result for the approximately 2.5 million employees in the federal and municipal... Find out more

The European Year of Skills will be officially launched on 9 May 2023, but debates about labour shortages should not be focusing only on skills. Labour shortages in the European Union (EU) are currently rising more due to low wages and poor working conditions than as a result of workers’ lack of... Find out more

Austria: 10% pay raise in private hospitals The Vida trade union managed to negotiate a collective agreement for private hospitals with a 10.56% wage increase and € 2,000 minimum monthly wage. The increase takes effect on 1 July along with a cut in working time to 39 hours per week. The minimum... Find out more

After a week of tough negotiations, major international unions, employers, industry bodies, and governments have come to an agreement to advance workers' rights in the arts and entertainment sector . The high-level meeting took place on 13-17 February at the International Labour Organization (ILO)... Find out more

Austria: New collective agreement in the electricity sector The trade union GPA has negotiated a new collective agreement in the electricity sector which delivers pay increases of 8.6%-9.6% along with increases in allowances of between 8.6% and 9.3%. Another result of the negotiations is a... Find out more

The ETUC on the energy crisis At the end of June, the ETUC’s Executive Committee adopted a resolution on the energy price crisis. This resolution points out that the skyrocketing prices of oil, gas, and electricity – not least due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – have reduced the purchasing power... Find out more