Europe

Many European governments imposed austerity measures in 2010 to combat the large public deficits that resulted from the financial crisis, affecting millions of workers. Wage cuts, pension reforms, and budget curtailments spurred massive protests across the region, with general strikes in Spain, Greece, Portugal and France. In Brussels over 50,000 workers protested during the European Day of Action. The harsh economic climate has also made some workers wary of reporting violations of trade union rights, as they fear losing their jobs. Union organising organising The process of forming or joining a trade union, or inducing other workers to form or join one. all over Europe has also been hampered by the increased use of precarious work and short-term contracts. The situation is most pronounced in Belarus, where over 90% of all workers employed on short-term contracts, but it is also a significant issue in countries like Georgia and Croatia. In Turkey, even if partial amendment (...)

Many European governments imposed austerity measures in 2010 to combat the large public deficits that resulted from the financial crisis, affecting millions of workers. Wage cuts, pension reforms, and budget curtailments spurred massive protests across the region, with general strikes in Spain, Greece, Portugal and France. In Brussels over 50,000 workers protested during the European Day of Action.

The harsh economic climate has also made some workers wary of reporting violations of trade union rights, as they fear losing their jobs. Union organising organising The process of forming or joining a trade union, or inducing other workers to form or join one. all over Europe has also been hampered by the increased use of precarious work and short-term contracts. The situation is most pronounced in Belarus, where over 90% of all workers employed on short-term contracts, but it is also a significant issue in countries like Georgia and Croatia.

In Turkey, even if partial amendment of the Constitution may yield some positive developments for workers, many substantive problems remain. About 350 trade unionists were dismissed in 2010 because of their union activities, by far the most in Europe. A second high-level ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights mission visited Ankara in March to assist the country to take meaningful steps towards adequately protecting trade union rights, but the mission was not received by the Minister of Labour. Reforms are in dire need, as unions face constant pressure from both private and public actors.

As exposed during an International Conference on Freedom of Association freedom of association The right to form and join the trade union of one’s choosing as well as the right of unions to operate freely and carry out their activities without undue interference.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework held in December in Moscow, the trade union rights environment is also difficult in Russia. Not only do employers try to limit workers’ rights by seeking amendments to the Labour Code, but the legal authorities often exacerbate the challenges that unions face. Trade unions’ appeals to prosecutors’ offices may not only go unanswered, but may even result in increased pressure on the unions. In one case in 2010, instead of verifying trade union rights violations, the prosecutor examined the legality of the union. While it is prohibited by law to deny registration, unions also often face difficulties when trying to register. Trade unions in Ukraine face similar difficulties when dealing with the authorities.

Despite consistent pressure from the ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights , no improvement could be discerned in Belarus, where the trade union rights situation remains very problematic. President Lukashenko was elected to a fourth term in December, sparking protests where hundreds of protesters were arrested, including ten union activists.

All across Europe, trade union rights were flouted as employers retaliated against union members, in particular in multinational corporations. Some of the more severe cases include Turkey, where public sector unionists were harassed by the authorities, arrested and incarcerated; Serbia, where union leaders were subjected to physical and psychological abuse; Moldova, where union leaders who claimed unpaid wages were arrested, charged with criminal offences and placed under house arrest for weeks; and Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the public authorities deregistered a local union local union A local branch of a higher-level trade union such as a national union. following a strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike over unpaid wages and where the union leaders were subsequently dismissed.

In a number of countries trade union members were pressured or forced to leave their union and join employer-friendly unions or yellow unions. This was especially the case in Turkey, Serbia, Montenegro and Belarus. Employers also did not refrain from targeting workers who sought to establish a union: in Moldova, Poland and Georgia, several activists were dismissed after trying to organise.

Remedies for dismissed unionists are not always readily available. For example, in Poland the court proceedings can take up to two years, and the courts are increasingly awarding only compensation instead of reinstatement; in Estonia the court procedures are slow and expensive, and reinstatement is difficult; in Lithuania there are no labour courts or judges specialised in labour disputes; and in Albania the law does not foresee reinstatement for victims of anti-union dismissals.

Trade unions’ work is made more difficult by the decline of social dialogue social dialogue Discussion and co-operation between the social partners on matters of common interest, such as economic and social policy. Involves participation by the state where tripartism is practice. in many European countries. In Croatia, the Czech Republic and in Hungary, the trade unions were deprived of the opportunity to comment on changes to the labour laws. Also in Croatia the government did not respect the procedure for consultation in the tripartite Economic and Social Council, and in Georgia, where the unions worked out a draft Labour Code to supplant the much-criticised 2006 Labour Code and collected signatures of more than 100,000 citizens, their initiative was ignored by the authorities. The Georgian authorities have for years sought to undermine unions in the country through different manoeuvres.

While the right to strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike is recognised in Europe and is even included in some countries’ Constitutions, restrictions apply in particular to “essential services essential services Services the interruption of which would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population. Can include the hospital sector, electricity and water supply services, and air traffic control. Strikes can be restricted or even prohibited in essential services.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework
 ” where strikes are prohibited. In some countries the procedures for calling a lawful strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike are cumbersome and can be used by employers to counter industrial actions. This especially applies to the United Kingdom, where employers can seek injunctions against unions before a strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike has even begun. In other countries in the region, for example Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia, strikers were retaliated against and even dismissed during the year. Strikebreaking occurred in Portugal.

Furthermore, the labour laws of many European countries unduly restrict the trade union rights of civil servants. There is little room for collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
in countries like the Czech Republic, Latvia, and Portugal, and the right is denied for civil servants in Bulgaria. Public servants also do not enjoy the right to strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike in Estonia, Ukraine and Germany; although in Germany some progress was made after a court held that teachers should not be punished for going on strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike .

Also in 2010, the European Union (EU) initiated talks with the Council of Europe concerning the EU’s accession to the European Convention on Human Rights, as required by the Treaty of Lisbon.

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European Austerity Packages Negatively Impact Workers’ and Trade Union Rights and Pose a Threat to the European Social Model

Grigor Gradev, ITUC - Pan European Regional Council (PERC) Executive Secretary The most distinctive development in the field of labour rights and labour standards in Europe in 2010 can be broadly defined by the massive shift in the pattern of exercising power in the labour relations systems towards government unilateralism and away from the proactive search for negotiated, consensus-based policies. The measures to contain the destructive impact of the crisis have been largely forced through the social dialogue social dialogue Discussion and co-operation between the social partners on matters of common interest, such as economic and social policy. Involves participation by the state where tripartism is practice. machinery in the form of temporary “anti-crisis” pacts involving the social partners social partners Unions and employers or their representative organisations. . But as the end of the recession was announced “exit” strategies based on tough “austerity” packages have (...)

Grigor Gradev, ITUC - Pan European Regional Council (PERC) Executive Secretary

The most distinctive development in the field of labour rights and labour standards in Europe in 2010 can be broadly defined by the massive shift in the pattern of exercising power in the labour relations systems towards government unilateralism and away from the proactive search for negotiated, consensus-based policies.

The measures to contain the destructive impact of the crisis have been largely forced through the social dialogue social dialogue Discussion and co-operation between the social partners on matters of common interest, such as economic and social policy. Involves participation by the state where tripartism is practice. machinery in the form of temporary “anti-crisis” pacts involving the social partners social partners Unions and employers or their representative organisations. . But as the end of the recession was announced “exit” strategies based on tough “austerity” packages have been used across the region to apply strong pressure for a change in labour relations, social protection, and pension schemes in particular. The practices of negotiating particular restrictive measures or “concessions” for a definite period to stabilise certain economic, financial or fiscal parameters have been increasingly replaced by initiatives to revise labour and social legislation. The most common effect of this practice is the reduction of workers’ rights in both individual and collective labour relations.

The pressure to curtail workers’ rights has been applied to different extents and in various combinations in different countries. Changes in the legal framework primarily aimed at: making certain temporary concessions permanent; introducing further flexibility in contractual relations in an already uncertain and precarious working environment (particularly in relation to working hours, hiring and firing procedures, fixed-term contracts); decentralising existing and working collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
mechanisms at different levels; leaving social partners social partners Unions and employers or their representative organisations. without clear definitions of their status and scope of activity; and complicating rules and procedures for collective actions and conflict resolution.

These changes inevitably will in the long term result in the restructuring of collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
systems as well as the restriction of the scope and coverage of the agreements, i.e. to further diminish the efficient exercise of collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
rights, already a problem in the public sector in many countries. This will also have an impact on the nature and logic of established rules and procedures including shifting the burden of proof to the worker in cases of violation of fundamental right such discrimination at the workplace or illegal dismissals.

The tendency was further fuelled by the ideas floated at the end of the year by the EU institutions concerning a new framework for “economic governance” to secure future economic stability in the Eurozone. The ideas have raised the danger of the EU institution’s interference in wage setting policies and mechanisms, thus depriving the collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
process of a substantial part of its content. Such ideas seem to be at odds with the provisions of the EU treaties and will definitely undermine the “European Social Model”. They will eventually have wide-reaching consequences across the entire EU and beyond. The emerging strong opposition to these EU policies will most probably take centre stage in 2011.

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