Labour news from Europe
Albania
FSPISH Congress Places Emphasis on International Solidarity 2009-11-30 [ICEM] ICEM Strengthens Connection with Trade Unions 2009-10-05 [ICEM]
Expropriation of Trade Unions’ Property Condemned 2009-08-24 [ICEM]
Andorra
ETUC Executive Committee supports its affiliate in Andorra 2008-03-06 [ETUC]
Armenia
Cab drivers, gold traders in Armenia protest ‘tax pressures’ 2010-02-19 [Armenia Liberty] Home, but not Alone: More “guest workers” remain in Armenia due to hard times in Russia 2009-07-01 [Armenia Now]
Layoffs Carry Protest Potential 2009-02-07 [TOL]
Austria
Overworked judges to strike next week 2010-02-19 [The Earth Times] Founding Congress Takes Place of New Manufacturing Union PRO.GE 2009-12-14 [ICEM]
'Stronger together. The Joint Congress of Austrian Metallurgical and Chemical Workers Trade Unions took place in Vienna' 2009-12-04 [MMWU site]
Azerbaijan
Delegate selection campaign starts for 4th convention of Azerbaijan Trade Union Confederation 2010-01-06 [ABC.AZ] Government, employers, trade unions to sign general collective treaty 2010-01-06 [News.AZ]
451 new unions enter into Azerbaijan Trade Union Confederation over four years 2010-01-01 [Azerbaijan Business]
Belarus
Oppositionist registered with KGB for defence of workers’ rights 2010-02-03 [Charter 97] IFJ Protests against Legal Harassment of Belarus Association of Journalists. 2010-01-20 [IFJ]
Trade union federation suggests making fixed-term labor contracts optional 2009-12-10 [Naviny]
Belgium
Opel unions reject Antwerp plant rescue plan 2010-03-10 [Reuters] Carrefour Says Talks Continuing With Workers 2010-03-09 [KamCity]
Carrefour to cut 1670 jobs 2010-03-02 [UNI]
Bosnia
Bulgaria
Labour unions say 170 000 Bulgarians lost job in 2009 2010-03-12 [Sofia Echo] Government Ups National Health Insurance Fund Budget But Strikes Continue 2010-03-09 [Novinite]
GPs Strike over Delayed Funds, Health Reforms 2010-03-09 [Novinite]
Croatia
Bus company workers on strike 2009-12-28 [B92] ICEM releases Croatian versions of its Contract and Agency Labour Guides 2009-10-20 [ICEM]
Living standards fall to complicate Croatia reform 2009-08-23 [Reuters]
Cyprus
Crane operators strike for more supervision 2010-02-21 [The Cyprus Mail] Union accuses ministries of nepotism 2010-02-11 [Cyprus Mail]
Unions want pay rises despite recession 2010-01-07 [Cyprus Mail]
Czech
Denmark
Salary gap of 20 percent still exists between women and men in Denmark while Nordic neighbours steam ahead 2010-03-09 [Copenhagen Post] National Manufacturing Collective Agreement Now in Place 2010-03-08 [ICEM]
MPs call for publication of bank CEO salaries 2010-03-08 [Copenhagen Post]
Estonia
Trade unions collected signatures against raising of pension age 2010-03-11 [Estonian Free Press] Finnish trade unions would keep Estonian builders away from renovation works 2009-10-15 [Baltic Business]
Trade union: Ferry operator Tallink pockets holiday pays 2009-08-13 [Baltic Business]
Faroe
Finland
Dock strike threatens Finnish recovery 2010-03-11 [FT.com] For more than a week Finnish ports shut down by union dispute for 2010-03-11 [Swedish Wire]
Mediation efforts in harbour strike suspended until Wednesday afternoon 2010-03-10 [The Helsingin Sanomat]
France
Total workers clash with police 2010-03-09 [Euro News] Dunkirk falls after battle 2010-03-09 [The Times of London]
Cops tear gas angry protestors as Total permanently shuts Dunkirk refinery 2010-03-09 [Al Jazeera]
Georgia
Teachers determined to bring the government to the negotiating table 2010-02-21 [IE] Serious Violations of Workers’ Rights in the Name of Liberalisation, Despite GSP+ Benefits 2009-12-08 [ITUC]
Unions pressure for labor law reform 2009-11-19 [EurasiaNet]
Germany
Pilots' union: negotiations with Lufthansa tense 2010-03-08 [Associated Press] IG Metall Labor Union Rep Wants To Start Talks Over Opel Plan 2010-03-07 [Dow Jones]
Jobs secured at Automotive Lighting in Germany 2010-03-05 [International Metalworkers Federation]
Gibraltar
'Workers taken for a ride' says union 2010-01-28 [Panorama] Gvt condemns Unite's approach to Moroccan question 2010-01-07 [Gibraltar Chronicle]
Gib trade unionist reaches top echelons of UK labour movement 2009-12-31 [Gibraltar Chronicle]
Greece
Embattled PM returns to strike-paralyzed country 2010-03-12 [AOL] Violence As Greek Unions Hold 24-hour Strike 2010-03-12 [Dow Jones]
Cops fire tear gas to disperse union protesters throwing rocks and firebombs outside Parliament 2010-03-12 [National Public Radio]
Hungary
Police union newsletter promotes anti-Semitic conspiracy theories 2010-02-02 [Ha'aretz] BKV strike ends, unions win 2010-01-18 [Budapest Business Journal]
Airport strike not expected to cause disruptions on Monday 2010-01-18 [Caboodle]
Iceland
Labor Unions in Iceland Criticize Fishing Company 2009-03-17 [Icelandic Review] Openly gay former flight attendant and union organiser becomes PM 2009-01-29 [Associated Press]
Public Meeting Attendees Propose General Strike 2008-12-10 [Icelandic Review]
Ireland
All Aer Lingus cabin crew to lose their jobs 2010-03-11 [Irish Times] Taxi Council gives notice of all-out national protest 2010-03-11 [Irish Times]
Unite bank workers hold lunchtime protest at Dáil over threat of 750 job losses 2010-03-11 [Trade UnionTV]
Italy
CGIL calls general strike for Friday 2010-03-10 [Canadian Business] Pharmaceutical Workers Protest Steep Redundancies 2010-03-08 [ICEM]
Immigrant workers show how important they are to economy - strike for a day, boycott shops 2010-03-02 [NY Times]
Latvia
Unions and students protest budget cuts 2009-12-06 [Egypt and Beyond] UNI condemns new Latvian law on pensions, social benefits 2009-07-23 [UNI]
Teachers salaries to be cut 20 percent 2009-04-20 [The Baltic Times]
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Vilnius unions threaten general strike 2010-02-13 [Baltic Reports] Massive layoffs in Lithuania as nuke plants shut as condition of EU membership 2010-01-04 [RT]
Spotlight with Sergejus Glovackas ( ITUC/PERC –Vilnius, Lithuania) 2009-12-10 [ITUC]
Luxembourg
Angry steelworkers storm ArcelorMittal meeting 2009-05-13 [Associated Press] Angry Steelworkers Mount Violent Protest At ArcelorMittal AGM 2009-05-13 [EasyBourse]
Rubber bullets fly as ArcelorMittal steel workers storm AGM 2009-05-13 [AFP]
Macedonia
Journalists Union To Stage Sunday Protest 2009-05-02 [Balkan Insight] Mavrovo workers to go on strike 2009-04-06 [Makfax]
Trade Union of Employees in Education in Macedonia opposes ethnic division in Struga school 2009-02-10 [Focus News Agency]
Malta
Private sector:Mirror of the economy 2010-03-10 [uhm.org.mt] UHM sign collective agreement 2010-03-10 [The Malta Independent]
Union guidance to careers 2010-03-06 [uhm.org.mt]
Moldova
Global crisis affecting Moldovan migrant workers 2008-12-09 [RFE] Review of teacher salaries urgently needed 2008-09-11 [EI]
Moldovan drivers win pay agreement in Lithuania 2008-08-21 [ITF]
Monaco
Workers go on strike 2009-04-17 [Euronews] Workers take to Monaco streets in rare protest 2009-04-17 [Reuters, via Ynet News]
General strike over job cuts 2009-04-16 [AP]
Netherlands
Pay gap yawns in the Netherlands 2010-03-11 [Dutch News] Airport cleaners on strike 2010-03-11 [News from Amsterdam]
Prime Minister: Unions out of touch with members 2010-03-10 [Union Renewal]
Norway
Nurses' strike over 2010-02-06 [The Post] Draka´s New Year resolut 2010-01-22 [EMF]
Rig workers snowbound at sea 2010-01-01 [Norway Post]
Poland
Warsaw taxi drivers on strike 2010-03-04 [Polskie Radio] Solidarity with Striking Nurses 2010-02-23 [Pracownik]
Nationwide nursing strike imminent? 2010-02-23 [The Business Journal]
Portugal
Govt firm on austerity despite union threats 2010-03-11 [Arab News] National strike in May 2010-03-07 [Radio New Zealand]
Civil servants strike against austerity 2010-03-04 [Reuters]
Romania
National strike of metro workers 2010-03-09 [Focus] Public workers plan strikes 2010-02-26 [The SE Times]
Sebastian Oprescu: With its policies, the gov’t cuts off civil servants from its objectives 2010-01-01 [Financiarul]
Russia
Duma Looks to Give Foreign Teachers a Break 2010-03-11 [Moscow Times] 100 Years of International Women’s Day: Russia was the Pioneer of Women’s Rights 2010-03-08 [Pravda]
Women workers in St Petersburg triggered Russian Revolution which brought down Tsar 2010-03-08 [Moscow News]
San Marino
Serbia
Model Pharmaceutical Plant in Balkans Mission 2010-02-22 [ICEM] Serbian lawyers, cabbies again win delay of tax controls 2010-02-12 [Earth Times]
Serbian taxi drivers end strike 2009-12-20 [SETimes]
Slovakia
Shop Opening Hours 2010-02-02 [UNI] 5th Congress of Chemical Workers 2009-12-14 [ICEM]
National Days of Mourning Following Mine Tragedy 2009-08-24 [ICEM]
Slovenia
Workers Move Their Hunger Strike to Ljubljana 2010-03-09 [STA] Trade Union Says Competitiveness Should Not Be Main Goal 2010-02-02 [STA]
Trade Unions Propose Changes to Labour Market 2010-01-25 [STA]
Spain
New Collective Agreement in the Chemicals Sector 2010-03-08 [ICEM] Barcelona - Japanese firm Showa lockout 280 workers in Martorelles factory is now closed 2010-03-04 [Barcelona Reporter]
Media Strike Puts Broadcast Of France-Spain Match At Risk 2010-03-03 [Goal]
Sweden
'51 years to shared parental leave': report 2010-03-07 [The Local] Bus driver in bitter fight for sartorial rights 2010-02-26 [The Local]
Post office considers cutting 2,000 staff 2010-02-25 [The Local]
Switzerland
Geneva Marks International Women's Day 2010-03-08 [ICEM] Geneva Marks International Women’s Day 2010-03-08 [ICEM]
Affiliates are invited to submit their films for Night of Labour Shorts Festival in Geneva 2010-02-11 [BWI]
Turkey
Strike creates chaos in transportation in Ankara 2010-03-09 [The Daily News] Female labor force participation still weighty problem for Turkey 2010-03-09 [Today's Zaman]
ICEM Says February 23 Coal Mine Explosion Needs Thorough Investigation 2010-03-08 [ICEM]
Ukraine
Glavred media holding on strike protesting delays of wages 2010-02-23 [The Post] Court orders Leoni Wiring System to reinstate union leader in Ukraine 2010-02-10 [International Metalworkers Federation]
Downsizing deals - 45000 workers laid off in 2009 in Ukraine 2010-01-15 [Steel Guru]
UK
RMT has said Network Rail’s plans, which include the sacking of 1500 front-line maintenance workers, can only undermine rail safety 2010-03-12 [shponline.co.uk] Fair Work coalition calls for reform of employment status to help end poverty 2010-03-12 [TUC]
National Audit Office explode out-of-control gold-plated public pensions myths 2010-03-12 [TUC]