Representatives from the trade unions meet each year with the government to reach an agreement on a pay raise for public workers. During the third round of this year's collective bargaining meetings, the responsible minister announced that the government's offer would increase public workers' salaries by 4% in each half of 2016 and by 3% in each half of 2017. The government intended to give a one-time indemnity payment to public service workers if the inflation rate eclipses the rate of wage increase. However, unions rejected the offer and rebuked the minister's failure to listen to their objections to what they call small alms granted by the government. Later on in August, a deal was concluded. The collective agreement includes a wage raise of 6% for the first half of 2016 and 5% for the second half. In 2017, salaries will increase by 3% in the first six months and 4% in the second half of the year. However, two of the unions involved have rejected the deal.
English: http://www.todayszaman.com/anasayfa_govt-announces-deal-with-unions …
For more information, please contact the editor Jan Cremers, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) cbn-aias@uva.nl or the communications officer at the ETUI, Mariya Nikolova mnikolova@etui.org. For previous issues of the Collective bargaining newsletter please visit http://www.etui.org/E-Newsletters/Collective-bargaining-newsletter. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net.