Transcript EAKL TEGEVUSSUUNAD AASTATEKS 2004-2007

Estonian unions
and current crisis
Harri Taliga
May 29, 2009
Unions 2009
• Union density rate – below10%, declining
• 1,5 (?) confederations:
– EAKL Confederation of Estonian Trade Unions
re-established in April 1990 (first TUC in 1919)
– TALO (Estonian Employees’ Unions’ Confederation) –
split from EAKL in 1993-1994
• February 2009 – Teachers and univeristy teachers
unions left TALO
EAKL
• EAKL has 19 affiliates in:
– industry
– transport
– private services
– health care
– state and local authorities
EAKL (2)
• Central office – 11 employees
• 6 regional offices – 7 employees
Central office:
• President
• Secretaries: organising, legal issues,
wages/negotiations, international
• PR-manager
• lawyer
Social dialogue
• 1992 April – first tripartite agreement
• 1992-2003 – 17 tripartite agreements
–
–
–
–
–
–
Minimum wage
State unemployment allowance
Basic income tax exemption
Participatory democracy
Guarantee fund
Principles of new Employment Contract Act
Social dialogue (2)
• Spring 2008 – tough tripartite negotiations
on new Employment Contract Act
• April 23, 2008 – delegations signed
agreement on the Bill
– amendments only on tripartite approval
– enforcement one year after adoption
• Government broke its word
Bipartite negotiations
• Unions – employers
– National: confederations
– Branch: sectoral federations/associations
– Company: union and employer
• Unions – government
– Civil servants’ salaries
– Teachers’ salaries
EAKL – Employers’
Confederation
•
•
•
•
December 1999 – memorandum
February 2001 – unemployment insurance
March 2001 – social partnership
August 2001 – principles of increasing minimum
wage for 2002-2008
• September 2003 – principles of new Labour
Contract Act
• Agreements on minimum wage (2002 – 2008)
Collective agreements 2008
• Total coverage – 28%
• 1 national agreement
• 2 sectoral/branch agreements
– public transport
– health care
• Energy, railway, mining covered by
company agreements
Unions’ achievments
• Protection of unions’ rights in Employees
Representatives Act (12. 2006)
• National minimum wage agreements
– 2007: increase by 20% – 3600 EEK
– 2008: increase by 20,8% – 4350 EEK
– 2009: no increase - 4350 EEK
• ESF money for social partners’ capacity building
(2008 – 2014)
Priorities for unions
•
•
•
•
Organising and recruiting members
Increasing representativity
Increasing bargaining capacity
Increasing ability to take industrial actions
– 2004 – 2007 EAKL and affiliates organised 1416 strikes, demonstartions, picket lines every
year
– 2008 – warning strike of EMSA
Priorities for unions (2)
• Promote European social model
– strong industrial relations – partnership and
workers’ participation
– higher labour and social standards
– social inclusion
– fight against any discrimination
Challenges for Estonian
unions
• Reluctance of the state to engage in social
dialogue
– no real interest in social partners’ involvement
– attempts to limit (by amendments to legal acts)
the unions’ influence and to push unions out
from the dialogue
GDP growth
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•
•
•
2000–2007: 8,7% p.a. in average
2008: –3,6% (preliminary)
2009: –8,5% (MoF) vs –12,3% (BoE)
2010: –2,5% (MoF) vs 0,2% (BoE)
GDP growth 1996-2008
14,0%
11,7%
12,0%
9,7%
10,0%
8,0%
6,0%
5,7%
9,2%
7,7% 7,8% 7,1% 7,5%
6,7%
10,4%
6,3%
4,0%
2,0%
0,0%
-0,3%
-2,0% 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
-4,0%
-6,0%
-3,6%
Increasing unemployment
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•
•
•
2000–2007: 9,3% p.a. in average
2008: 5,5%
2009: 12,2%
2010: 15,6%
Employed and unemployed 1998-2008
680
100
89,9
660
655,3
83,1
80,5
656,5
646,3
80
640
67,2
66,1
90
70
66,2
63,6
620
60
607,4
606,5
594,3
600
595,5
50
52,2
585,5
579,3
580
572,5
40
577,7
40,5
38,4
30
32,0
560
20
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
Employed
2004
2005
Unemployed
2006
2007
2008
Inflation
• CPI
– 2000–2007: 4,1% p.a. in average
– 2008: 10,6%
– 2009: 0,7%
– 2010: – 0,6%
Wages
• Nominal wages
–
–
–
–
2000–2007: 12,5% p.a. in average
2008: 14,4%
2009: – 4,4%
2010: – 2,3%
• Minimum wage
– 2000–2007: 14,2% p.a. in average
– 2008: 20,8%
– 2009: 0,0%
Euros
MINIMUM VERSUS AVERAGE WAGE
2000 - 2009
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
34,1 %
28,3 %
33,3 %
31,9 % 31,7 %
33,6 %
35,2 %
40%
35%
30%
30,0 %
25%
20%
278
89
118
159
172
192
278
230
15%
10%
5%
0%
2000
2002
2004
Minimum wage
2005
2006
Average wage
2007
2008
Minimum vs average
2009*)
Statutory minimum wages per hour, 2009 in EUR
0,71
Romania
0,96
1,4
Latvia
1,48
1,64
Slovakia
1,7
1,73
Czech Republic
1,93
2,1
Portugal
2,71
3,41
Malta
3,67
3,78
Greece
4,05
7,2
Belgium
8,41
8,47
Ireland
8,65
8,71
Luxembourg
9,49
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Statutory minimum wages per hour, 2009 in PPS
1,54
Romania
1,62
2,29
Lithuania
2,35
2,41
Estonia
2,41
2,42
Czech Republic
2,71
2,95
Portugal
3,21
4,07
Slovenia
4,43
4,57
Malta
5,02
6,86
UK
7,41
7,95
France
8,17
8,22
Luxembourg
9,03
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Policy of the Government
• Autumn 2008: unrealistic 2009 budget bill –
adopted in December
– GDP increase +2,6%
– Spending 98,5 billion kroons (deficit –0,8%)
• February 2009:
– Public spending cuts – 6,6 billion kroons
– Join Euro in mid-2010
Policy of the Government (2)
• April 2009:
– Additional cuts – 8,5 billion kroons
– Enforcment of the new Employment Contract
Act, but without of agreed increase of the
unemployment insurance benefits
– Euro is not the goal, but additional benefit
Income tax changes
2004
Monthly basic Income tax rate
exemption
1400 EEK
26%
2005
1700 EEK
24%
2006
2000 EEK
23%
2007
2000 EEK
22%
2008
2250 EEK
21%
Unions response
• Cuts are not creating economic growth
• Support of the domestic demand needed
– Redistribution of the income tax:
• basic exemption up to 5000 EEK/month
• income tax rate up to 26%
• Joining Euro at any costs not acceptable
Unions response (2)
• Social insurance reserves to be used
according to their purpose
• Enforcement of the Employment Contract
Act
– only on agreed in spring 2008 conditions
– alternative – new agreement
Thank you for your attention!
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