Agreement in court between Coca-Cola and the workers of Fuenlabrada
On 13 February 2018, an agreement was reached in court between Coca-Cola Iberia Partners and the workers of the Fuenlabrada plant. This has a special importance for CCOO de Industria. It means a victory for the just demands of the people of Coca-Cola Fuenlabrada and an implicit recognition by the company of their salary rights recognized by the Audiencia Nacional.

Italy
A new contract on the menu! EFFAT Italian affiliates conclude new contract for one million Italian workers in the collective restaurant sector
After 4 years and 8 months of intense and difficult negotiations, EFFAT affiliates in the tourism sector, Filcams CGIL, Uiltucs UIL and Fisascat CISL have concluded a new 4 years agreement for one million workers employed in more than 300 thousands workplaces including bars, restaurants and cafes, fast foods, confectioneries, canteens, shops companies and companies supplying prepared meals and canteens: an industry generating over 80 bln euros.

Ireland
SIPTU calls on Kerry Foods to reconsider redundancy threat
SIPTU representatives have today called on the management of Kerry Foods to reconsider its threat to make 31 people redundant without agreement at the company’s factory in Carrickmacross, Monaghan.
SIPTU Organiser, Jim McVeigh, said: “Management announced it will unilaterally be implementing compulsory redundancies within the factory, with up to 31 workers forced to leave the company on Thursday 1st March. This is unacceptable. Some of these workers have decades of experience and have been loyal to the company all these years. They deserve better.” Read

France
Outsourced Holiday Inn workers in France end their strike with important gains
Room cleaners and other outsourced workers at the Holiday Inn in Clichy, France ended their 111-day strike on February 8 by signing an agreement with the hotel’s subcontractor Héméra which brings important gains. In the course of their long fight, the Holiday Inn workers held protest rallies and demonstrations with union support in French and European cities targeting parent company Intercontinental and highlighting the exploitation and lack of rights which characterize outsourcing in the hospitality industry.

France/Switzerland
Nestlé workers from France demonstrate in Switzerland
Nearly 200 workers from the Nestlé-Galderma research centre near Nice in the south of France travelled overnight by bus to demonstrate in front of Nestlé headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland, on 9 February. They came to protest the announced closure of the research centre, Nestlé’s lack of transparency regarding plans for the site and the unacceptable settlement proposals on offer.

EUROPE
Letter to Tusk on the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights
Dear Donald, Dear Prime Ministers/Heads of States,
I thank you, on behalf of the European Trade Union Confederation, for the commitment you are going to endorse in the European Council this week on the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, proclaimed in Gothenburg on 17 November 2017.

Statutory minimum wages in the EU 2018
In 2018, 22 out of the 28 EU Member States apply a generally binding statutory minimum wage. In Cyprus, a statutory minimum wage exists but is limited to specific occupations. In the remaining five EU Member States (Austria, Denmark, Finland, Italy and Sweden), while there is no statutory minimum wage, the minimum wage level is de facto set in (sectoral) collective agreements. It is important to note that the coverage of these agreements varies between countries and, as some employees are not covered, they may not be entitled to any minimum wage.

WORLD

Launch of first-ever independent federation of food workers in Indonesia
On 2 and 3 February 2018, sixteen independent unions came together in Yogyakarta to form the first ever independent union federation of food workers in Indonesia, FSBMM, a historic step in building independent and democratic union power in the food and beverage sectors in Indonesia.