The main Czech trade union confederation launched a campaign in 2015 for »An End to Cheap Labour« with initial targets of five percent pay increases wherever possible. This was initiated by a new leadership and linked with new methods of advertising union activities. There was a conscious return to traditional trade union motifs which had been shunned in the first years after the end of state socialism. These innovations have been enthusiastically received within many affiliated unions. The campaign was based on a solid analysis of economic performance which showed wages about one third of the western European level with little prospect of closing that gap in the foreseeable future. First results included a very positive reaction from within the government and implementation of increases in the statutory minimum wage and in public sector pay. Bargaining in parts of the private sector remained difficult, but determined pressure brought substantial pay rises in some cases. Union leaders felt more self-confident, convinced that they were taken more seriously by the media and that they were gaining prestige with the public. There have been some cases of increasing membership, but any overall reversal of the previous seemingly inexorable loss of members remains to be proven.
Full-length Study (PDF): »An End to Cheap Labour« – How a Public Campaign May Become the Turning Point for Czech Unions’ Strength by Jan Drahokoupil and Martin Myant
http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/iez/13816.pdf
Jan Drahokoupil and Martin Myant
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