"Several trade unions at Budapest metro transit company BKV are planning on a strike scheduled to kick off on January 12 for an indefinite time, Strike Committee leader Gábor Nemes said. The management and most unions have failed to reach consensus on the collective agreement.So far as many as 11 trade unions have joined the initiative, representing approximately 65%-70% of all BKV employees, Nemes added.
Negotiations are still underway with plans to resume talks on January 4, Nemes told InfoRádió. The committee is seeking to exert added pressure on the company with the work stoppage announcement.
The picketers believe the lack of a valid collective agreement would leave 12,000 staff without a legitimate employment contract, as well as pose a threat to safe operation as there are many issues pertaining to day-to-day work procedures that are not regulated by the Labor Code, Nemes added.
In an interview with InfoRádió, BKV Communications Director Erzsébet Székely Pásztor said she was shocked by the strike announcement as 12 trade unions had reached agreement with the management on the collective bargain on Tuesday. She said she had no idea why 11 of these changed their minds and rejected the agreement today.
Székely admitted that no agreement has been reached on wages, however she said this issue should be discussed in wage talks as they were not relevant to collective agreement talks.
The BKV management is of course going to continue negotiations, however the management has no room for further easing of the collective bargain terms, the spokeswoman said, arguing that any further concessions would threaten BKV’s stability."
Source: Portfolio Online Financial Journal
10.01.2010