Back in November, Vilnius’ Public Transport workers were due to receive a 15-20% pay rise after hard union work from the Lithuanian Transport Workers’ Federation.
Now employers are going back on their word. From today, Vilnius’ public transport workers are on strike after negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement to secure fair pay and working conditions broke down.
Public transport workers have kept Vilnius moving through the pandemic, the state of emergency situation and all this in the absence of a new collective agreement.
Employers, in this case, the municipality of Vilnius, can not unilaterally terminate collective negotiations and an agreed memorandum of intent.
Collective bargaining is key to securing fair pay and work conditions for public transport workers. It will maintain living standards and secure conditions of employment – especially in the face of the cost of living crisis.
Unfortunately, this case is not an isolated one: All over Europe, we see unions taking strike action to force employers back to the negotiating table.
The ETF fully backs our union’s, the Lithuanian Transport Workers’ Federation, industrial action and calls on the employers to enter negotiations in good faith and live up to their agreed memorandum of intent.
ETF General Secretary Livia Spera shares a message of solidarity:
