Estonian Bus, Tram Drivers Win 12.2% Wage Increase by September
February 08, 2012, 7:09 AM ESTBy Ott Ummelas
Feb. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Estonian public transport drivers will receive a 12.2 percent wage increase, to be phased in by September, the Transport Workers’ Union said today in an e- mailed statement.
Drivers’ base salaries will rise to 2.8 euros ($3.7) per hour, effective Feb. 1, while monthly wages will increase to at least 700 euros from September, according to an agreement which is due to be signed today, the union said in the statement.
The Baltic country has the third-lowest level of trade union membership in the European Union at 10 percent, behind France and Lithuania, according to the EU-financed worker- participation.eu website. Public transport and medicine are the only two industries in Estonia where there is a nationwide wage agreement.
--Editors: Alan Crosby, Andrew Langley
To contact the reporter on this story: Ott Ummelas in Tallinn at oummelas@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at bpenz@bloomberg.net
