Estonia, Labour Unions, Transport, Wages

The Transport and Road Workers Trade Union and the Union of Estonian Automobile Enterprises have been holding negotiations for signing a new extended sectoral collective agreement since the end of last year. Since no agreement has been reached during the talks, the trade union on Monday turned to a public conciliator to resolve the labor dispute, the trade union said.

The main wish of the trade union is to agree on the sectoral level that the bus drivers' work is valued and that a new minimum wage enters into force starting from 2020.

Ullar Kallas, chairman of the management board of the trade union, said in a press release that the situation is very critical in the passenger carriage sector and the minimum salary of bus drivers requires significant adjustment.

"The minimum salary of bus drivers in effect today is 945 euros, however, bus drivers who are members of the trade union want the minimum salary of a full-time bus driver to be 1,200 euros starting from 2020," Kallas said.