All articles

France: rising protest levels against labor law reform reach a new level
The eighth day of demonstrations on Thursday 26 May calling for the withdrawal of the draft Labor Code reform drew between 153,000 (police data) and 300,000 (union data) participants. Protest at...
Germany: the Federal Labor Tribunal allows certain supplementary pay elements to be taken into account in the minimum wage
On 25 May 2016, the Federal Labor Tribunal rejected a plea that a Christmas bonus and a holiday bonus, both of which had been scheduled for payment before the minimum wage had been made mandatory...
27 May 2016
Great Britain: the Government considering ways to change the steel industry’s pensions in a bid to save Tata Steel
No purchaser of Tata’s British interests is willing to take on the financial consequences of the employees’ pensions liabilities. Legally dissociating Tata Steel from the British Steel Pension...
Germany: the government adopts an ‘historic’ draft law on the integration of migrants
‘Assist and insist’ is the primary principle underlying the ‘draft law on integration’ for asylum seekers that the Council of Ministers adopted on 25 May. This is a compromise text struck between...
26 May 2016
Hungary: government reinstates Sunday opening
Hungarians will once again be able to go shopping on Sundays. An amendment was adopted via the emergency procedure and undoes the current ban on Sunday shopping; a political measure that had...
Turkey: coal miners stage a hunger strike deep in their mines in protest at unpaid wages
On 18 May eighty-five coal miners in northwest Turkey went down their mine and started a hunger strike to demand that their wages, which have been outstanding since the start of the year, be paid...
India: three unsuccessful attempts to reform the country’s mandatory pension and unemployment fund EPF
Between March and May, the government announced three crucial reforms in the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) scheme; taxing 60% of EPF withdrawals, barring employees from full amount withdrawals...
26 May 2016
Belgium: social elections results show the CSC and FGTB maintaining their positions with progress being made by the liberal CGSLB
Today, 25 May, Labor Minister Kris Peeters, delivered the results of elections to 3,000 Works Councils (WCs) and 6,000 Committees for Prevention and Protection at the Workplace (CPPWs) that were...
Italy: positive start to negotiations over pensions and work
On 24 May, in a move to thaw the ice of two years of tensions, Giuliano Poletti, Italy’s labor Minister, received the unions to open talks over pensions and jobs whilst Prime Minister Matteo Renzi...
Germany: data protection, working time, and psychological risks are the main topics in company agreements negotiated with the WCs
The trade union backed Hans Böckler Foundation argues that if you want to see the future of the world of work then you need just to look into the content of the most recent company agreements...
Great Britain: seven out of ten labor disputes are settled without going to court
Two years after the introduction of the mandatory ‘Early Conciliation’ system, under which one of the parties in a dispute must contact Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) before...
e-learning course on European industrial relations now available
In partnership with Planet Labor the association Dialogues has launched an e-learning course on industrial relations systems in Europe. The course targets EWC members and managers and is now...
Norway: an agreement marks the hospitality sector’s determination to take on a different dimension
Started on 24 April, strike action in the hospitality sector finally came to a close with an agreement between the employers’ confederation, NHO, and employers in tourism (NHO Reiseliv) on the one...
Belgium: unions mobilize against social policies and working time reforms
Today on 24 May the ‘united front’ of the FGTB, CSC and CGSLB unions organized both a demonstration in Brussels and strike action impacting the transport system, public services and several...
Spain: union division at Michelin in Basque city of Vitoria complicates implementation of the group’s new collective agreement
Due to the absence of agreement by the majority unions, Michelin’s new collective agreement will only come into force in a limited way at the group’s factory in Vitoria, at the heart of the Basque...
Hungary: agreement between auto parts maker Autoliv, an indicator of manpower shortage in auto sector
On 07 April, shortly after Audi (Gyor) struck its agreement (c.f. article No. 9608) Autoliv, Europe’s main seat-belt maker, signed an agreement securing a 10% wage rise for production workers.  ...
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1
Germany: government seeks to facilitate immigration of skilled Indian workers
During a visit to India earlier this week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz addressed the strategic importance of attracting Indian workers to Germany, signing a series of cooperation agreements...
2
Informal economy and slow wage growth hamper decent work, ILO says
The International Labour Organisation published its Employment ans Social Trends 2026 on 14 January. It anticipates unemployment stabilising in 2026 and employment growth of 1%, driven by...