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Italy: thousands take to the streets in defense of their ‘statuto’ – Workers Charter
Yesterday on the 45th anniversary of Italy’s Workers Charter (statuto dei Lavoratori) the CGIL majority union mobilized thousands of workers to protest threats facing this ‘pillar’ of Italy’s...
Argentina: workers in metals and retail win 27% pay rises
On May 19 and after four tense weeks, the annual negotiations in the four key sectors held by the Economics Ministry finally concluded in agreement. Pay rises for workers in the metals, retail...
Great Britain: the Scottish Government announces two industrial relations measures
The Scottish Government has taken two steps which begin to open up a divergent path from that of how industrial relations are conducted elsewhere in Britain (especially in England). The first...
EU: European Commission presents proposals for “Better Regulation”
The First Vice-President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans presented, on Tuesday 19 May, his programme for “Better Regulation”. By increasing the number of impact assessments of...
20 May 2015
Germany: indefinite strike in the rail sector sparks debate on the need to reform the right to strike
Up until the last minute, customers of the German rail company Deutsche Bahn (DB) had hoped that the new strike by train drivers, announced on 18 May by the German Train Drivers’ Union (GDL)...
United States: New York and California moving to advance the Federal Paycheck Fairness Act
A New York law promoting equal pay and prohibiting reprisals against employees who discuss their pay with colleagues as well as a similar if not more ambitious law that the Californian Senate is...
20 May 2015
Spain: Unions and employers ratify a pre-framework agreement on employment and collective bargaining that prioritizes quality work and strengthens collective bargaining
The agreement in principle on salary rises concluded on May 11 between representatives of both the unions and employers bodies has now freed the way for discussion on other topics in the...
Dassault Systèmes: interview with Catherine Guillot, EMEA Senior Labor & Industrial Relations Specialist on an agreement over worker involvement in the future Societas Europaea (SE)
On April 10 the French 3D design software specialist signed an agreement over worker involvement in the future SE (c.f. article No. 9016). Catherine Guillot, EMEA industrial relations legal...
Slovenia: Social Agreement 2015-2016
The social partners reached consensus on the content of the Social Agreement 2015-2016 that was recently published in the Official Gazette of the RS. The Social Agreement contains various goals...
Japan: “the principle of lifetime employment is extremely difficult to attack, even for businesses in financial difficulties”
Company restructuring choices tend towards lower wages and ‘voluntary departures” for those close to retirement rather than by redundancy procedures. “Such lack of flexibility in human resource...
Santander bank adopts ‘flexiworking’ to allow its employees worldwide manage their own working hours
Spain’s leading financial group has implemented a new type of flexible working for its entire staff. Called ‘flexiworking’ it allows teams organize their own working time and promotes teleworking...
Canada: federal bill protecting unpaid internships receives criticism
The Federal budget bill introduced on May 07 contains propositions to govern unpaid internships. It includes several amendments to Canada’s Labor Code that covers Federally regulated sectors...
18 May 2015
EU: legislation that recognizes an ‘undertaking’ as the sole reference unit in collective redundancy decisions does not conform to EU law
On May 13 the ECJ delivered a ruling on a Spanish case that completes its judgment in the USDAW case of the previous week where the ECJ judge had confirmed the more restrictive concept of...
13 May 2015
Ireland: the government announces it has adopted three bills on collective bargaining, sectoral agreements (REAs), and fixing national minimum wage
The Irish Government announced it was adopting some much anticipated draft laws on company collective bargaining, sectoral agreements (known as Registered Employment Agreement, REA), and a minimum...
13 May 2015
United States: UAW unveils future plans for a works council at the Volkswagen factory in Chattanooga
The Volkswagen factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is the only one outside of China which is not represented at the automobile company’s global works council. The United Auto Workers have thus...
Spain: unions and employers announce an agreement in principle on the pact that regulates collective bargaining and wage trends
The agreement marks an official end to the wage freeze that hit the sector at the start of the economic crisis. In it has been penned an overall rise in wages of 1% for 2015 and 1.5% for 2016 as...
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1
Argentina: government unveils labour reform
Argentina's ultra-liberal president Javier Milei wants to "modernise labour" with a new reform that has been greeted with opposition from trade unions. Submitted to the Senate on 11 December, the...
6 January 2026
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TRENDS IN 2026 — Reducing workplace absence at all costs: a major challenge for Europe
Workplace absence is on the rise across Europe, particularly among women, older employees and, since the Covid-19 pandemic, young people under the age of 30. Faced with this growing problem, some...
14 January 2026
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Spain: government wants 3.1% minimum wage hike
Spain's ministry of labour has informed the social partners of its intention to raise the minimum wage to €1,221 gross per month. This increase is expected to be approved by the Council of...
8 January 2026
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Poland: reform introduces possibility of working for another employer while on sick leave
On 7 January, the President of Poland promulgated an amendment to the country’s social insurance act. The reform aims to clarify the activities permitted during sick leave, so that...
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Vincent Lecerf (Orange): “Equality and diversity are competitive advantages for us”
Following the signing of a new agreement on professional equality and diversity in December, the chief HR officer of French multinational telecommunications corporation Orange Group, Vincent...
13 January 2026
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France: Crédit Agricole signs first independent agreement on disability
On 8 December, French banking group Crédit Agricole and three of the four representative trade unions (CFE-CGC, CFDT and FO) in France signed a disability agreement for the period...