All articles

Austria: 2.8-3% wage increase for insurance staff
After the banking industry, the insurance sector signed a collective pay deal on April 3.  With a slight decrease in contributions in 2012, the sector’s 22,000 employees will get a 3% increase...
Norway: bill against ‘forced’ part-time work
The government recently introduced new legislative measures aiming to combat “forced part-time work.”  The point is to help employees who have a part-time contract but would like to work full...
4 April 2013
Germany: controversy over the increase in activity rate for workers age 60+
According to the Federal Employment Agency,1.48 million people aged 60+ worked and paid social contributions in September 2012, 12.3% up from 2011.  in the metal industry, the Gesamtmetall...
EU: Bernadette Ségol, ETUC general secretary, tells Planet Labor that “The social dimension should push everyone forward”
The general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is talking about recent initiatives taken by European institutions as regards coordinating social policies in Europe. ...
4 April 2013
Italy: SKF Group signs agreement replacing conventional wage increases with two bonuses linked with productivity and profitability
First agreement of this kind in italy, the separate agreement signed between the Swedish multinational and the Fim-Cisl and Fali-Fismic unions (the Fiom-CGIL and Uilm-Uil rejected it) introduces...
Austria: 2.55% increase in the banking industry
The 80,000 banking employees in Austria got a 2.55% increase on April 1, i.e. barely more than the inflation level in 2012 (2.4%). This rather lean agreement was reached after particularly tense...
Norway: ongoing mediation for 2013 bargaining stuck over extremely divergent positions
The NHO Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise and the LO union met to talk about pay deals for 2013. While they agree that employees' buying power should be maintained, their notions are slightly...
Austria: agenda of spring collective negotiations in the industry
Most Austrian sectors traditionally negotiate their collective agreements in the spring, except the metal industry which bargains in the fall. 130,000 employees are concerned. Debates already...
Great Britain: legislation reducing redundancy consultation periods comes into force
On April 6, like every year, a certain number of social measures will come into force. This year, shorter redundancy consultation periods and higher benefits are on the agenda. (Ref. 130217)
2 April 2013
France: national union landscape stays the same after representativeness reform
The representativeness reform of 2008 did not turn the French union landscape upside down. The CGT is still the biggest union followed by the CFDT. FO, CFE-CGC and CFTC (which came close to being...
2 April 2013
Safran: interview of Jean-Luc Bérard, Corporate Senior Vice President, HR, on the European agreement for professional integration of young people
On March 28, Safran and IndustriAll Europe signed a European framework agreement for professional integration of young people. Jean-Luc Bérard, Corporate Senior Vice President, HR, is telling...
31 March 2013
Germany: company agreement on demography for 15,000 employees at Continental’s Rubber Group
On March 18, Continental Group and the IG BCE chemistry union signed a company agreement for the 15,000 German employees of its tire division, Rubber Group. This agreement is the first of this...
28 March 2013
Finland: negotiations for a general pay agreement failed
The negotiations, which lasted for about 3 weeks between the representatives of the three major union federations (SAK, STTK and AKAVA) and employers (EK), in view of reaching a general agreement...
28 March 2013
EU: European Parliament and Council of Ministers reach agreement to review Directive on electromagnetic fields
The text aims to add the new international standards on the measure of electromagnetic fields to the protection of workers who are exposed and to exclude some sectors, including those using...
28 March 2013
Transnational bargaining: interview of Bart Samyn, deputy general secretary of IndustriAll Europe, on the European agreement for professional integration of young people signed with Safran
On March 28, Safran and IndustriAll Europe signed the first European agreement on the professional integration of young people. Bart Samyn, deputy general secretary of the European trade union...
28 March 2013
Spain: Telefónica guarantees employment for a year in exchange for wage moderation and savings on pensions
The agreement reached by the management and trade unions on March 27 provides for a 1% wage increase in 2014 and maintains jobs throughout the period. Employees are foregoing some of the company's...
28 March 2013
Most viewed articles of the month on mind HR
What readers clicked on the most last month.
What readers clicked on the most last month.
1
France: Decathlon introduces a ‘duty to respect others’ right to disconnect’
A right-to-disconnect agreement was signed in late September for the French arm of the Decathlon sports retail group. It sets out a "duty to respect others’ right to disconnect" and provides...
14 November 2025
2
Netherlands: ING cites AI as it plans to cut around 950 jobs
Dutch bank ING has informed the employment agency UWV that it may cut around 950 jobs by 31 December 2026. In its notification on 20 October, the lender said the planned reductions stem partly...
30 October 2025
3
France: construction sector turns to long-term partial activity scheme
Amid the ongoing economic crisis hitting France’s construction sector, social partners in the public works industry (350,000 employees) signed an agreement at the end of October enabling companies...
21 November 2025
4
United Kingdom largely retained within scope of EWCs despite Brexit, study shows
A study published this month by the Institute for Economic and Social Research, the French trade union research organisation, examined how the involvement of British representatives in European...
5
Romania: collective agreement extended to entire insurance sector
On 3 November, Romania’s National Tripartite Council for Social Dialogue approved the extension of the collective labour agreement signed on 23 May by the Confederation of Employers in the...
6
Italy: new collective agreement for managers in tertiary sector
On 5 November, the ManagerItalia union and the employers’ association Confcommercio renewed the collective agreement for managers in Italy’s tertiary, distribution and services...