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Finland: extremely moderated general framework agreement on pay subject to approval at sectoral level
After the first attempt failed last spring, the 3 union confederations and employers (confederation of industry, State and towns) finally signed, on August 30, a general pay deal called “Agreement...
5 September 2013
The European Commission published guides on the implementation of the UN’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in several sectors – temporary work, ICT, and gas and oil
In June 2011, the United Nations adopted Guiding Principles (UNGP) on Business and Human Rights.  Within the framework of its strategy to promote corporate social responsibility (CSR), the...
5 September 2013
Italy: together, unions and employers call on government to adopt stability act boosting employment and growth
“A stability act for employment and growth” is the title of the documents signed on September 2 by Giorgio Squinzi, leader of Confindustria, and Susanna Camusso, Raffaele Bonanni and Luigi...
4 September 2013
Portugal: 40-hour work week for government workers
Government workers are going to work 40 hours a week instead of 35 before.  The law amending working time in the public sector has come into force and will be applied at the end of September. ...
4 September 2013
Germany: Daimler, Volkswagen…, controversy over abusive appeal to subcontracting catches up with German auto groups
While unions are calling for a law against excessive use of “service provision contracts” (Werkverträge), the Handelsblatt economic daily revealed, on September 2, that Volkswagen was apparently...
4 September 2013
Sustainable management practices: national answers to a global challenge?
The International Corporate Survey Barometer (ICSB) was published at the end of July 2013.  This international sustainability barometer was introduced in 2012 by the Center for Sustainability...
4 September 2013
Italy: Fiat agrees to let Fiom-CGIL representatives in but demands a law on union representativeness to keep investing in Italy
On September 2, Fiat informed the Fiom – the CGIL’s metalworkers’ federation, deprived of union rights – that it could appoint representatives.  This decision follows the Constitutional Court’s...
3 September 2013
United States: Goodyear’s new pay deal provides for compromises and maintains activity for 4 years
The USW negotiators signed a 4-year pay deal with Goodyear, the tire maker.  They had to make compromises on the pension scheme and profit-sharing in return for the maintenance of the 6 American...
3 September 2013
Italy: Parliament permanently approves emergency measures to revive employment and the economy
In early August, the Parliament permanently approved the law transposing the decree on emergency measures to promote employment which provides, among other things, for hiring incentives.  The...
3 September 2013
EU: European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) complains to European Ombudsman about the Commission’s lack of action on the issue of restructurings
In a press release published on September 2, the ETUC informed that it had lodged an official complaint to the European Ombudsman on “the treatment of the EP’s report calling for legal action on...
2 September 2013
Morocco: unemployment benefit in 2014
Morocco will introduce an unemployment benefit in 2014.  This measure should limit precariousness for employees and therefore improve the fluidity and quality of the labor market.  But its...
2 September 2013
Great Britain: the controversy over zero hour contracts continues
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) revised its first estimate (200,000 contracts), saying that 250,000 people were employed on these contracts, based on its Labour Force Survey. The contracts...
2 September 2013
Germany: lukewarm evaluations for Kristina Schröder, CDU Minister for Family Affairs, and Ursula von der Leyen, CDU Minister for Employment
Notorious rivals within the Christian-Democratic Union (CDU), Kristina Schröder, Minister for Family Affairs, and Ursula von der Leyen, Minister for Employment and Social Affairs, have things in...
2 September 2013
France: Continental’s German headquarters recognized as co-employer, should be liable for the layoffs resulting from the closing of the Clairoix plant
On August 30, the Compiègne labor court invalidated the layoff of nearly 700 former employees at Continental’s Clairoix plant for lack of economic grounds.  The court recognized the German parent...
2 September 2013
Sweden: promising start for the Swedish initiative to support integration contracts for unskilled youngsters
At the end of June, a few weeks after the metal industry, the union partners in the trade industry, Svensk Handel, Arbetsgivarföreningen KFO and Handelsanställdas förbund presented the government...
31 July 2013
Credit Agricole: EWC secures certain level of compensation and redeployment measures for Slovakian and Czech employees fired after the end of consumer credit activities in these countries
The EWC had already cuts its teeth when several entities closed that used to belong to CACIB, Credit Agricole’s investment bank.  In this context, the group’s management committed to respecting...
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1
France: Medef puts forward proposals to improve management quality
On 31 August, Medef, French main employers' organisation, published a practical guide to managerial skills, which it considers to be a driver of economic performance for businesses. Concerned by...
2
AI: uneven integration but a global challenge for the world of work
The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in business is profoundly transforming the world of work, and some occupations are now under threat. However, the full extent of its effects remains...
3
France: Ministry of Labour unveils plan to accelerate the rollout of AI
On 22 September, the French Ministry of Labour presented a plan named Impulsion IA 2027 aimed at accelerating the adoption of AI by companies and employees. It contains 12 measures applicable from...
4
Germany: AfD victory in Saxony-Anhalt raises concerns over labour supply and workplace cohesion
The rise of Germany’s far-right AfD, which could soon gain influence over migration policy in Saxony-Anhalt and, following elections on September 20, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania as well, is...
5
Netherlands: towards a ban on housing cost deductions from migrant workers’ wages
The news. On September 10, Dutch Minister of Social Affairs and Employment Hans Vijlbrief (centre-left) sent a letter to the House of Representatives, stating that he intends to prohibit employers...
6
UE: Commission proposes measures to facilitate “fair” worker mobility across the Union
The info. On 15 September, the European Commission adopted a series of measures aimed at encouraging “fair” worker mobility within the EU. It wants to remove the administrative...