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Germany: lobbied by its members, the IG-Metall is calling for a 6.5-7 percent wage increase
6.5 percent increase, adjustment included.  “In the coming weeks, golden reports and record results are going to be released.  Employees are simply asking for a fair share of what was made...
Spain: revisiting the 2nd agreement on employment and collective bargaining 2012, 2013 and 2014
The key points of the agreement were revealed the day before (see our dispatch No.  120054).  It contains the commitment to major wage moderation, with wage increases which won’t exceed 0.5...
Germany: with the constant regulation of temporary work, businesses are increasingly turning to subcontracting in all sector
The “new disease of the employment market.”  450 customs agents took part, on Tuesday, January 24, in a major police raid in several logistic centers and offices belonging to Kaufland (Schwarz...
26 January 2012
Germany: agreement on employment reduction without layoffs at EON
No layoffs.  Opened in November 2011, the difficult negotiations on the social plan coming along the thousands of job cuttings announced by EON were finally completed on Tuesday, January 24. ...
26 January 2012
EU: ECJ renders new ruling channeling its case-law on entitlement to paid annual leave during sick leave
Facts.  The prejudicial question came after a conflict between the claimant and her employer as regards the calculation of her paid leave during a leave of absence.  Indeed, following an accident...
United States: lock-outs are back
American businesses are renewing with an old weapon: lockouts, i.e. the management ordering the temporary closure of a plant.  American Crystal Sugar, a world-class agricultural cooperative...
Spain: unions and employers sign a series of agreements preparing for the labor market reform
Two weeks after acknowledging the impossibility to achieve the negotiations within the deadline given by the government to prepare the labor market reform, the social partners reached a partial...
Great Britain: government will transpose parental leave European directive in 2013 instead of 2012
, which must be transposed by March 8, 2012, will only be implemented in March 2013 in the UK. The reason given is that it will be included in a new, more flexible policy on parental leave...
Greece: company agreements and pay cuts are expanding
Article 37 of Act 4024/2011, voted last October (see our dispatch No.  110640) facilitates the conclusion of company agreements, which will take precedence over sectoral agreements.  Thus, in...
Italy: decree on “liberalizations” frees foreign rail operators from applying the national rail collective agreement
According to the government, these reforms are in line with the process of “liberation” of the two major curbs to Italy’s potential growth, namely “the lack of market competition and inadequate...
Fraport AG: how the company running the Frankfurt airport takes account of cultural and religious differences between its employees and its customers
Tolerance: a duty and a need.  With 12,000 employees from 71 different countries and 56 million passengers from all over the world, Fraport, which runs Frankfurt Airport, the third busiest airport...
23 January 2012
France: interview of Marcel Grignard, CFDT deputy general secretary, on the government’s plan to make competitiveness-employment contracts take precedence over labor contracts
During the social summit of January 18, President Nicolas Sarkozy presented the social partners with an idea: developing competitiveness-employment agreements allowing adjusting working conditions...
Petrobras: global framework agreement signed with ICEM uploaded
In this agreement, which aims to apply to Petrobras entities abroad and which the group is going to promote among its subcontractors, the 3rd largest energy company in the world commits to respect...
Belgium: joint union front calls general strike on January 30
Dialogue.  They denounce the lack of social dialogue that comes with the adoption and implementation of the measures.  Shortly after the government’s agreement in early December providing for...
Italy: banking social partners renew national collective agreement
The “best possible outcome for union organizations without a second of strike.”  This is how Lando Maria Sileoni, leader of FABI, the majority union in the sector, qualified this agreement. ...
Spain: agreement on the new collective agreement in the construction sector
The representatives of the national construction confederation (CNC) and of the MCA-UGT and FECOMA-CCOO union organizations signed, on January 20, the 2012-2016 agreement.  The end of the debates...
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
EU: right and far right join forces in parliament to dismantle sustainability due diligence
On 13 November, the European Parliament approved the report by EPP MEP Jörgen Warborn on the proposed omnibus directive, clearing the way for trilogue negotiations. Backed by the far right, the...
13 November 2025
2
mind RH analysis – Initial findings from CSRD social indicators
In 2025, for the first time, the universal registration documents of major European companies contain the sustainability reporting required by the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive...
3
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
4
Germany: EU pay transparency directive to force companies to ‘get tough’
Germany introduced a pay transparency law in 2017, meaning companies are already somewhat familiar with the issue. However, the broader scope and stricter requirements of the EU directive, the...
24 October 2025
5
EU: omnibus bill stalls in parliament
On 22 October, members of the European Parliament narrowly voted against a negotiating mandate that would have opened trilogue talks on the omnibus directive, which seeks to dilute the corporate...
23 October 2025
6
France: cabinet adopts suspension of pension reform
On 23 October, the French Council of Ministers approved an amendment to the social security financing bill (PLFSS), confirming the suspension of the 2023 pension reform until 2028. This measure...
24 October 2025