All articles

Netherlands: pensioners are going to have to tighten their belt
Millions of pensioners are going to have to tighten their belt in 2013.  The cuts will amount to 2.5 percent in average and cannot exceed 7 percent in any case.  Indeed, the Dutch National Bank...
United States: NLRB paralysis avoided for now
On Tuesday, January 4, Barack Obama appointed three new members to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB, in charge of enforcing union rights).  Indeed, after Craig Becker’s term expired on...
EU: the European Commission’s expected social initiatives for 2012
Monti II and posting of workers.  To answer the concerns European trade unions have because of the ECJ’s Viking and Laval rulings (see our dispatches No.  071012 and 071034) which, even though...
Poland: negotiations get tougher for the follow-up of the “Anticrisis” Act
The Act of July 1, 2009 on lessening the consequences of the economic downturn (known as the “Anticrisis Act”) expired on December 31, 2011 (see our dispatches No.  090611 and 090555).  Thus...
Netherlands: annual leave regulations brought in line with European standards
Until now, Netherlands law provided that employees on sick leave for over six months could only ask for paid leave for the last six months of their illness, i.e. two weeks’ holiday.  These days...
Germany: even ‘liberal’ economists are calling for high wage increases in 2012
Increases to support German and European growth.  “In theory, unions are rights.  After several years of wage moderation, the time has come to up the level of wage claims.  I think they will know...
Poland: report on changes to social law in 2012
Provisions on maternity, paternity and adoption leave are immediately effective (i.e. they apply to ongoing leaves).
Great Britain: more and more conflicts over pension schemes
008, businesses have been amending their pension schemes (closing defined benefit pensions schemes to new entrants, reforming final salary schemes…) without employees resisting much. After...
Germany: Volkswagen bans professional emails outside of working hours
No work emails between 6:150pm and 7am.  A few years ago, BlackBerries – portable devices to read and write emails – were, like company cars, a symbol of social status between managers.  Now, they...
2 January 2012
Netherlands: cleaning agents on strike
Negotiations for the next collective agreement covering cleaning agents are at a standstill: unions fixed an ultimatum on January 1 for the OSB employers’ organization to accept their conditions. ...
Italy: separate collective agreement in the automotive sector based on Fiat’s “Pomigliano model”
In order to convince Fiat to return to Confindustria, Federmeccanica for employers and the Fim-Cisl, Uilm-Uil, Fismic and UGLM-UGL unions signed a separate agreement, on December 22, on "special...
Spain: Seat signs draft agreement linking pay to productivity
er, Seat (Volkswagen group) and the UGT union, which represents a majority of workers in the company, signed an agreement in principle on the new collective agreement 2011-2015. For the first...
Germany: new measures in force since January 1, 2012
and Social Affairs detailed the new measures that came into force on January 1, 2012 in the fields of employment policy, labor law and pensions. Planet Labor is detailing the key changes. (Ref...
Denmark: businesses relocating to Denmark bank on the Scandinavian working culture
the magazine published by the Fødevareforbundet NNF food workers’ union dedicated 12 pages to businesses in the sector relocating the greater part of their production to Denmark...
23 December 2011
Italy: Parliament permanently approves the Monti administration’s austerity program
Compared with the decree of December 6 (see our dispatch No.  110750), the Parliament committees have added several amendments.  The “exceptional adjustments” for the standards affecting labor...
Denmark: Parliament permanently approves pension reform
Planet Labor, December 22, 2011, No.  110799 – www.planetlabor.com
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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
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...
4
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...
5
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...
6
France: Adecco steps up commitment to temporary workers with disabilities
On 9 September, temporary work agency Adecco France and representative trade unions signed a new open-ended agreement to support the recruitment and retention of temporary workers with...
18 November 2025