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Germany: Schlecker hardware stores get in line with the tariffs contained in retail collective agreements for all employees
Wage dumping decried by Verdi. The collective agreements signed on June 1st between Schlecker and Verdi are a new step in the union’s victories on the hardware store chain. It already got the...
Greece: new turbulent social week
Severity program. The insurance bill should be introduced in Parliament some time in June, early July at the latest. Indeed, the Prime Minister wants this issue settled before the fall with the...
Great Britain: new corporate governance code introduces parity and diversity among Board members
More responsible boards. After several months of revision – the financial crisis proved how necessary it was – the corporate governance code, which was first established in 1992, was amended to...
Opel: management and unions sign European restructuring plan
Compensatory guarantees for the German sites. According to Klaus Franz, chairman of Opel’s central WC and of the EWC, a majority of Opel’s European trade unions signed, on May 31st, Opel’s...
Russia: probable evolution towards more flexible layoffs
The Russian government is encouraging more flexibility. It seems that employers are enjoying a change of hearts from the government. On April 6th, Finance Minister Kudrin called on large...
Great Britain: forthcoming elections for the general secretaries of the two biggest unions in Britian, Unite and Unison
Both the general secretary positions in Unite, with 1.4 million members, and Unison, with 1.2 million members, are up for re-election. Both unions are affiliated to the Labour Party and will have...
Germany: high increase in sick leaves with mental cause
With nearly 3.4 million members (mostly employees but also jobseekers), the Technical Health Fund publishes, every year, a report (TK-Gesundheitsreport) on sick leaves and prescriptions among its...
Netherlands: employers play the waiting game for the renewal of collective agreements
Everything can still change before June 9th, even if the VVD’s liberals are very high in the polls. No clear coalition seems to be taking shape, and it may take weeks, or even months, which is...
Portugal: CGTP gathers 200,000 participants for a national demonstration in Lisbon against severity and threats to employment
Strong mobilization. The CGTP was hoping that 200,000 people would mobilize and said that 300,000 did after the gathering, although several independent analysts object to this figure. The national...
Spain: the government will present its own labor market reform since the social partners couldn’t reach an agreement
Failing a last-minute surprise, it seems that employers and unions couldn’t reach an agreement. In the absence of an agreement, the government warned that it would take the initiative and present...
Italy: Istat annual report found that young people are the big losers of the crisis
Here are the key points of the 18th annual Istat report presented in Rome on Wednesday, May 26th, entitled “Overcome the crisis and invest into the future.”
Lithuania: customers assess supermarket service, working conditions worsen
The dark legend of retailing in Lithuania. Information provided by SAMPRO and the food workers’ union portray bad industrial relations in the sector. Work days are endless (four 12-hour days...
Carrefour: the brand new international union alliance calls for a joint assessment of the framework agreement
Tense relations. On May 20 and 21, the international alliance of union networks, UNI Carrefour, created in October 2009, met for the first time in Nyon, on the border between France and...
EU: steel social partners adopt a joint position on the EU’s climate change policy
Objectives. “The EU must insist on comparable and binding targets for all developed countries. For globally traded carbonintensive goods, the EU must insist on equal treatment in both developed...
Great Britain: government sets out welfare reform
Make return to work more profitable. The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions vividly criticized the social welfare system established by the Labor government. “For too many people, work...
Portugal: removal of extraordinary measures for employment and qualification to cut spending
Extraordinary measures. The Portuguese government decided to cancel eight of the twenty measures determined in 2010 to support employment. As in 2008 and 2009, these measures were exceptional...
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1
Netherlands: new government seeks to “control” social costs
In his government policy statement to Parliament on 25 February, Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten announced several measures designed to "control" social costs. Notably, he proposed raising the...
2
Spain: a bill to regulate internships
On 3 March, the Council of Ministers approved the bill on the “Status for persons undergoing non-professional practical training in companies”. The text limits the number of interns a company can...
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Germany: launch of the “WE-Fair” alliance for binational training of skilled foreign workers
Germany continues to expand and diversify its initiatives to attract skilled foreign labour from outside the EU. In mid-March 2026, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development...
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EU: co-legislators aim to pivot European Globalisation Adjustment Fund towards restructuring anticipation
On 25 February, the Council of the EU and the Parliament reached an agreement on the Commission’s proposed regulation to expand the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF). Under the...
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Block to slash workforce by nearly half
The news. In his latest shareholder letter, Jack Dorsey, CEO of payment service provider Block (formerly Square), announced plans to slash the company’s workforce “by nearly half, from...