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Italy: social partners sign joint opinion of employee participation in enterprise profits
l partners save the CGIL signed a joint opinion recognizing employee participation in enterprise profits as an element of quality employment and productivity. The document provides for a follow-up...
Germany: Deutsche Bahn to cut nearly 14,000 jobs within five years
Tagesspiegel” daily wrote that the German railway, Deutsche Bahn, allegedly intends to cut around 14,000 jobs over the next five years, to overcome the impact of the crisis. The merchandise...
Spain: BBVA closes bank agencies on Saturday morning
d an agreement to close the 3,000 offices on Saturday morning. Workers will enjoy working time compensation. (Ref. 091141) As of December 26, BBVA employees will be free on Saturday, in exchange...
Italy: Censis report reviews one year of crisis
Even though the crisis slowed down the “second metamorphosis” suggested in last year’s report (see our dispatch No. 081009), three transformation processes are nevertheless underway: the...
Sweden: Scania signs another company agreement for its 12,000 employees
national bus and truck manufacturer, announced that it signed a new company agreement with the If Metall (metalworkers’ union) and Teckniksföretag (supervisory union). As Veli-Pekka...
Belgium: ACV-CSC Textura and CSC Metal merge, creating ACV-CSC Metea, the federation of industry and the technology sector
d textile federations of the CSC, the Belgian Christian union, officially merged, creating ACV-CSC Metea. This new organization should help the union have a better say in sectoral bargaining...
Triumph International: Thai and Filipino unions organize a European tour to object to 3,600 compulsory layoffs
nternational, one of the world leaders in women’s lingerie, let go 3,600 workers in three plants in Thailand and the Philippines. Triumph justified this by operating losses and a global...
EU: the Twenty-Seven open the debate on the post-2010 Lisbon Strategy
on December 10-11, the heads of State and government of the EU, gathered in Brussels, opened the debate on the reform of the Lisbon strategy. They want it to be an “ambitious”...
United States: BP fined 87.4 million dollars by OSHA
Health Administration, OSHA, fined BP 87.4 million dollars for failure to respect safety rules in its Texas refinery. This fine, of an unprecedented amount, shows the new government’s will...
Netherlands: fewer judges agree to the judicial termination of labor contracts
ans have been accepted this year. The Het Financieele Dagblad daily says that courts refused 18% of layoff requests in 2009, as opposed to 12% in 2008 and 10% in 2007. Only 9.3.3% of layoffs were...
Germany: collective agreements signed by the Christian Union in the temporary sector are useless
hristian Trade Unions (CGZP), which appealed to the ruling rendered by the Berlin Labor Court in April, was defeated again. Confirming the decree of the first instance tribunal, the regional labor...
Great Britain: government launches national strategy for better mental health
(see our dispatch No. 090801). On December 7, 2009, the government published a strategy aimed at helping workers with mental health issues find and keep a job. The key measures are a helpline to...
Germany: with the “Sindelfingen 2020” agreement, Daimler offers job security to 37,000 employees
e management of the German carmaker signed with the staff and union representatives a company agreement guaranteeing, among other things, job security the 37,000 employees of the Sindelfingen...
Spain: Santander bank open talks for its second gender equality program
st large Spanish businesses to develop an equality program, in compliance with the law of March 2007. This first program, signed in October 2007, for two years, has expired. On December 3...
Denmark: sacred union of political parties to increase control over foreign businesses
t signed an agreement with the opposition parties which will be enforced via a law aimed at better monitoring foreign businesses’ activity and their staff’s working conditions...
France: Supreme Court puts limits on whistleblowing
Disputed content. Two provisions stirred up controversy:
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1
EU: Commission launches consultation with social partners on quality jobs
On 4 December, the European Commission launched the first phase of consultation with social partners with a view to a European directive on jobs, which is scheduled for the end of 2026. It could...
4 December 2025
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United Kingdom: government scraps plan to introduce ‘day one’ protection against unfair dismissal
The UK government announced on 27 November, in a statement, that it would not be introducing the right to challenge unfair dismissal (without cause) from the first day of employment in its...
3 December 2025
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Poland: bill adopted to amend definition of psychological harassment
On 27 November, the Polish cabinet adopted a draft amendment to the labour code aimed at simplifying the definition of psychological harassment at work, or “mobbing” (Article 94 3)...
4 December 2025
4
EU: MEPs demand directive on algorithmic management
Members of the European Parliament have called for a directive on algorithmic management. Such legislation would introduce obligations for companies to inform employees, assess health and safety...
17 December 2025
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United Kingdom: Parliament finally passes Employment Rights Bill
The UK Labour government's flagship reform of employment rights was passed by both houses on 16 December after a turbulent parliamentary process. The bill introduces numerous changes to labour...
18 December 2025
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France: minimum wage to rise by 1.18% on 1 January
On 12 December, the French government announced a 1.18% increase in the minimum wage, taking effect on 1 January 2026. The pay level will rise from €1,802 to €1,823 gross per month (for...
16 December 2025