All articles

Denmark: equal pay is the priority of HK’s 30th union congress
Members in the foreground. HK’s 30th extraordinary Congress, in Copenhagen on November 7-10, reelected the current chair, Kim Simonsen, in office since January 2008 (see our dispatch No. 080033)...
Austria: metalworkers’ union imposes claims for the new sectoral collective agreement
Strong union will. The Austrian metalworkers’ union is gloating while Austrian employers are having a hard time “buying the agreement.” On Monday, at 6:00 pm, the sector’s social partners...
Spain and Portugal: outcome of the annual meeting of the four Iberian unions
Iberian union summit. The annual meeting of the four Iberian union confederations, the CGTP (General Confederation of Portuguese Workers), CCOO (Workers’ Commissions), its Spanish counterpart, and...
EU: recommendations of the European Economic and Social Committee on the post-2010 Lisbon Strategy
Maintaining the Lisbon Strategy. Will the Lisbon Strategy be reformed? While the French and Czech Presidencies postponed the debate, the Twenty-Seven considered, at the spring European Council...
Spain: CCOO and UGT criticize businesses’ application of the new collective agreement in mass distribution
The trade federations of the two big unions, UGT and CCOO (Workers’ Commissions) object to the new flexible way of dividing working hours and the “wicked” implementation of the new collective...
Italy: CGIL calls on Cisl and Uil to follow for a general strike
The CGIL says that over 100,000 people took part in the national demonstration in Rome on November 14 – with the tagline “Work and the Crisis: we demand answers” – to ask the government to adopt...
Portugal: rising protest against the new social security code
Adopted in July, published in the Official Journal in September and supposed to come into force on January 1, 2010, the new text replaces about 40 exceptions and special systems created in the 90s...
Germany: 2010 collective bargaining schedule
The schedule attached lists negotiations expected in 2010 and 2011 but we are only mentioning next year’s dates below.
Spain: unions come back to the negotiating table after employers promised to unfreeze sectoral agreements
Since negotiations were broken in July, the UGT and CCOO unions have been demanding, before they can return to the negotiating table, that employers unfreeze the 1,500 collective agreements it has...
Germany: employers may force employees to work on Sundays
In Germany, work on Sunday and national holidays is widely banned by the law on working time (Arbeitszeitgesetz). However, the latter contains many exceptions for a series of professional...
Company: EPSU European trade union adopts internal procedure for the negotiation of transnational agreements
The EPSU already signed European agreements but, until now, it managed negotiations on a case-by-case basis. But since this type of negotiation is increasing, the organization’s executive...
Brazil: sixth national employee walk focused on working time cuts
The demonstration on Wednesday, November 11 was the biggest of the six now traditional Working Class Walks (“Marcha de la Clase Trabalhadora”) organized since 2004. This year, the annual...
Great Britain: government rationalizes training and focuses on apprenticeship
Train high-skilled technicians. An economy which dropped by 5.2% over the last 12 months, unemployment affecting almost 2.5 million people: after the recession, the British government will have to...
Italy: two programs may be subject to a vote during the next CGIL Congress
CGIL divided in two. The obvious political disagreements of the organization conference of May 2008 (see our dispatch No. 080456) have spread within the largest union confederation in Italy. Thus...
Sweden: unions present claims for 2010 bargaining
Demanding union requests to boost the economic recovery. The LO (blue collars), TCO (executives and white collars), IF Metall (metalworking), Pappers (paper industry), Livsmedelsarbetarförbundet...
Germany: new minimum agreement in industrial cleaning waiting for employers’ decision
It’s the first time a sectoral minimum wage agreement is subject to the new procedures implemented by the liberal conservative government coalition. The latter gave employers’ representatives a...
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
Pascale Rauline (Axa EWC): “European charter formalises ongoing and accelerated social dialogue on AI”
On 27 November, Axa and its European works council (EWC) signed a charter setting out principles governing the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) and guaranteeing social dialogue on the...
2
Germany: crisis-hit industries cast shadow over 2026 bargaining cycle
In 2026, collective wage agreements for nearly 10 million employees in Germany are set to expire. With upcoming negotiations in crisis-hit 'pilot' sectors such as chemicals and metalworking, the...
2 December 2025
3
Bulgaria: government approves bill to encourage sector-level collective bargaining
On 26 November, the Bulgarian government approved amendments to the labour code designed to reinforce the legal framework for sector-level collective bargaining. The reform aims to stimulate...
2 December 2025
4
EU: social partners in telecoms sign joint statement on AI
On 16 December, the social partners in Europe's telecommunications sector unveiled a joint statement on artificial intelligence. They propose an action plan for skills and commit to raising...
18 December 2025
5
Germany: Erwin Hymer Group’s innovative and award-winning AI agreement
Fed up with negotiating separate agreements for each new artificial intelligence (AI) tool, the social partners at Erwin Hymer Group (8,900 employees) have instead secured a broad, overarching...
12 December 2025
6
France: Orange submits gender equality agreement – including AI provisions – for union approval
The three representative trade unions at Orange France have until 10 December to validate an agreement on gender equality, work–life balance and anti-discrimination measures. While the text...