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Portugal: government proposes raising minimum wage to 475 euros in 2010
hly minimum wage amounting to 475 euros in 2010, to apply the commitment taken with the social partners in 2006. This proposal still needs to be discussed by the social dialog committee. (Ref...
Belgium: boom of young “prepensioners” because of the crisis
the prepension system in 2008. This year, already 2,393 people have, i.e. a 400% increase in one year. In theory, early retirement – which allows workers of a certain age who were fired to...
Italy: government presents “action program for the introduction of women into the labor market”
Labor Minister Maurizio Sacconi and Minister for Equal Opportunities Mara Carfagna presented, on December 1st, the “action program for the introduction of women into the labor market.” Endowed...
EU: European Observatory on Cross Border Temporary Agency Work
Help workers and agencies. The European social partners in the temporary work sector signed, on December 4, an agreement establishing the European Observatory on Cross Border Temporary Agency...
Great Britain: unionized employees earn 12.5% more than their non-unionized colleagues, TUC says
The Union Advantage report published by TUC is aimed at encouraging employees to join a trade union. It also shows that it is also good for employers to facilitate union activity in their firm.
Sweden: unions and employer fight over part-time in retail and trade for 2010 negotiations
‘ organization in retail and trade, responded strongly to the claim presented by the sector’s union, Handels, to introduce a right to full time work into collective agreements. The...
EU: employment and skills at the heart of the revival of European sectoral social dialog in finance
ing daggers at each other, trade union and employers’ organizations in the banking sector met on November 27. Talks resumed around a report commissioned by the European Commission on the new...
Netherlands: TNT Post gives up European ambitions
ced that it abandoned its strategy for a pan-European post. The Dutch group is going to sell its postal subsidiaries abroad and is looking for partners in Germany and the UK. TNT Post keeps on...
Germany: walkout at Daimler, calm at Opel
s at the Sindelfingen plan demonstrated, on Friday, December 4, in Stuttgart, to protest against the management’s will to transfer, starting in 2014, most of the production of the C-Class to...
EU: European social dialog in the paper industry on the way of formalization
e paper sector, CEPI and EMCEF, informed the European Commission in October that they wanted to take cooperation further. To validate the formalization of European social dialog in the sector, the...
Germany: thirteenth month globally higher in 2009 than in 2008
After analyzing 23 major sectoral agreements, the WSI concluded that 2009’s 13th month should be much higher than in 2008. In concrete terms, these increases range between 1.5 and 7.3%, i.e...
Belgium: the extension of anticrisis measures revives the debate on the harmonization of blue-collar and white-collar statuses
Harmonizing blue-collar and white-collar workers’ statuses. This is an old awe-inspiring specter for Belgian social dialog, resurfacing with the economic crisis. After negotiations between the...
Germany: unions and temporary agencies want to stop wage dumping at the Schlecker hardware stores
“XL stores for XS wages.” In Bremen, Heidelberg, or many other cities in Germany, unhappy employees and sympathizing customers have been demonstrating against the new strategy of the Schlecker...
France: summary of the key measures of the law on lifelong vocational guidance and training
Portability of individual training rights. In all cases where the termination of the labor contract isn’t justified by gross misconduct, and entitles to unemployment insurance, employees who...
Great Britain: government measures to cope with the shortage of skilled workers in engineering construction
Talent shortage. In February 2009, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) asked Mark Gibson, former director general of this department, to draw a report on productivity and...
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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
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...
3
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...
4
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...