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Germany: IG-Metall union calls for better regulation of agency work
00 agency workers lost their job since the crisis began in steel, textile and wood, the IG-Metall metalworkers’ union urged the government, on July 1, 2009, to take measures to limit the...
Belgium: employers stir up heated debate on pension reform
Base pensions on life expectancy. Inversely, life expectancy has been increasing since the 1970s. “In 1975, people lived, in average, until 75; now they live until 85” explained Klaas Soens...
Italy: the three unions of the electricity sector present separate platforms for the renewal of their national collective agreement
tricity sector each presented their platform for the renewal of the national collective agreement (CCN). Claims are quite similar, except for wage claims: the Filcem-CGIL wants an average 190...
Germany: with the crisis, videoconferencing becomes a serious alternative to business trips
s: the crisis and the development of CSR practices have a growing influence on business trips. This is what comes out of the annual report (2009 business trip report) of the business travel...
Australia: in response to the crisis, the social-democrat government questions the liberal basis of labor law and conventional relations
loyees are covered by a new law, the Fair Work Law, which replaces the Workchoices Law, voted by a conservative majority in 1996 and amended in 2005. The new law balances labor relations...
Lithuania: towards a compromise between unions and government on the auterity policy to avoid social conflict
a particularly intense week. Following the project to cut civil servants’ pay and the announcement of a drastic austerity policy, the key union organization organized hunger strikes. Subject...
Great Britain: government wants to include dual discrimination into Equality Bill
rimination based on two characteristics (black woman for instance). To protect them, the government suggests introducing into the Equality Bill the possibility to press charges for dual...
Netherlands: partial unemployment benefits extended
Partial unemployment is the only special concrete measure taken by The Hague regarding employment to fight the impact of the crisis. No tax or other aids have been given to businesses. This system...
Germany: IG-Metall survey reveals that employees demand more social equity
legislative elections, the German metalworkers’ unions, IG-Metall, presented, on July 3, 2009 in Berlin, the results of the largest study a trade union ever carried out among employees in...
Italy: Saint-Gobain finished implementing national commitments in terms of restructuring for its Italian undertakings
the local implementation of the national agreement signed between Saint-Gobain and the sector’s unions on restructuring in three Italian undertakings of the French multinational. The group...
ArcelorMittal: coming conclusion of a transnational agreement on anticipating change
cial negotiating body (SNB) – composed of three representatives from the steel group’s management and of three representatives from the European Metalworkers’ Federation (EMF)...
HP: EWC and unions against the social plan
enting EWC members and employees from communicating, union representatives from different countries met, on June 30, under the leadership of the European Metalworkers’ Federation (EMF) and...
Germany: Minister of Employment and Social Affairs creates permanent minimum wage committee
f government representatives and social partners, will study in which sectors it will be possible and necessary to introduce minimum wage. It will work on the basis of the recent “law on...
Spain: Ford lowers social plan in Valencia
at Ford, where the local government, unions and the management made progress. The administration wants a lower social plan, with 294 job cuts instead of 1,100. The carmaker announced that the...
Italy: Fiom-CGIL presents platform for the renewal of the economic part of the metal national collective agreement
federation – decided to present its platform for the renewal of the economic part of the sector’s national collective agreement three months early, after the Fim-Cisl and Uilm-Uil...
Google: search engine follows HR to fight against “brain drain”
or user of highly-skilled workers, brain hunt is a daily sport, sometimes dangerous for the businesses affected. To limit the risks of loosing in creativity and competitiveness in the long run...
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1
France: austerity measures proposed in social security financing bill for 2026
Limits on sick leave, the end of social security exemptions for apprentices, and the introduction of additional birth leave: the 2026 social security financing bill, presented to parliament on 14...
16 October 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
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
4
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...
5
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...
6
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...