All articles

Netherlands: unions to ask for wage increases up to 2% in 2010
On November 13, national statistics announced the end of the recession, with a 0.4% growth in the third 2009 quarter. Three days later, the Federation of Dutch Unions (FNV) announced that it would...
Great Britain:government tightens the screws in terms of labor immigration
Fewer jobs offered to foreigners. In a major speech about immigration, Gordon Brown revealed his projects to make it harder for foreigners to enter the country. Thus, after the reduced list of...
Unilever: the group signs an agreement on working conditions for Pakistani Lipton workers with IUF
Agency workers. The agreement signed in London in mid-November puts an end to several months of conflict between Unilever’s management and the 200 Pakistani workers of its Lipton subsidiary in...
Denmark: LO union and DA employers’ organization sign framework agreement for the renewal of 2010 collective agreements
LO and DA signed a framework agreement which sets the rules for the renewal of the private sector’s collective agreements in the spring 2010, affecting around 600,000 employees. The social...
EU: European Commission wants to prevent General Motors to start “racing for subsidies” among the States
Informal meeting. New round in the Opel case: an informal meeting will be held on Monday, November 23 at the European Commission, with the European Ministers for Economic Affairs and General...
Netherlands: employers and unions concerned with the rise of the populist right
ried about the rise of Geert Wilders, leader of the populist right, presented as the possible Prime Minister after the legislative elections in 2011. Employers denounce the “threat”...
Germany: large businesses are starting vaccination campaigns against the H1N1 flu for their employees
lies in vaccines against the influenza virus have been delayed in Germany, large businesses have decided to take matters in their own hands. A series of businesses started vaccinating their...
Finland: historical strike for Finnair’s pilots who agreed to major concessions but refuse to sign a blank check on subcontracting
Finnair wants to outsource the operation of some plans and lines. Faced with difficulties affecting the entire air sector, the company, which saw the average price of its tickets drop by 15% over...
Spain: the two key unions jointly call for a demonstration on December 12
Warning government and employers. “The general mobilization of December 12 is a warning to avoid worsening social protection” explained Ignacio Fernández Toxo, CCOO general secretary. “We want to...
Romania: unemployment keeps increasing
unemployment has risen in Romania. It reached 7.1% in October, its highest level since 2003. This trend should continue as the country is plunged into a violent economic crisis. (Ref. 091066)...
Italy: Cisl rejects the CGIL’s call for a general strike, preferring a dialog table with the government and Confindustria
The Cisl’s national executive committee, gathered in Rome on November 10, unanimously approved the final document which, in spite of a “moderate economic recovery,” warned about the employment...
Estonia: government to lower contributions on low wages, limit them for high wages and postpone retirement age
The government wants to lower social contributions on low wages. The first pillar of this program is lower social contributions, which should help employers recruiting with part-time contracts and...
United States: American unions more open to women
enter for Economic and Policy Research shows that average unionism has changed: there are more women, forty-year-olds and college graduates. (Ref. 091053) New gender for American unions. A study...
Germany: Commerzbank adopts new pay system oriented towards long-term success
New bonus-malus system. Saved from bankruptcy in 2008 when the State gave €18.2 billion, the Commerzbank is the second bank in German after HVB to deeply reform its bonus system. This reform was a...
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...
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1
Italy: Enel signs agreement to manage the effects of AI on work
An agreement signed at the end of July by the electricity company Enel (31,000 employees) and the unions Filctem-Cgil, Flaei-Cisl, and Uiltec is pioneering in the Italian energy sector. It aims to...
7 September 2026
2
Italy: artificial Intelligence on the menu of Barilla’s new company agreement
Prior consultation with trade unions on innovations related to artificial intelligence, strengthened training, and progress on parenthood: these are the main new features of the agreement signed...
2 September 2026
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France: final document on the work of the Labour, Employment and Pensions Conference
After six months of discussions between French social partners, the guarantors of the Labour, Employment and Pensions Conference submitted the conclusions of the discussions to the Prime Minister...
17 September 2026
4
Germany: a high-tension start to the social and political year
The German government must finalize its major reforms (pension funding, corporate competitiveness, and labor law) while the chancellor’s popularity hits an all-time low and three regional...
5
Germany: working time dispute between Mercedes and the IG Metall Union
The news. At the beginning of September, Mercedes-Benz asked employee representatives and the IG Metall union to agree to an increase in the weekly working time from 35 to 40 hours, without any...
16 September 2026
6
Sweden: IF Metall union forced to end industrial dispute with Tesla
The news. After three years of conflict, the Swedish union IF Metall announced it would suspend its strike actions against Tesla starting Wednesday, August 19, after the American automaker...