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Germany: new government liberal party brings layoff protection and minimum wage back in the debate
Liberals in control. According to some conservative leaders, the arrival of liberals to the government shouldn’t lead to a “social freeze.” This is at least what Jürgen Rüttgers, conservative...
Denmark: the blockade at the Valbi construction site settled with collective agreements signed for the posted Polish workers
Winning blockade. The massive mobilization from unemployment members of 3 F Bygge, Jord og Miljøarbejdernes Fagforening (BJMF) and of other LO unions who refused to work or to deliver equipment...
Great Britain: labor law amendments enforced on October 1
Minimum wage increase. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) announced that, as of October 1, national minimum wage would go from £5.73 (€6.25) an hour to £5.80 (€6.33) for...
Luxembourg: interprofessional agreement on harassment and violence at work
Definition. The agreement says that “moral harassment happens when a person from the company repeatedly and/or deliberately makes faulty activities towards an employee or a manager, leading to the...
Netherlands: intense negotiations before a bill on retirement at 67
Raising retirement age from 65 to 67 should help the State save €4 billions each year, in a country where the population is ageing and where the birthrate is at half-mast. The Social and Economic...
Brazil: subcontracting employees in Sao Paulo get a 6.53% wage increase
On Monday, September 28, most of the 60,000 metalworkers in Sao Paulo, on strike for ten days, obtained a 6.53% wage increase, i.e. a real 2% increase after removing inflation, and a bonus...
EU: NGOs and unions join forces to introduce environmental and social issues into the European strategy
Common purpose. The schedules of the ETUC and environmental NGOs will be tightly linked for the next few months. The international conference on climate change in December in Copenhagen, puts...
Sweden: employers and union confederations reveal their goals before the renewal of many collective agreements in 2010
Unions don’t want employees to “pay” anymore. The current context isn’t very prone to unions. Since the economic crisis began, they already had to make numerous sacrifices, like Scania’s employees...
Netherlands: fewer layoffs settled at court
From 75,000 in 2003, the number of layoffs challenged in court went down to less than 21,000 in 2008, in spite of the crisis. Indeed, according to the study commissioned by the Ministry of...
Denmark: historical ruling on equal pay
“Historical victory for equal pay.” This is how Gita Gruning, leader of the Teknisk Landsforbund union (technicians and designers), qualified the decree rendered on September 24 by the Danish...
EU: MEPs remove their proposition to include self-employed drivers into the scope of the working time directive for truck drivers
The wind has turned within the European Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs. MEPs finally rejected the report recommending the extension of the 2002 directive on adjusting...
Germany: IG-Metall says the crisis and environmental turn compel to rethink metalworkers’ working time
Massive and durable decline in employment load. “We have to find new working time schemes allowing a) to answer individual flexibility needs and b) to take account of workers’ wage situation” the...
Daimler: official launching of Gl@d, the network of gay employees of the German carmaker
40 employees create GL@D against discrimination. Johanna Kosler and Jorg Sikorski, employees at Daimler, initiated the Gl@d network with the support of the Diversity Management department. In a...
29 September 2009
Spain: agreement at Renault to maintain Spanish sites
Wage freeze and mobility in exchange for new models. The draft agreement of the “Pact for Employment and Competitiveness at Renault Spain” was signed by the management and the UGT, CCOO and CCP...
Unicredit: global union alliance within the group
Improved cooperation. Last week, 13 national unions and the members of Unicredit’s EWC launched a global union alliance. In a communiqué, UNI Finance said that the rapid integration of European...
Italy: the pilot project to support temps affected by the crisis was successful
Promising results. On September 24 Labor Undersecretary Pasquale Viespoli presented the first results of the pilot project to support temps who aren’t entitled to social dampers. In Italy, the...
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1
France: Medef puts forward proposals to improve management quality
On 31 August, Medef, French main employers' organisation, published a practical guide to managerial skills, which it considers to be a driver of economic performance for businesses. Concerned by...
2
AI: uneven integration but a global challenge for the world of work
The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in business is profoundly transforming the world of work, and some occupations are now under threat. However, the full extent of its effects remains...
3
France: Ministry of Labour unveils plan to accelerate the rollout of AI
On 22 September, the French Ministry of Labour presented a plan named Impulsion IA 2027 aimed at accelerating the adoption of AI by companies and employees. It contains 12 measures applicable from...
4
Germany: AfD victory in Saxony-Anhalt raises concerns over labour supply and workplace cohesion
The rise of Germany’s far-right AfD, which could soon gain influence over migration policy in Saxony-Anhalt and, following elections on September 20, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania as well, is...
5
Netherlands: towards a ban on housing cost deductions from migrant workers’ wages
The news. On September 10, Dutch Minister of Social Affairs and Employment Hans Vijlbrief (centre-left) sent a letter to the House of Representatives, stating that he intends to prohibit employers...
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UE: Commission proposes measures to facilitate “fair” worker mobility across the Union
The info. On 15 September, the European Commission adopted a series of measures aimed at encouraging “fair” worker mobility within the EU. It wants to remove the administrative...