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Germany: Opel’s WC condemns Fiat’s plans
is plan for the recovery of Opel – a subsidiary of the American General Motors, to the German Minister for Economic Affairs – Theodor zu Guttenberg – Sergio Marchionne, leader of...
Italy: a free psychological support service for the unemployed has been set up in Bologna
This project was launched to coincide with labour day, under the slogan “May 1st, free psychological support service for all who have lost or are losing their work”. It was officially presented on...
Estonia: merger of unemployment payment services and employment services on 1st May 2009
Providing an improved service. Since 4th May, these two institutions have been merged and the resulting organisation has retained the name of the Estonian unemployment insurance fund (Eesti...
EU: Commission to revise its draft after MEPs reject its proposed revision of the directive on working time for truck drivers
cted, on May 5, the proposition made by the European Commission to revise the directive on working time in road transport. Since the proposition didn’t include independent workers, the...
EU: recommendations to supervise remuneration in finance
The European Commissioner responsible for internal market, Charlie Mc Creevy, presented, on April 29, a recommendation defining guidelines for the development and follow-up of wage policies in...
Germany: ThyssenKrupp wants to improve its restructuring program and reduce joint management
It was without warning that the management of the German steel giant, ThyssenKrupp (TK) announced, on April 23, a restructuring program well beyond the program accepted by the staff...
Italy: Fiat lays 200 white collars off
Fears. While Italian unions welcomed the agreement with Chrysler, a possible alliance with Opel is, on the other hand, giving rise to fear. According to Giuseppe Farina, Fim-Cisl general...
Portugal: over ten thousand workers affected by activity suspension or reduction
High public expenses. The State already spent €2 million to make up for the wage losses deriving from activity reductions. Indeed, as part of plans to support some sectors (see our dispatch No...
EDF: new agreement on social responsibility about to be signed (English version attached)
Larger scope. The new agreement will have a larger scope than the previous one. The 2004 agreement only covered businesses where EDF held a majority of the capital. The 2009 agreement has a larger...
Sweden: the government votes against the bonuses of TeliaSonera and is criticized by the Finnish authorities
The Swedish decision follows the line prohibiting bonuses this year for all public firms as well as the negative vote of the Swedish State on bonuses in all firms with public participation. The...
Romania: Labor Minister envisions minimum salary hike on the short term
The Romanian government envisages increasing minimum wage, on July 1, 2009, from 600 lei (150 euro) up to 1,500 - 1,600 lei (400 euro). According to the Minister, if minimum wage follows the...
Great Britain: 6% pay fall in 2008
In February 2009, average weekly pay was £459.10 (€515) – a 5.8% drop compared with the same period in 2008. The private sector is suffering the most, with a 7.7% wage drop. On the contrary, in...
Areva: interview of the members of the pilot committee of the ODEO project on the implementation of the European agreement on equal opportunities
In a review of the ODEO project (see our dispatch No. 090158) you make a certain number of observations on the results. What do you think are the main lessons you have learned?
France: employment tribunal condemns an investment fund as co-employer for the joint payment of compensation for a redundancy judged null and void
The facts. Mr. Hassan Bahhate had been hired as a colorim preparer by the company Sublistatic (world leader of fashion paper manufacturers, with 223 employees) and was made redundant on 12th...
Austria: trial of strength between the social partners on wage cut
blocked in seven branches with employers demanding more company agreements and a year with no or hardly any wage increases. At the same time certain firms, led by the Austro-Canadian car parts...
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
Catherine Chavanier (CDC Habitat): “Social dialogue on AI facilitates its deployment”
In February, CDC Habitat (10,500 employees) signed a two-year framework agreement governing social dialogue on AI. Catherine Chavanier, HR Director of the subsidiary of CDC (Caisse des dépôts et...
2
Greece: hospitality sector signs first collective agreement aligned with National Social Pact
The hospitality sector (125,000 employees), one of Greece’s largest industries after retail, signed a new two-year collective agreement on 17 March. The text, effective from 1 April 2026...
3
France: La Poste to launch negotiations for an AI agreement
Following the lead of firms such as Axa, Syensqo globally, and more recently CDC Habitat, La Poste group management will open negotiations on an AI regulation agreement during the first half of...
4
France: Club Med includes “multiculturalism” in its professional equality agreement
In December 2025, Club Med and the CFTC, Unsa, and FO trade unions signed an agreement on professional equality and working conditions. It introduces measures addressing AI, pay transparency, and...
23 March 2026
5
France: bioMérieux’s new disability agreement pivots towards mental health
The news. On 6 January 2026, bioMérieux—an in vitro diagnostics specialist employing 4,400 people in France—signed a new four-year agreement “relating to the employment...
6
Germany: a wave of redundancy plans in the automotive sector
The latest financial results presented in early 2026 by major German car manufacturers show sharp declines. This collapse in profits has triggered the announcement or confirmation of massive job...
16 March 2026