All articles

Germany: Volkswagen to end all contracts with agency workers
-offs for others: Martin Winterkorn, chief executive of the German carmaker VW, announced in an interview with the magazine Der Spiegel (02.03) that the group is going to cut this year all the...
Italy: the Council of Ministers approves the bill on the reform of the right to strike
0% of union members must vote for it. Failing this, if the strike call is voted by at least 20%, it will be necessary for them to obtain approval by 30% through a “prior compulsory...
General Motors Europe: European mobilization to save Opel and Saab
s of the American firm mobilized throughout Europe to protest against the announced restructuring. Opel/Vauxhall and Saab’s employees are the main targets, while GM is planning drastic cuts...
Germany: in western Germany, the textile industry threatens with warning strikes
at the 3rd negotiation round of February 26, 2009 was “intolerable”, the IG Metall union (metalworkers), which demands a 5.5% wage increase for employees in the textile and clothing...
Austria: unions accept to reduce the time partially unemployed workers are protected against dismissal
strian Parliament voted an amendment to the law on partial unemployment, which legally brings it from 6 to 18 months maximum. Meanwhile, the social partners signed an agreement which enables...
Portugal: analysis of the new Labor Code
Planet Labor, March 3, 2009, No. 090227 – www.planetlabor.com
EU: Work Program of the European Social Partners 2009-2010
Employment. In terms of employment, the social partners will present a joint recommendation aimed at contributing to the definition of the Post-Lisbon agenda (i.e. the European political framework...
Sweden: the economic situation jeopardizes unemployment insurance funds
omic crisis in Sweden, the number of jobseekers reached a record level in January 2009 – 7.3% of the active population – a level it didn’t reach since the 1970s. With dismissal...
Brazil: legal battle on dismissals within the Embraer aircraft company
for one week the 4.270 dismissals announced by the third aircraft manufacturer in the world, Embraer, until the conciliation meeting with unions. They ask the government to nationalize the...
Belgium: Volvo extends partial unemployment until summer
k, based in Gent, northwestern Belgium, announced the extension of partial unemployment measures until the end of June, at least. In February, Volvo introduced a system with two or three idle days...
Poland: the social partners keep talking about the crisis at their social summit
h No. 090194), a social summit held on February 25, at the request of President Lech Kaczynski, gathering unions, employers’ organizations, representatives from the government, local...
Finland: government unilaterally raises normal retirement age from 63 to 65
, on February 24, 2009, that the government decided to progressively raise retirement age from 63 to 65. It will be put into place by a measure destined to finance retirement in the context of the...
Austria: Telekom Austria’s Director of Personnel creates an outrage by explaining his “mobbing” techniques on YouTube
ube video sharing website shows Gernot Schieszler, Director of Personnel of the largest telephone company in Austria, explain to investors how to lobby hundreds of employees with the status of...
Italy: court confirms legitimacy of emails at work for union communication
ily) condemned the S.T. Microelectronics company for antiunion behavior for it sanctioned a Fiom representative for sending union emails to the professional emails of his colleagues. By doing...
China: entrepreneurs promise not to lay off
a handful of Chinese entrepreneurs promised not to lay off or reduce wages. The idea is simple: the Chinese economy has to move away from exports and produce for its internal market if it wants to...
26 February 2009
Bolivia: businesses threaten with thousands of dismissals after the minimum wage increase
against the presidential decree which commands a 12% minimum wage increase in 2009. A general wage increase in the private sector will depend on the results of the negotiation between the social...
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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
3
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...