All articles

Italy: the Democratic Party trying to reunite unions after the break on the reform of the conventional system
Walter Veltroni, leader of the democratic party, met, last night, with the three trade unions, CGIL, Cisl and Uil, after meeting with the employers' association Confindustria on October 2. The...
Spain: renewal of the collective agreement of the insurance sector
Employers and trade unions in the mutual and insurance sector signed, on October 1, a new collective agreement which will be in force until 2011. Signed by the Unespa, the Amat and the Asecore for...
Belgium: Belgian employers say the right to strike is not an absolute right
During the national day of action launched by the three Belgian trade union confederations CSC, FGTB and CGSLB, employers deplored this initiative which paralyzes public transportation and...
EU: the European Commission adopted a package on the reconciliation of professional and family life
On Friday, October 3, the European Commission adopted a series of measures on better work-life balance. In addition to the revision of the directive on maternity leaves (see our dispatch No...
EU: the European Commission proposes to extend minimum maternity leave to 18 weeks
On October 3, the European Commission adopted the proposal for the revision of Directive 92/85 on the protection of maternity along with a package for reconciling professional and family life. The...
Belgium: national conference on pensions
The Minister for Social Integration, Pensions and Urban Policy, Marie Arena (Socialist Party) presented to the Council of Ministers on October 3, 2008, a project of national conference on...
Spain: Seat and Nissan and Seat decrease production to face the sales drop
Decreased production at Seat’s. Seat (Volkswagen) told its employees that it needed to stop part of the production on the Martorell site, near Barcelona, to face the dropping sales. The company...
EU : EU ministers promises to speed up the revision of the EWC Directive
A fast approval of the draft Directive on EWC. After the support of the European Commission to the joint amendments of the European social partners (see our dispatch n°080643), the Council of...
Germany: the Hans-Böckler Foundation says the restructuring of Deutsche Bahn AG upsets the staff
Increased flexibility, work overload and fear of lost jobs in the aftermath of the restructuring of the German railway have sharply increased the stress of the remaining workforce after the...
EU: sectoral social dialogue mobilized against the Commission’s plans in terms of quotas for the emission of greenhouse gas
Within a few days, the European Social Partners of the steel and chemistry sectors stepped up to the plate against the planned revision of the Community system to change the quotas of emission of...
Great Britain: ID cards for foreign nationals as of November 2008
Chief measure of the government's fight against illegal labor, biometric ID cards will now be mandatory for foreign nationals willing to enter or stay in the country. The trade unions, together...
Portugal : the new labor code will be approved at the latest on November 7, 2008
The bill was adopted on its first reading thanks to the vote of the socialist MPs in majority. The two right-wing parties abstained, while the communists and the far left voted against. Two steps...
Italy : union representation and work at the center of the UIL 7th conference
Created in 1950, the UIL is the third Italian union organization with over two million members and two levels of representation: 1° horizontally through its regional unions, 107 provincial...
Valeo: the EWC organized transnational collective action
The European works council of the French motor vehicle equipment manufacturer Valeo (almost 70.000 employees in Europe) decided, during a bureau meeting on September 11, to call all the European...
Great Britain: minimum wage increase on October 1
Hourly minimum wage for workers over 22 increased of 3.8% on October 1, 2008. It went from £5.52 (around €7) to £5.73 (around €7.30). Workers aged 18-21 will receive £4.77 (€6) instead of £4.60...
EU: the European Commission chooses to postpone the revision of the directive on the involvement of employees in the European Company
Planned for this year, the revision of the directive which provides for the involvement of employees in the European Company will be delayed to 2009, when the directive on the regulations creating...
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1
EU: Omnibus Directive clears key milestone in European Parliament
On 13 October, the European Parliament’s position on the Omnibus Directive was approved by its Committee on Legal Affairs by 17 votes to six. Regarding due diligence rules, the report...
13 October 2025
2
mind RH analysis – Initial findings from CSRD social indicators
In 2025, for the first time, the universal registration documents of major European companies contain the sustainability reporting required by the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive...
3
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
4
Italy: European pay transparency directive, a major step forward for businesses
Italy’s labour market continues to suffer from limited pay transparency and a persistent gender pay gap. The forthcoming implementation of the EU pay transparency directive — still awaiting...
5
Germany: EU pay transparency directive to force companies to ‘get tough’
Germany introduced a pay transparency law in 2017, meaning companies are already somewhat familiar with the issue. However, the broader scope and stricter requirements of the EU directive, the...
24 October 2025
6
France: government proposes suspending pension reform
French prime minister Sébastien Lecornu, reappointed on 10 October after resigning four days earlier, delivered his general policy speech to the National Assembly on 14 October. He announced the...
15 October 2025