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Spain: employees look for second jobs
Spanish people didn't wait for the government to announce a recession to get ready to face hard times. Randstad, the temporary work agency, observed, from its own data, that the number of people...
Spain: the government goes easy on the minimum wage increase
Pedro Solbes, Minister for Economic Affairs, announced that minimum interprofessional wages (SMI) would "increase slower than anticipated with different economic circumstances". The trade unions...
EU: Dublin Foundation report on working time
In 2007, average collectively agreed weekly working time in the European Union was 38.6 hours. This is the outcome of the annual survey published by the European Foundation for the improvement of...
Great Britain: job evaluation guide
How to avoid going to court for wage discrimination ? By establishing job and pay evaluation schemes, answers the ACAS - the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service - in a guide published...
China: Shenzhen adopts two regulations to favor social dialogue in companies
The law on the employment contract and the law on the "establishment and development of harmonious working relationships", adopted by the authorities of the special Shenzhen economic zone, which...
11 September 2008
EU: European managers propose amendments to the EWC “recast” directive
After the letter the ETUC, BusinessEurope, the CEEP and the UEAPME (see our dispatch No. 080643) sent to Xavier Bertrand - French Minister of Labor and current President of the EU Employment and...
Companies: benefits and disadvantages of EWCs
After analyzing the direct and indirect costs of a EWC (see our dispatch No. 080674), the study carried out by the GHK Consulting Firm at the request of the European Commission as part of the...
Spain: staff cuts and lower chain activity in the car industry
Several car manufacturers announced job cuts in Spain while others use the flexibility allowed by the collective agreements. However, even larger job cuts are to be expected. Unions are on the...
Germany : IG-Metall about to publish a list of « black sheep » among temp agencies
Confronted with the upsurge of temp employees paid less than the permanent workforce, the Frankfurt section of IG-Metall (which covers four Länder- Hesse, Rheinland-Palatinate, Sarre and...
Companies : actual costs of EWCs
Is it possible to give an accurate evaluation of the costs of a European Works Council ? The European Commission asked the GHK Consulting Firm to carry out a study on this topic in view of the...
Germany : IG-Metall calls VW workers to a mass demonstration for the maintenance of the « Volkswagen law »
By organizing such an impressing assembly the IG-Metall union intends to send “warning signal to all those wishing to abolish the Volkswagen law”. “The repeated attacks by  the European Union, by...
Netherlands: contentious agreement on the limit to unemployment allowances
On September 9, 2008, the government, the Confederation of Dutch Industry and Employers (VNO-NCW) and the Dutch Trade Union Federation (FNV) announced a surprise agreement on unemployment...
Spain: target 1.000 euros a month
The Spanish unions set as their objective, during the pending collective negotiations, that all employees receive 1.000 euros a month minimum. (Ref. 080673)
HP: European trade unions demand re-skilling as an alternative to redundancies
Gathered on September 8 by the Union Network International (UNI) and by the European Metalworkers' federation (EMF), the trade unions of HewlettPackard (HP) expressed concern about the social...
Italy: Alitalia’s unions reject the draft company agreement of the new CAI airline
Tough take off for the Compagnia Aerea Italiana (CAI,) supposed to take over Alitalia's assets (see our dispatch No. 080647.) The rescue plan which was presented to the company's unions plans the...
Netherlands: incentive to work from home two days a week
An agreement reached between the Social Partners and presented on September 8, 2008, encourages employees to work from home to reduce traffic jams. Besides, this agreement exempts companies from...
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1
Netherlands: new government seeks to “control” social costs
In his government policy statement to Parliament on 25 February, Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten announced several measures designed to "control" social costs. Notably, he proposed raising the...
2
Spain: a bill to regulate internships
On 3 March, the Council of Ministers approved the bill on the “Status for persons undergoing non-professional practical training in companies”. The text limits the number of interns a company can...
3
EU: co-legislators aim to pivot European Globalisation Adjustment Fund towards restructuring anticipation
On 25 February, the Council of the EU and the Parliament reached an agreement on the Commission’s proposed regulation to expand the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF). Under the...
4
Block to slash workforce by nearly half
The news. In his latest shareholder letter, Jack Dorsey, CEO of payment service provider Block (formerly Square), announced plans to slash the company’s workforce “by nearly half, from...
5
Germany: launch of the “WE-Fair” alliance for binational training of skilled foreign workers
Germany continues to expand and diversify its initiatives to attract skilled foreign labour from outside the EU. In mid-March 2026, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development...