All articles

Ireland: SIPTU union threatens to block negotiations for the national wage agreement
A few days only before social partners' meeting with the Prime Minister to discuss the future national wage agreement, the SIPTU union officially confirmed that it would sign no further agreement...
Germany: first step towards minimum wage in the temporary sector
Two employers' federations in the temporary sector - BZA and IGZ - and the German confederation of trade unions DGB sent, on February 11, 2008, their official request for minimum wage in the...
EU: ETNO and UNI Telecom adopt a statement on social responsibility
During the last sectoral social dialogue committee which took place on December 4, 2007 in Warsaw, European social partners in the telecommunications sector, the ETNO for employers and the UNI...
Hungary: the ITF calls on the Hungarian government to respect its commitments towards railway workers
The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) sent, on February 7, a letter to Transport Minister Kakosi Csaba, asking him to honor the commitments the government took towards workers in...
Great Britain: Government must increase ethnic minorities’ employment rate
A study carried out by the National Audit Office - NAO - which scrutinized employment policies aimed at integrating workers from ethnic minorities, recommends more targeted professional...
Denmark: Government and social-democrats comparing jobplans to face the workforce shortage
Pensioners and students will earn more, active seniors will get tax abatements and compensation allowances for part-time workers will be reduced; these are the main elements in the government's...
Spain: dismissal for temporary disability is not discrimination
In a decision rendered in November 2007, the social chamber of the Spanish Supreme Court rejected the request for avoidance of a dismissal lodged by an employee on a sick leave after an infarct...
Slovakia: social partners can’t agree for the renewal of the collective agreement in the mechanical engineering industry
Social partners from the mechanical engineering industries' sector have not yet signed the collective agreement for 2008-2009. Unions are asking for a 7% increase, which they justify by the...
Austria: negotiations on flexible working time started
Since January 1, 2008, Austrian social partners can negotiate, at both branch and company level, an extension of usual daily and/or weekly working time, respectively to 12 hours a day and 60 hours...
Germany: the conflict between Porsche SE and Volkswagen’s EWC on staff representation still on
After failing to reach an out-of-court settlement with Porsche Automobil Holding AE, VW's EWC just obtained the deferment to April 29, 2008 of the appeal originally planned for February 13...
Portugal: increased appeal to fixed-term and part-time work
The annual report of the Portuguese National Statistics Institute for 2006 shows an increase in fixed-term contracts and a casualization of employment in the past three years, in a context where...
Great Britain: Employment Retention Bill
Despite the government's active policy to integrate disabled people, employees with a handicap are not enough protected by law. John Robertson, labour MP, proposed a bill to keep this category of...
Bulgaria: workers from Kremikovci’s metallurgy factory still on strike
The 3.000 workers of the biggest metallurgy industry in Bulgaria - national pride from the communist era - have been on strike for two weeks. They are asking for better working conditions and...
Sweden: Ericsson to fire 1.000 and maybe more throughout the world
The Swedish telecom carrier Ericsson announced, on February 1, 2008, that, after a disappointing third trimester and a 16% decrease in profits in 2007, the company needs to save 4 billion crowns...
Portugal: social partners’ reaction to the White Paper on labour relations
The White Paper on labour relations (see our article No. 080025) which announces an important reform of the labour code - already deeply reviewed in 2003 - was presented on December 27, 2007 to...
Italy: renewal of the economic part of the national collective agreement for chemistry’s SMEs
On January 28, Union chimica-Confapi for employers and the Filcem-Cgil, Femca-Cisl and Uilcem-Uil unions signed the renewal of the economic part of the national collective agreement of small and...
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
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...