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Zara: a case of child work revives the question of the respect of good behavior codes
Following the report published by the Portuguese weekly magazine, Expresso, on children in the north of Portugal who apparently work for one of the suppliers of the Inditex group, owner of Zara...
5 June 2006
Germany : on an unemployment background, the passing of the so-called law of «adaptation» of the Hartz IV reform reopens the debate about the employment policy
Review of the papers from May 29th to June 4th 2004. The German press widely goes back over the debate for or against Hartz IV, which opposed yesterday the conservatives to the socio-democrats on...
Great Britain: relief after the failure of negotiations on the “working time” Directive
The failure of the negotiations conducted in Luxembourg on the revision of the Working time Directive (see our article n° 06552) was welcomed in Great Britain (Réf. 06555)
2 June 2006
Poland : commentary on the «information and consultation of workers» Act
On 21 May 2006, the new act on informing and consulting employees, that implemented the Directive on workers' information and consultation, entered into force (Official Journal 2006/550/3599)...
Belgium: three «anti-discrimination» bills
The Minister for Equal opportunities, Christian Dupont, presented, last May 24 to the Council of Ministers, three preliminary draft laws supplementing the Belgian legislative arsenal and...
Belgium: reform of factory inspectorates and fight against social fraud
The government adopted, on May 24, a strategic plan to fight against social fraud, which aims at optimizing the operation of these services. It also announced its intention to fight against the...
Volkswagen: management is ready to pay a lot to accelerate job cuts
At the beginning of May, Volkswagen announced its intention to cut 20000 jobs, mainly in its German factories. But the collective agreement currently into force excludes any lay-off until 2011...
Spain: trade union CCOO denounce the under-recognition of professional cancers
The trade union CCOO presented, on May 31, a report on the relation between cancer and employment, according to which 160 000 cases of diagnosed cancers are of professional origin. The trade union...
EU Council of Ministers : no agreement on the “working hours” directive
The EU Ministers in charge of social Affairs, gathered on June 1 in Luxembourg, did not manage to agree on the draft revision of the "working hours" directive. It is the second time, after the...
Lithuania: low salaries, insufficient medical care and social instability hold back emigrants
Lithuanians living abroad say working conditions and social guarantees have to improve, in order for them to come back home. (Ref. 06551)
Spain: agreement on a plan to support the textile and clothing industries
The government, trade unions and employers' organization of textile concluded, last 26 May, an agreement on a plan to support the textile and clothing industries, which will be granted 870 million...
Germany: lower than unexpected unemployment, but tense situation on the apprenticeship market
During a press conference on 31 May 2006 in Berlin, Michael Glos, German Minister for Economy, was pleased with the retreat of unemployment in May, announced the same morning by the national...
Italy: the labour market remains very traditional
The Italian labour market, described in the annual report of the statistical institute Istat, made public on May 24, remains far from the Lisbon objectives. "The Italian employment model is still...
Daihatsu could locate a new factory in the Czech Republic or in Slovakia
The Japanese car producer wants to build small cars in Eastern Europe. (Ref. 06547)
Netherlands: a large campaign for the hiring of disabled people
A vast publicity campaign was launched on May 29 by the ministry for Social Affairs and Employment, in favor of disabled or partially invalid people (more than 35 %). (Ref. 06544)
Spain: network of illegal labor is dismantled in the construction industry
A network of illegal labour trafficking has just been dismantled on the Spanish coast. Hundreds of immigrants worked without papers on the construction site of the tourist complex Marina d'Or, in...
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1
British bank Barclays cuts 5,000 jobs to invest in AI
Banking group Barclays has announced the cutting of 5% of its global workforce by the end of the year. Beyond disappointing quarterly results, Barclays primarily intends to free up the funds...
2
Germany: non-EU recruitment remains marginal despite skilled immigration reform
The news. Nearly a year and a half after the entry into force of the “Skilled Immigration Development Act”, only 4% of businesses have recruited at least one employee directly from a...