National industrial relations
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Germany: train drivers begin their longest strike in the history of rail
“Shameless train drivers”, “unconstitutional strike”, “ He has just lost his mind” (Editor’s note: the president of the GDL train drivers union), … the announcement of an extraordinary train...
6 November 2014
Italy: a general strike called by Fiom comes at a time of increasingly tense relations between government and the unions
The general committee of the Fiom union called for an 8-hour general strike for this month to protest the latest government policy. Workers assemblies and protests against the violence perpetrated...
5 November 2014
Chèque Déjeuner: establishment of European Works Council
On November 4 the French cooperative group that employs 2,300 signed an agreement, negotiated with an SNB comprising six different countries, that will put European Works Council in place. The...
4 November 2014
Portugal: a new company agreement for the Volkswagen Palmela factory
Autoeuropa/Volkswagen management and the workers’ commission of the German car factory near Lisbon have signed a new company agreement. The workers have won a 2% pay rise, currently something...
4 November 2014
Great Britain: the living wage on the rise and 21% greater than the national minimum wage
More than 1,000 British businesses committed to paying the voluntary living wage threshold, which is much higher than the statutory minimum wage, will have to pay more again this year. The rise...
4 November 2014
Great Britain: CAC annual report on statutory trade union recognition
The Central Arbitration Committee (CAC), the state body that adjudicates upon claims from unions for statutory union recognition, has published its 2013-2014 annual report. It shows that...
3 November 2014
Canada: Ikea Richmond employees getting back to work after 17 months of conflict
On Wednesday 22 October, unionized employees from the Ikea store in Richmond, near Vancouver, signed a new collective agreement with the store's management, marking the end of a battle that has...
31 October 2014
Italy: union agreement on geolocation reached at Ericsson
On 23 October, the company Ericsson Telecomunicazioni S.p.A. reached an agreement on the use of a geolocation system for its field technicians in order to “optimise services”. The unions are glad...
30 October 2014
Norway: salary adjustments at Posten Norge AS amidst worries regarding liberalisation of postal sector
The general negotiations which took place at Posten Norge AS in spring allocated 3 million Norwegian krone (335,015 euros) to local negotiations. The discussions have now been completed, the...
30 October 2014
France: after USA setback, ex-employees of Samsonite continue their fight at the High Court in London
The legal battle continues for French ex-employees of Samsonite. After a setback in the USA, they will now continue by taking the British branch of Bain Capital, an American investment fund, to...
30 October 2014
Alstom/GE: Alstom EWC secures guarantees for the employees concerned by the absorption of Alstom Power into GE
Yesterday, on 28 October, the Alstom European Works Council finally issued its much awaited positive opinion on the absorption of Alstom Power into General Electric. This decision will allow the...
29 October 2014
Suez Environnement: publication of European agreement on fundamental principles for health and safety at work (French version)
The agreement signed on 12 June last year, between the water treatment and waste management group, the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) and the special negotiating body, takes...
29 October 2014
Austria: 2.1% salary increase in metal industry’s largest federation
The PRO-GE (industrial workers) and GPA-djp (private sector employees) trade unions and the FMMI, the main employers’ federation in the Austrian metal industry, came to an agreement on a salary...
29 October 2014
Italy: clash between the CGIL and government worsens after huge protest in Rome
Despite the huge protest by the CGIL (Italian General Confederation of Labor), which on Saturday 25 October united at least one million participants according to organisers, the government has no...
28 October 2014
Germany: the right to part-time training, early retirement and salary increases mark initial discussions in the metal sector
The two-year collective agreement applying to the German metal sector, which begun at the beginning of 2013, will expire on 31 December. Social partners in the sector are already starting to...
28 October 2014
Air France-KLM: a new European Works Council agreement which increases its influence on strategic issues
The new agreement governing the European Works Council (EWC) within the Air France KLM Group (AFKL), signed on 12 June, increases its involvement in strategic matters. This change takes into...
28 October 2014
Our mind news
Crédit Agricole is to adopt stricter rules on remote work from mid-March onwards. The rules will be tightened for employees, but the maximum number of days working remotely will remain unchanged.
29 January 2026
The three representative trade unions at Orange France have until 10 December to validate an agreement on gender equality, work–life balance and anti-discrimination measures. While the text...
8 December 2025
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...
31 October 2025
Candice Guillot, group director of employee experience and HR performance at Talan (7,000 employees), outlines for mind RH her vision and strategy for introducing artificial intelligence at the...
20 October 2025
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
Oliver Dietrich (IG Metall): “The advent of AI can be a means of deepening social partnership within companies”
In Germany, trade unions want to influence how AI is deployed in companies. Oliver Dietrich is an AI project manager at the regional office of the IG Metall trade union in North Rhine-Westphalia...
21 January 2026
2
EU: social partners split over competitiveness and action on job quality
The European Trade Union Confederation and BusinessEurope have published their response to the consultation document on the European Commission's upcoming EU quality jobs initiative. The two...
4 February 2026
3
Germany: collective bargaining negotiations begin in chemical industry
Collective bargaining talks in Germany’s chemical and pharmaceutical industries are due to open this week, covering nearly 580,000 employees across around 1,700 companies. With the sector facing...
3 February 2026
4
Italy: new generational renewal agreement penned at UniCredit
The agreement signed on 30 December by UniCredit, Italy’s second-largest banking group, with the Fabi, First-Cisl, Fisac-Cgil, Uilca and Unisin trade unions aims to continue generational...
15 January 2026
5
France: social partner talks extend far beyond contractual terminations
After a false start on 3 December, French social partners resumed talks on 7 January 2026 on potential changes to the unemployment insurance agreement, including the rules governing compensation...
12 January 2026
6
EU: banking sector social partners commit to combating violence and harassment
On 15 January, the trade union federation UNI Europa Finance and three employers’ associations in the banking sector signed a joint statement on preventing violence and harassment in the...
16 January 2026