Sweden: agreement in the energy industry supervises gradual retirement
On April 25, 2013, the EFA (Energiföretagens Arbetsgivareförening) energy employers’ organization and the SEKO communication and service workers’ union signed a new agreement.  It provides for a...
France: second Social Conference will focus on the pension reform
Retirement, vocational training, future sectors, working conditions and public services will be the five themes on the agenda of the next Social Conference bringing together the government and the...
Italy: Enel signs two framework agreements on the management of ‘surplus’ workers
On May 9, Enel group and the Filctem-CGIL, Flaei-Cisl and Uiltec-Uil unions signed two framework agreements on the management of ‘surplus’ workers.  The first is on the group implementing Article...
Germany: new pilot collective agreement in Bavaria dismisses threat of open strike in the metal industry
Putting an end to a conflict punctuated with major warning strikes, the powerful Bavarian federation of the IG-Metall union and the Gesamtmetall employers’ organization reached, early this...
Spain: Holcim, one of the first large businesses in Spain to provide a true outplacement program to its outgoing employees
In Spain, the building sector has been particularly hard hit by the current economic crisis and certainly the Spanish subsidiary of the multinational Holcim, whose core business includes...
Italy: Vodafone Italia signs agreement “redefining wage costs” and dealing with 700 ‘surplus’ workers
Launched in March, the negotiations between Vodafone Italia, the SLC-CGIl, Fistel-Cisl and Uilcom-Uil unions and the national RSU coordination led to an agreement on May 4.  It contains...
Germany: strike takes trial of strength between Verdi union and Amazon on collective agreement to the next level
The Verdi services union called on the employees of the American internet giant, Amazon, to take part in a one-day strike today, May 14, in two logistics centers: Leipzig (Saxony) and Bad Hersfeld...
Spain: cleaning unions and employers sign the sector’s first national collective agreement
Representatives from the UGT and CCOO’s service federations and from the ASPEL and AFELIN employers’ organizations signed the agreement on May 9.  It is the result of long negotiations aimed at...
Denmark: social partners and labor inspectorate issue 22 recommendations to limit the negative impact restructurings have on the mental working environment
Last week, employers, unions and the labor inspectorate issued 22 recommendations to limit the negative impact restructurings and other changes have on workers’ mental health.  The goal is to...
Great Britain: after failing to create a big rail and road transport union with the RMT, TSSA is thinking about creating a big transport union with Unite
After the failure of talks to agree on a merger between the Transport Salaried Staff Association (TSSA) and the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union in 2012, the TSSA has announced that it...
Austria: 3.2% wage increase for chemical workers
After three unavailing meetings, the social partners in the Austrian chemical industry finally agreed, on Friday, May 3, 2013, on a 3.2-3.3% wage increase for the sector’s 50,000 employees. ...
Belgium: more and more social conflicts
In 2012, the number of restructurings, bankruptcies and job losses in Belgium boomed, and so has the number of strikes.  Unions are multiplying actions and yet having a hard time getting heard. ...
Ireland: government threatens to force the public sector reform through
As expected, the negotiations launched in January to try and save 1 billion in the three years to come were hindered by rejection from government workers.  in the coming days, a mediator should...
Germany: 60,000 temporary jobs in jeopardy in the auto industry
Profits are going down for Daimler, Volkswagen and BMW.  The German carmakers, who until recently were doing quite well, are now being hit by the European crisis.  They want to maintain their...
Italy: unity is back for the three largest union confederations
With the “crisis getting worse,” the Cgil, Cisl and Uil unions decided to stand united again.  Their first commitment in this direction, validated the day before May Day, was to decide on unitary...
Luxembourg: towards a strike in construction
After the social partners met again on April 27, the biggest union in the country and the sector, OGBL, announced that it would request a certification that the conciliation procedure failed.  The...
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...
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
Germany: standoff over national plan to boost collective bargaining
Under the EU Adequate Minimum Wages Directive, Germany is required to produce an action plan to boost collective bargaining coverage. That plan has stalled, however, after being blocked by the...
9 February 2026
5
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...
6
ENI incorporates just transition and AI into global agreement
On 13 January, Italian energy group ENI renewed its global agreement on international industrial relations, corporate social responsibility and the just transition with Italian unions CGIL, CISL...
5 February 2026