Sweden: new agreement in rail transport
Wage increase in line with the labor market.  the SEKO union is pleased with the negotiations’ outcome.  “It is the result of a compromise, but it is good we managed to amend working conditions...
Greece: wage elements neutralized in a great deal of sectoral collective agreements
Born from the austerity program adopted last February (see our dispatch No.  120104), this measure provides that employer may unilaterally bring wages to the level of basic pay provided for in the...
EU: European metal, chemical and textile employers in favor of framework conditions that ease prompt restructurings and transitions
Different scenarios.  According to the three organizations – the Council of European Employers of the Metal, Engineering and Technology-Based Industries (CEEMET), the European Chemical Employers...
Italy: first union dedicated to internet professionals within the Uiltucs union federation
“To bring answers to the issues of recognition and protection of new professional fields, traditional unions have to be able to make major changes to its internal structure, operating system and...
Germany: Verdi is about to launch warning strikes in the banking industry
Bad timing for employers.  As Verdi was fighting to get a 6 percent wage increase for the banking sector’s 220,000 employees (see our dispatch No.  120040), we learned, on May 11, that Martin...
Great Britain: Unite members accept the agreement negotiated with the seven oil distribution firms
Observers say the duration of the conflict got the better of the tanker drivers’ determination (about the different episodes, see articles No. 120273 and 120141). On a 69% turnout, 2,000 Unite...
Austria: 4.35 percent wage increase in chemistry
The Austrian chemical sector avoided a social conflict at the last minute.  Indeed, in this rather prosperous sector, negotiations rarely drag on this long.  Thus, the social partners reached this...
Norway: wage agreement in the financial sector
This agreement was signed by the Finansnæringens Arbeidsgiverforening employers’ organization (union of finance businesses) on the one hand and, on the other, the Finansforbundet finance workers’...
United States: American Post bogged down in financial and social difficulties
Nine months ago, as the five-year negotiations for mailmen’s employment framework began, the United States Postal Service (USPS) asked the US Congress for the possibility to “adjust the size of...
Deutsche Post DHL: UNI and ITF union federation intensify global campaign against the violation of workers’ rights by DHL
Lie detectors and bullying.  “Companies that do not embrace corporate responsibility as an integral part of their business model will not be as successful in the long run” declared Franck Appel on...
Netherlands: 5 percent wage increase for Transavia’s ground staff
Transavia’s 600 ground staff will get a 3 percent structural increase in addition to two bonuses, in May 2012 and in May 2013, amounting to 1 percent of annual income.  This agreement answers the...
Italy: the three union confederations call for a national demonstration to change the government’s economic policy
“A big, unitary union demonstration opening a series of claims on labor and taxes” announced CGIL leader Susanna Camusso, when she presented the unitary national demonstration of the three...
Belgium: social election launched
Economic crisis.  After two weeks mobilizing, Belgian unions rejoiced with the rise in the number of candidates for the social election.  This increase is greatly due to the economic context.  The...
Inditex: new agreement on the involvement of unions to monitor the respect of workers’ conditions at supplier firms
The management of the international union federation provides for the introduction of a working program for these agreements to immediately come into force throughout the production chain...
Netherlands: employers worried about wage increases
Employers are sounding the alarm: the wage increases negotiated for 2012 are too high and “don’t mirror the country’s economic situation,” according to the General Employers’ Association (Algemene...
France: the new President of the Republic’s commitments affecting the labor world
First measures.  During his campaign, Hollande gave a few dates on the schedule of the first year of his Presidency and majority – if the socialist party wins the legislative election in June. ...
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