Great Britain: mobilization against the public sector pension reforms continues but cannot seem to find its gravity center
It was from amongst these unions that the 28 March date was identified as the next date for coordinated strike action. In the run up to the intended national strike, these unions carried out...
Italy: mobilization against the reform of Article 18 is starting
Today, March 23, the 10th anniversary of the large demonstration the CGIL organized against the reform of Article 18, forcing the then Berlusconi administration to withdraw the bill, the Council...
Sweden: negotiations in steel and metal are over
“Red” agreement.  Agreements are given a defined color depending on the businesses they affect.  The “red” agreement (röda avtal) is for private  undertakings affiliated with the Stål och Metall...
Italy: Giorgio Squinzi, new President of the Confindustria employers’ organization
“My goal is to be everyone’s President” Giorgio Squinzi said at a press conference yesterday morning, March 22, after he was elected as the new President of the Confindustria employers’...
Austria: spring collective bargaining schedule in the industry
The PRO-GE and GPA-djp unions released their schedule for the spring collective negotiations in manufacturing.  They affect about 120,000 employees.  As negotiations in the electrical and...
Italy: consultation on labor law reform ends with another union break
Mario Monti, President of the Italian Council, said, “It will be the government’s reform, and we will be liable for it before Parliament.”  His ‘technical’ government could succeed where...
Germany: cooperation framework agreement between Bulgarian and German unions to improve the working conditions of Bulgarian workers in Germany
Inhumane working conditions.  Gathering unionists and political decision-makers from Germany, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania, the international conference was dedicated to the risks and...
21 March 2012
Portugal: CGTP calls for general strike on March 22 against austerity and the Labor Code reform
General strike.  The CGTP issued a 24-hour strike notice for March 22 to protest against the government’s austerity policy and Labor Code reform.  The union organization believes that the...
Italy: banking unions demand pay ceiling for senior and top managers
Limiting top managers’ pay would “shield banks from unfair competition on compensation escalation” and would add “equity and social justice” to the actions taken by the government, the Bank of...
Germany: Verdi (services) and EVG (rail) unions sign cooperation agreement ending their rivalry in the transportation industry
Longstanding rivalry.  Christine Behle, member of Verdi’s management and in charge of the Transport department, told Planet Labor that the rivalry between Verdi (formerly ÖTV) and EVG (formerly...
PSA/GM Alliance: the EWCs and unions of the two carmakers coordinate to assess the consequences of their alliance on employment
Coordination under the auspices of the EMF.  In a press release published today, March 19, the European Metalworkers’ Federation announced that leading figures from the European worker...
Great Britain: new minimum wage rate for adults and apprentices as of October 1, 2012
Minimum wage.  The independent Low Pay Commission (LPC), a statutory body whose role is to advise the Government on the National Minimum Wage, gave the government its 13th report on February 15. ...
Germany: regions are trying to attract skilled workers
the growing importance of the shortage of skilled workers in Germany. These past few years, over 700 networks gathering different roleplayers (chambers of commerce, employment agencies, towns...
19 March 2012
Italy: temporary unions staunchly opposed to agreements allowing agencies to derogate from equal treatment
Italia Lavoro, the Ministry of Labor’s technical agency, and Assolavoro, the association of temporary employers, signed, in September 2011, an agreement valid until December 31, 2013, to implement...
15 March 2012
United States: AFL-CIO gives Barack Obama conditional and fringe support
After major AFL-CIO members such as the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the Communication Workers of America (CWA), the United Steelworkers (USW), the...
Sweden: government, employers and unions agreed on a new type of agreement in case of crisis based on the German “kurzarbeit” (short-time working)
Learn the lessons from past crises.  The new system is called “korttidsarbete” (short-term working) and is directly inspired from the “krisavtal” (crisis agreements) negotiated in some...
13 March 2012
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
France: Bayer puts female health and inclusive parenthood at the centre of its equality policy
In a new agreement on gender equality highlighted by mind RH, Bayer commits to strengthening its parenthood policy. Furthermore, the company is anticipating pay transparency and introducing...
25 September 2026
2
Germany: Volkswagen cancels almost all collective bargaining agreements signed with IG Metall
The Volkswagen brand announced on 30 September that it is terminating 10 of its 13 internal collective bargaining agreements, effective 31 December 2026. The announcement, which the carmaker...
1 October 2026
3
France: final document on the work of the Labour, Employment and Pensions Conference
After six months of discussions between French social partners, the guarantors of the Labour, Employment and Pensions Conference submitted the conclusions of the discussions to the Prime Minister...
17 September 2026
4
Germany: Employers’ representatives seek to limit the rights of works councils
The Employers' Federation of German Employers' Associations (Bundesvereinigung der Deutschen Arbeitgeberverbände - BDA) published a report at the end of September in which it proposes a...
5
Germany: working time dispute between Mercedes and the IG Metall Union
The news. At the beginning of September, Mercedes-Benz asked employee representatives and the IG Metall union to agree to an increase in the weekly working time from 35 to 40 hours, without any...
16 September 2026
6
Germany: major day of union action in the automotive industry ahead of collective bargaining
A few weeks before the start of collective bargaining in the German metalworking sector, the IG Metall trade union mobilised nearly 175,000 workers across more than 200 industrial sites on 21...
22 September 2026