Germany: new steel collective agreement provides for a 3.8% increase and the recruitment of apprentices
3.8% increase.  “It was a ‘tough start’ but we got an excellent result” rejoiced Oliver Burkhard, leader of the IG-Metall in North Rhine-Westphalia.  Reminding the uncertain character of the...
Italy: Luxottica’s company agreement tests “family job sharing”
“Bank of hours” for parents.  Throughout this agreement, employees planning on having a baby may put unused leaves, overtime and flexibility hours they usually turn into remuneration on a “bank of...
22 November 2011
Germany: GDL train driver ends conflict with four private rail companies
Compromise.  After 10 months of bargaining, massive warning strikes and a mediation procedure which lasted for 11 weeks, run by Georg Milbradt, former Prime Minister of Saxony, the GDL and four...
Great Britain: unions press ahead with the national strike on 30 November
In early November, the David Cameron administration made two concessions on its draft public pension reform to soften unions: the first increasing the accrual rate – the percentage of salary...
United States: discrimination complaints soar
Created in 1975, the institution also rejoiced with the 10 percent decrease in its pending charge inventory, “the first such reduction since 2002.”  The agency also reminded that, “In previous...
18 November 2011
Germany: Alcatel-Lucent Network Services employees sign company framework agreement with the support of the IG-Metall
High employee mobilization.  The IG-Metall claims that the employees of Alcatel-Lucent Network Services GmbH, in Düsseldorf, were not covered by a collective agreement.  They were paid depending...
Italy: report shows green economy “resists the crisis”
“The experience of the 370,000 businesses which, from 2008 to present, invested into ecotechnologies once again proves that this crisis can be overcome by banking on innovation, quality and...
17 November 2011
Germany: construction employers and unions want to improve workers’ safety on the sites
A plea mostly for SMEs.  “Ensuring safety on the site is a common task for which both employers and employees are responsible.  Everyone must be careful, assess risks and fight them on time...
16 November 2011
Venezuela: new Organic Labor Law and creation of an official pro-Chavez union
Over 5,000 union representatives from all sectors met on Thursday, November 10, during the “Unity Conference” to proclaim the creation of the Bolivarian Socialist Workers Force, a new official...
International: pharmaceutical unions improve their network
“Growth.”  During the meeting, unions expressed concern as regards employment and working conditions in the sector.  There are more and more mergers, buyouts and restructurings, notably to face...
Great Britain: employers to increase wages by 3% in 2012
Inflation: 5.2%.  The data comes from the September edition of Mercer’s TRS Quarterly Pulse Survey which analyses the pay plans of 329 multinational organizations operating across 69 countries in...
United States: labor unions to stop financing electoral campaigns in 2012
One year to the US Presidential election, which will coincide with the House and Senate elections, not all candidates have been officially revealed but their campaigns’ financing has already...
Brazil: Sao Paulo metalworkers win wage campaign
The Sao Paulo metalworkers’ union, member of the Central Workers’ Union (Central Unica dos Trabalhadores, CUT) said that the so-called “wage campaign” was a “victory.”  In this State of Brazil...
International: auto union representatives build network
The aim of this trip was to build direct contacts between the representatives of Indian trade unions in auto multinationals and their colleagues in the parent companies to help the latter support...
Great Britain: RMT union to intensify campaign for the fair treatment of cleaners and catering staff across the transport industry
The RMT argues that the victory was secured as a result of the ‘strength, solidarity and sheer courage’ of its members and that this shows to 'low paid workers everywhere that if you organise in a...
Austria: 110,000 heating engineers and fitters get a 3.85% wage increase
Metallgewerbe” sector, which includes thousands of SMEs, 110,000 employees and covers the trades of heating engineer, fitter (air conditioning, security electronics…) or mechanics...
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