EADS: new European agreement on success-sharing
Now that it has a framework for the negotiation of transnational agreements (see our dispatch No.  100677), EADS has renegotiated its success-sharing agreement, which dated back to 2009.  The new...
Italy: banking social partners agree on reforming the sector’s solidarity fund
“A historical victory for the entire union movement since it avoided early or compulsory retirement for 30,000 Italian workers at a time of severe economic and social crisis.”  This is how the...
Italy: temporary social partners launch sectoral pension funds
“At European level, there has been no similar experience in the sector.  Therefore, Italy can pride itself in being the first, building a system capable of protecting agency workers throughout...
Romania: harsh restructurings and privatizations in the offing for State companies
Numerous cuts.  The Romanian government is preparing a major wave of restructurings within State companies with financial difficulties: this summer alone, nearly 7,000 jobs should be cut in energy...
Germany: growth is starting to show in wage increases negotiated in 2011
Moderate but durable increases.  According to the latest quarterly monitor of wage negotiated within the framework of sectoral collective agreements of the Hans Böckler foundation, collective...
Spain: unions and Telefónica management agree on 6,500 job cuts over 3 years
Unions agreed to the 3-year employment reduction program (ERE) affecting up to 6,500 employees.  The company accepted to improve its initial offer and will pay employees who leave 68% of their...
Germany: Federal Government decides to work on the introduction of minimum wage in call centers
Gross hourly pay between €5.77 and €6.50, tough rhythms, overtime not counted, less than 20 days off a year, permanent shifting between the company’s different services or absence of training…. ...
Italy: leather social partners sign unitary agreement renewing the sectoral national collective agreement
Pointing out that union relations in the sectors have “always been rather complicated and ambivalent,” the Filctem-Cgil, Femca-Cisl and Uilcem-Uil unions rejoiced with the signature, on June 28th...
Great Britain: Sodexo signs union recognition agreement with the three biggest unions in Britain
The agreement sets out terms of the formal relationship between Sodexo and the three unions in terms of a strategic partnership. It also identifies the guiding principles for the relationship...
Italy: Assolombarda employers’ organization and Milan unions sign agreement on training during a crisis
“With this agreement, the social partners in Milan sought to apply the principle included in the Lombardian pacts for active labor policies 2011 which states that company union agreements on...
Belgium: draft banking collective agreement 2011-2012
Buying power.  The political unrest Belgium is going through as well as turmoil in the euro area didn’t make bargaining easy in the banking sector.  The economic and financial crisis had an impact...
Finland: unions and employers allegedly reached an agreement on the principle of extending paternity and parental leave
A secret five-page document released by the Nykypäivä weekly, close to the Rally for the Republic (Kokoomus, right wing), shows that key union and employers’ organizations in the country have...
Germany: computer specialists earned 3.4% more in 2010
Wage increases for German computer specialists have gone up again in 2010, with a 3.4% increase.  In 2009, during the crisis, it was only 2%.  “This much higher increase is the consequence of...
Italy: new “Pact supporting and reviving competitiveness and employment” in pharmaceutical chemistry
The objective of this pact is to answer the needs in the sector, where production started increasing again in 2010 (+6%), where employment decreased less than in previous years (-1.4%) but where...
Germany: GDL train drivers’ union intensifies strike movement against private rail companies
Intimidatory measures against strikers.  Since last February, the GDL corporatist union has been trying, via massive strikes, to force the Deutsche Bahn’s key private rivals to adopt three...
Great Britain: public sector unions start mobilizing against the pension reform
The action was taken by members of the PCS civil servants union, ATL and NUT teachers’ unions and the college and university union, the UCU. In the run up to the action, the tone of the government...
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
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