United States: OUR Wal-Mart or how the United Food and Commercial Workers’ Union is trying to organize Wal-Mart employees on the internet since it cannot do it in the stores
ing a new form of social activism. As it has always managed to keep unions at a distance, one of them has decided to counter attack by creating an online rallying space. This new group...
Romania: planned merger between two key union confederations
l Union Bloc), two of the key union confederations in Romania, are currently thinking about merging. The idea of uniting to rebuild the union movement is not new but is back after recent reforms...
Poland: talks on minimum wage increase have begun
Fake negotiations.  As provided for in the Act of October 10, 2002 on minimum wage, the social partners have gathered several times within the tripartite Committee (unions, employers, government)...
Spain: why is the reform of collective bargaining contingent on the social partners at national level?
Though the new enactment is really complex (v. dépêche n°110398), and gives new wording to a large number of articles, the essentials of the reform, all linked to the idea of labor flexibility...
Italy: Cisl and Uil union confederations organize their first “unitary” national demonstration
“We’re Italy’s hope.”  This is how Cisl leader Raffaele Bonnani described the first national demonstration organized by the Cisl and Uil on Saturday, June 18th in Rome on the Piazza del Popolo...
Germany: Verdi union calls for three-day strike in insurance from Monday, June 20th
The framework collective agreement at the heart of the conflict.  Martina Sönnichsen, Verdi spokesperson, told Planet Labor that the strikes would begin today in North Rhine-Westphalia, Hamburg...
Netherlands: FNV and Allies union mobilizes against pension reform
The FNV and Allies (FNV Bondgenoten), the Netherlands’ key union, present in the industry and armed with 500,000 members, called on its members to send emails against the pension reform by June...
Great Britain: public sector employees start mobilizing against austerity program
Strike against pension reform in State services.  The strike by the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) is expected to close schools across England...
Italy: Fiom-CGIL launches first independent metalworkers’ social network, the FiomNetWork
On June 16th, the Fiom celebrated its 110th birthday.  The Federazione Italiana Operai Metallurgici (“Italiana” was replaced by “Impiegati” at the Congress in Turin in 1946) was founded in Livorno...
Netherlands: historical agreement on the pension reform
The agreement on the pension reform, subject to a formal consensus between the social partners before the legislative election on June 9, 2010, was finally signed.  Now the FNV has to endorse it...
Italy: Uil union confederation terminates 1993 protocol, the founding act for social relations in the country
As he announced last week, Uil general secretary Luigi Angeletti sent, on June 13th, to the President of the Council of Ministers, to the Ministry of Labor and to all the social partners, his...
Italy: creation of Confindustria Digitale, the new employers’ federation in the digital industry
Confindustria Digitale is the result of the merger between the four biggest employers’ organizations in the digital sector: Assotelecomunicazioni-Asstel, which represents telecom businesses...
Poland: ongoing negotiations on the extension of some of the provisions of the “Anticrisis Act” to make the labor market more flexible
The “Anticrisis Act,” included in the “Anticrisis Package” adopted by the social partners in 2009 (see our dispatches No.  090611 and 090555) to lessen the impact of the economic crisis introduced...
Belgium: new collective agreement in the metal industry
Metal manufacturing.  The new collective agreement of CP No. 111 (see our dispatch No.  110336), the social dialogue structure which, in Belgium, gathers sectors as varied as aeronautics, the auto...
EU: 4th Congress of the European Metalworkers’ Federation paves the way for the final stage of the creation of a new joint Industry Federation
“It is true that we, the Nordic states, have quickened the process” acknowledged Stefan Löfven, leader of the Swedish IF Metall.  While the project of creating a large manufacturing union...
Germany: quick renegotiation of collective agreements in wholesale trade and hope in retail trade
Ray of hope in retail trade.  Two days earlier, in Stuttgart, Verdi’s union negotiators, who, in 11 regions, call for a 6-6.5% wage increase as well as equal pay for temporary workers and a limit...
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