Spain: higher unemployment and cooperation between unions and courts help lower the number of industrial accidents
The decline in economic activity led to a mechanic decrease in the number of accidents.  Occupational safety representatives from the CCOO and UGT unions, Pedro J Linares and Marisa Rufino, and...
Denmark: 3F union strengthens action against social dumping
With an ad published in the Fakt polish magazine (over 2 million readers), with the picture of a man on a hospital bed, the 3F union launched, on April 19th, its first advertising campaign against...
28 April 2011
Italy: after a 9th legal victory over the application of the metal CCN born from the separate 2009 agreement, the Fiom puts appeals on hold in favor of bargaining
“This verdict, combined with that of Turin, shows that separate agreements add problems rather than solving them.”  This is how the Fiom-CGIL presented the verdict by the court of Modena on April...
Great Britain: battle of figures on deaths caused by industrial accidents just before the “Workers’ Memorial Day”
Workers’ Memorial Day. The day is to commemorate those that have died, been injured or made ill through their work, with the headline slogan ‘Remember the dead – fight for the...
27 April 2011
Netherlands: agreement in principle in heavy metal
The metal employers’ organization, FME-CWM (3,000 members), affiliated with the Federation of Netherlands Industries and Employers (VNO-NCW), signed an agreement in principle with the trade unions...
Spain: Iberdrola to sign agreement with unions to link wage increases with productivity
This new reference should replace the clause on the systematic review of wages in relation to inflation and the price index.  It will be added to the new collective agreement, currently in the...
Germany: the length of sick leaves for psychological reasons was multiplied by 9 since 2004
From 8.1 to 72.3 days of sick leave.  The scientific institute (Wido) of the AOK – the largest health insurance fund in Germany with nearly 19 million members – assessed the sick leaves of 10.1...
26 April 2011
United States: Boeing could not be able to open its new plant in South Carolina because of antiunion behavior
The NLRB, which arbitrates conflicts between unions and businesses, is blaming Boeing.  Legal expert Lafe Solomon filed a complaint against the aircraft manufacturer, accusing the company of...
Italy: Fiom wins first appeal against the application of the 2009 separate agreement on the metal CCN
While the Fiom presented its appeal to the Turin court against Fiat for “antiunion behavior” in the procedure used for the Pomigliano and Mirafiori newcos, the CGIL’s metalworkers’ federation won...
Germany: two temporary employers’ organizations merge before decisive negotiations on equal pay
Employers’ organizations in a hurry.  The BZA and AMP implemented the planned merger mentioned last autumn (see our dispatch No.  100692).  The new federation is located in Berlin and called the...
Portugal: strike notice suspended in chain stores and negotiations starting up
Conciliation.  The CESP, union of trade, service and office workers, suspended the strike notice presented for the Easter period, because negotiations with employers reopened.  A first...
Italy: unitary agreement for the renewal of the collective agreement of the Poste Italiane
After “long and difficult negotiations” during which, according to unions, only “unity and homogeneity” helped overcome “unjustified rigidity” from the group’s management, SLP-Cisl, SLC-CGIL...
Germany: IG-Metall wants to limit appeal to temporary work as in Thuringia
Combining economic subsidies and volume of temporary employment.  On Wednesday, April 13th, the IG-Metall Frankfurt and its general secretary, Armin Schild, met with the Minister of Economic...
Spain: agreement on collective bargaining reform stuck on the fight against absenteeism and the creation of a youth contract
The signature of the social partners’ agreement on the reform of collective bargaining is running a little late.  So far, the debate between the social partners focused on the issue of improving...
Belgium: start of the negotiations for the new collective agreement in electricity and gas
Harmonizing statuses.  While energy prices keep increasing, employers plead a wage increase contained in the 2011-2012 cross-industry agreement, i.e. 0.3% maximum (see our dispatch No.  110122). ...
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