Germany: IG-Metall wants to durably add political factors to the “calculation” of collective claims
Correct growing social imbalances.  In an interview published on his federation’s website, Oliver Burkhard, one of the union’s heavyweights, announced the opening of a debate within the IG-Metall...
Italy: driven by Fiat, employers want to quicken the “modernization” of industrial relations
Fiat’s boosting the “modernization” of Italian industrial relations is also shaking employers up.  Tomorrow and on Wednesday, Confindustria will meet with its management and then its steering...
Germany: GDL train drivers’ union threatens with a strike in February to defend its status of negotiator
GDL says this is an insult to train drivers.  After “the longest conflict in the rail industry,” the small train drivers’ union, GDL (34,000 members) obtained, in March 2008, the right to sign...
Germany: construction union IG-BAU claims for a 5.9% wage increase
Bring eastern and western wages in line. Sign of good will or tactical move, the construction union’s wage claim is slightly below that (6%) it presented for the last collective bargaining round...
Austria: real wages markedly decreased in 2010
The two studies Statistik Austria published this week confirm a trend observed in other countries, namely that, with or without the crisis, low wages are decreasing.  The Austrian wage index...
Germany: mass rebellion from banks’ account managers against bill introducing threat of exclusion from public-sector employment
Central register and exclusion from public-sector employment.  Banking social partners have declared war against a new provision the government added to the bill on protection afforded to...
19 January 2011
Belgium: social partners sign cross-industry agreement 2011-2012
Indexation and wage norm.  The cross-industry agreement signed on Tuesday night provides for a wage norm 0.3% higher than inflation, i.e. a purely symbolic margin.  The social partners took...
Netherlands: special fund to recruit mailmen
In theory, postal firms had until January 1, 2011 to reach an agreement allowing them to recruit 80% of their staff with a labor contract, respecting the collective agreement in force.  This...
Italy: CGIL proposal to change representation and union democracy rules
On January 15th, the CGIL’s steering committee approved the proposal entitled “Democracy and Representation.”  Pointing out that “union freedom belongs to all workers and can’t become a variable...
Morocco: EU-Morocco partnership struggles to bear fruit on social and labor rights
Initiating synergy between the Advanced Status and Euromed.  This first meeting between the Euro-Mediterranean (Euromed) Moroccan network of NGOs and the equal Parliamentary committee for the...
17 January 2011
Electrolux: international framework agreement signed with Swedish metalworkers’ union, IF Metall
A framework agreement that recognizes the role unions play across the world.  “This is highly satisfactory and we hope other businesses are going to follow this example” declared Stefan Löfven...
Germany: new “historical” sectoral collective agreement in local rail traffic
End of wage dumping.  With this sectoral agreement, adopted after months of particularly tricky negotiations (see our dispatch No.  100725), the new rail union, EVG (Eisenbahn – und...
Portugal: employers recommend temporary flexibility on labor laws
Temporary reform in times of a crisis.  The CIP’s new management, which has recently took up its post, recommends a temporary reform of the Labor Code to revive the country’s economy.  The point...
Italy: 54% of Fiat Mirafiori employees approve the separate agreement on the plant’s future
The outcome of the referendum on the separate agreement for the reorganization of Fiat’s historical plant in Turin, Mirafiori, signed on December 23rd (see our dispatch No.  110001) by the...
United States: CEOs of auto Big 3 want to link workers’ remuneration with the company’s performances
Big bosses in the American automotive industry are dreaming of a new form of remuneration, based on performance, for their plants’ unionized workers.  Several mentioned the possibility to...
Great Britain: Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) organises very active campaign to defeat the privatisation of Royal Mail
In parliament, it is using its sponsored MPs to lay down key amendments to highlight the effect privatisation will have in worsening standards of service for businesses and citizens as well as...
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
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...
5
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
6
EU: banking sector social partners commit to combating violence and harassment
On 15 January, the trade union federation UNI Europa Finance and three employers’ associations in the banking sector signed a joint statement on preventing violence and harassment in the...