Great Britain: Unite and Sun Chemicals sign a company collective agreement going against the increased decentralization trend in bargaining
The company is a manufacturer of organic pigments and dispersions for use as colorants in printing inks, plastics, paints, cosmetics, textiles and specialities. It is an American global company...
Germany: arming industry worried about the impact of the Bundeswehr reform on employment
Many jobs were already cut in this sector.  The German arming industry isn’t an economic sector, strictly speaking, but it has quite a few jewels allowing Germany to rank third on the Stockholm...
24 September 2010
Great Britain: wages chase after inflation
According to the Office of National Statistics, the current rate of inflation continues to remain well above the government’s 2% target rate for a stable and growing economy. Since the end of...
Italy: Lombardy could cancel subsidies to businesses that relocate
“For those who take their facilities and production abroad, leaving our workers on the street, there will be no exceptions” declared the President of Lombardy’s regional budget committee...
24 September 2010
Great Britain: Royal Mail staff to receive 10% of shares within the framework of privatization
Unprecedented scheme.  “This will be the largest employee shares scheme of any privatization for 25 years in terms of the number of workers who will benefit” David Cable pointed out.  The...
Spain: historical agreement on minimum service for the September 29 general strike
Eight-hour long talks led to an agreement which unions qualified of “complex” which both secures the right to strike and citizens’ mobility.  The text sets out that 25% of suburban trains will be...
Germany: Siemens signs “unlimited” job security pact for its German employees
Job security and increased joint management.  Unlike what some German newspapers prematurely announced, the agreement signed on Wednesday, September 22nd on the side of Siemens’ board meeting...
Argentina: bill to force businesses to share profit with employees
All Argentinean businesses after two years in business will have to share 10% of their earnings with their employees.  The bill introducing the “System of Employee Participation in Corporate...
United States: USW champion American jobs to the WTO
United Steelworkers is diving into the WTO’s universe to defend American jobs against Chinese “supremacy.”  Indeed, in early September, Leo Gerard, international USW leader, sent a case to the US...
Netherlands: unions ask for 1.5-3% wage increases in 2011
The FNV, the Netherlands’ key trade union, is placing the bar quite high for 2011: it will bargain for 2% wage increases in all sectors, a little higher than inflation and the more reasonable...
Germany: Verdi calls for the introduction of new minimum wage in the postal sector
Positive impact on employees.  The introduction, on January 1, 2008, of minimum wage in the postal sector, of €-9.8 an hour, negotiated by Verdi and the AGV Postdienste employers’ organization...
Brazil: Sao Paulo auto workers get a record 10.81% wage increase
Falling in behind the other categories of metalworkers who secured, two weeks ago, a record 9% wage increase (see our dispatch No. 100633), the 45,000 workers on the auto assembly lines in Sao...
Denmark: employers and unions united against social dumping
When it started, on June 22nd, no one thought the Brønderslev embargo (12,000 inhabitants, administrative center of the Brønderslev town) would be the emblem of the first struggle against social...
21 September 2010
Germany: as promised, Schaeffler introduces joint management
Victory for the IG-Metall.  On February 23, 2009, the family group, heavily indebted after buying its rival, Continental, announced that it signed an agreement with the IG-Metall, entitled...
21 September 2010
Netherlands: TNT to cut “4,500” jobs maximum
TNT Post, the former public post in the Netherlands, partially privatized, announced a “maximum” of 4,500 forced redundancies on September 17th.  However, the trade unions are expecting 8,000, in...
20 September 2010
Austria: metalworkers want a 2-3% increase
The schedule for 2010 collective bargaining in the Austrian metal sector is set.  Unions will send their official demands to the Austrian Economic Chamber (WKO) on September 30th.  Two bargaining...
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...