Germany: Federal Labor Court extends the right to strike to “flashmobs”
Flash mob to block a supermarket. The judgment rendered by the Federal Labor Court came from charges pressed by the Regional Federation of Retail Trade of Berlin-Brandenburg (case 1 AZR 972/08)...
Sweden: two collective agreements in technology and design give priority to local wage negotiations
Unionen gives individual wage negotiations up. The sector’s employers’ organization, Almega STD, represents around 740 businesses in the construction and manufacturing sectors, i.e. 2/3 of...
Germany: IG-Metall threatens with warning strikes at Volkswagen if collective bargaining fails again
“In the middle of a crisis, Volkswagen is gaining market shares in Germany and western Europe. This is due to the amazing development of our products and to the equally amazing effort of...
Saint-Gobain: new amendment strengthening the EWC’s information and consultation rights
Effective and practical social dialog. Amendment No. 5 of May 2008 (see our dispatch No. 080713) included the commitment to negotiate, as soon as the second 2008 quarter, the practical modalities...
Opel: European trade unions mobilized against the shutdown of the Antwerp site
Number fight. On September 23, whereas the EMF was expecting 3,000-5,000 workers from throughout Europe in Antwerp, out of solidarity for the site’s workers, Fritz Henderson, Opel’s CEO, told...
Italy: food social partners sign a unitary collective agreement
agreement for the food sector is the first to be signed by all trade unions since the separate agreement on the reform of the conventional system. This recovered unity was seen as a strong signal...
International: international unions working so that the next G20 meeting focuses on employment
ed, G20 meetings have been increasingly important over the years. The summit to be held on September 24-25 will be the occasion to take the pulse of the global economic situation and the degree of...
Netherlands: bankers still as well paid
Despite a few signs of good will, Dutch bankers still receive tremendous premiums. Those whose wages exceeded €1.5 million received bonuses amounting to 311% of their remuneration for 2008 (as...
Denmark: 54th Dansk Metal Congress confronts the crisis
Maintain benefits and increase the number of members. The 54th Dansk Metal Congress, held in Aalborg on September 12-18, focused on how to face the union’s future challenges. The 486...
United States: Richard Trumka elected as the new head of the AFL CIO union
60, is the new leader of the AFL CIO, the powerful American 57-union federation representing 11 million members. He was elected in mid-September during the Pittsburg convention, replacing retiring...
Finland: negotiations for the renewal of collective agreements started
are preparing, with the crisis in the background, to renegotiate the collective agreements which will expire between January and April 2010, both in the public and in the private sector. In the...
Poland: ITF launches support campaign for LOT workers
the polish airline were laid off and after the management unilaterally terminated a company agreement, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (IFT) launched an international...
Germany: construction union lays the foundations for “alternative” wage negotiations
ress (20th Gewerkschaftstag – September 14-17), the IG BAU announced a reorientation of its stands for future collective bargaining. On the menu: high wage increases and minimum claims above...
Portugal: workers in ailing businesses get better protection if wages are temporarily not paid
r 14 introduces better protection for workers if their ailing business can temporarily not pay their wages, by suspending their labor contract to receive unemployment benefits. (Ref. 090855) The...
Great Britain: TUC’s annual congress focused on economic policy
C union was held in Liverpool on September 14-17. Unions called for a new policy protecting jobs, pensions and the middle classes. Gordon Brown promised he would protect jobs in the public sector...
Brazil: auto workers at Sao Paulo get a pay raise used as a goal by other metalworkers on strike
union obtained a 6.53% wage increase – higher than inflation – for the 53,000 workers of the car plants in Sao Paulo. However, the new collective agreement doesn’t affect workers...
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...