Estonia: the bill on the labor contract on a second reading in Parliament
The bill on the contract of employment, prepared by the government early this year (see our dispatch No. 080026) is still causing a stir. The text - currently on a second reading in Parliament -...
Unilever: the EFFAT condemns the closing of the Frigo SU site in Barcelona
The management of the Anglo-Dutch giant, Unilever, announced on October 3, 2008, the closing of the site producing Frigo ice-cream with 268 job cuts - mostly women's (see our dispatch No. 080775)...
Italy: the Cai presented its takeover bid in spite of the five autonomous unions refusal to sign the social agreement
The consortium of Italian investors, Cai, presented its takeover bid over Alitalia in spite of the disagreement of the five autonomous unions. Objecting to the non-compliance of the employment...
Aker ASA: international framework agreement
On October 28, 2009, the shipbuilding company Aker ASA (27.100 employees) signed an international framework agreement with the International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF) and its Norwegian...
Germany: the IG-Metall refuses employers’ offer of a 2.1% wage increase and is going to launch warning strikes next week
The IG-Metall qualified the first figured offer presented by employers yesterday, October 30, 2008, of "provocation". While the IG-Metall is asking for an 8% wage increase for the 3.6 million...
Germany: judges say the new postal services’ union (GNBZ) is influenced by employers and cannot bargain for collective agreements
The ruling rendered on October 30, 2008 by the Court of Cologne is a turning point in the conflict between Ver.di, the services' union, and its competitor, GNBZ, in the postal services sector...
International: American union busters are spreading to Europe
North-American anti-union cabinet councils, also known as union busters, are increasingly bringing their services to Europe, starting with Great Britain. The weekly journal of the Danish union LO...
Alcatel-Lucent: 17 union organizations ask two former managers to give up their golden parachutes
In a press release published on October 29, 2008, 17 European and American union organizations of the Alcatel-Lucent group condemned the fact that they did not get an answer to the letter they...
Germany: Ver.di union and the city of Berlin sue the Christian trade union federation
Verdi, the services' union, and the city of Berlin pressed charges against the German Christian trade union federation (CGPW) at the Berlin labor court. Via the launching of a "statutory control...
Ukraine: new planned labor code soon on a second reading in Parliament
The Ukrainian Parliament should analyze a project for a new labor code on a second reading by the end of the year 2008. Alexander Poels, Director and lawyer at the Peterka & Partners firm in Kiev...
Poland: two bills for recoding labor law but not on the basis of established law
The Ministry for Labor and Social Policy presented, on October 22, 2008, two bills for the labor code (individual law and collective law). The result of four years of work at the recoding...
Arcelor-Mittal: Joint Global Health and Safety Committee meets in Kazakhstan
The Joint Global Health and Safety Committee of the Arcelor-Mittal group, established by the global agreement signed on June 3 (see our dispatch No. 080429), met in Kazakhstan during the first...
Italy: mining social partners renewed their national collective agreement
On September 29, 2008, Assomineraria-Confindustria for employers and Filcem-Cgil, Femca-Cisl, Uilcem-Uil for unions signed the agreement for the renewal of the national collective agreement of the...
PPR: two European charters on the employment of disabled people and seniors
The management of the French company specializing in retail shops (Fnac, Redcats, Redoute) and luxury brands (Balenciaga, Gucci, Yves-Saint-Laurent…), PPR (90.000 employees) and its EWC signed, on...
BNP Paribas/Fortis: meeting of the EWCs of the two financial groups
After the French banking group BNP Paribas announced the takeover of the Fortis bank, the EWCs of the two groups sent a delegation in Paris, on October 20, for a first contact and to ask the...
Netherlands: moralization of business in the context of the crisis
Low-profile bonuses awarded at Fortis after the nationalization of the bank on October 4, is causing a scandal in the Netherlands. The existence of these bonuses was revealed on October 21 by the...
23 October 2008
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
Catherine Chavanier (CDC Habitat): “Social dialogue on AI facilitates its deployment”
In February, CDC Habitat (10,500 employees) signed a two-year framework agreement governing social dialogue on AI. Catherine Chavanier, HR Director of the subsidiary of CDC (Caisse des dépôts et...
2
France: La Poste to launch negotiations for an AI agreement
Following the lead of firms such as Axa, Syensqo globally, and more recently CDC Habitat, La Poste group management will open negotiations on an AI regulation agreement during the first half of...
3
United Kingdom: launch of consultation on protection against detriment for industrial action
The British government launched a public consultation on 26 February regarding new protections for workers against "detriment" related to industrial action, scheduled to take effect in October...
12 March 2026
4
France: bioMérieux’s new disability agreement pivots towards mental health
The news. On 6 January 2026, bioMérieux—an in vitro diagnostics specialist employing 4,400 people in France—signed a new four-year agreement “relating to the employment...
5
Germany: controversial collective bargaining compliance act adopted
On 26 February, the Bundestag approved the Tariftreuegesetz (collective bargaining compliance act), aimed at strengthening collective agreements and tackling social dumping by tying certain public...
26 February 2026
6
Germany: a wave of redundancy plans in the automotive sector
The latest financial results presented in early 2026 by major German car manufacturers show sharp declines. This collapse in profits has triggered the announcement or confirmation of massive job...
16 March 2026