Poland: minimum wage increase for 2009
On July 2, the government suggested to the tripartite commission (social dialogue council) to bring minimum wage to 1.204 zlotys (about €363) in 2008, that is a 6.9% increase. Employers are...
Peru: workers strike for better share of income
The authorities have declared the third national strike in Peruvian mines this year was illegal. About 30.000 people went on a strike to ask for better wages and lower retirement age. But the...
France : transposition by the social partners of the European framework agreement on stress at work
The French social partners reached agreement on July 2. At present four unions (CGT, CFDT, FO and CFE-CGC) out of five reacted favorably specifying that they should normally sign it after...
Spain: strike notice on July 12-15 at Renfe Operadora and Adif
Spanish unions are protesting against the partition of the freight transport from the rest of the Renfe Operadora railway, announced on June 24 by the head of State, José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero...
Gaz de France: CSR agreement for the European companies of the group
On July 2, 2008, the European trade union federations (EPSU, EMF and EMCEF) and all the national trade unions represented within Gaz de France's EWC signed, together with the management, a CSR...
Portugal : postponement of the debate in parliament of the reform of the labor code
An unexpected postponement. The Portuguese government has settled the issue: the debate in the National Assembly will not take place before September (see article n° 080538). The announcement of...
Interseroh: the German group chooses to become a European Company
Announced in September 2007, the transformation of the Interseroh AG group into a European Company (SE) was approved by the shareholders on June 25, 2008 in Cologne during the general assembly. On...
Klöckner & Co: the German group turns into a European Company
102 years after its creation, the Klöckner & Co company, the largest independent multi-metal distributor in the world, laid the foundation stone for its transformation into a European Company...
Germany: the collective agreements signed in 2008 confirm the end of wage restraint
In its middle evaluation, the Institute for Economic and Social Research (WSI) of the Hans Böckler Foundation presents a summary of the industry-wide collective agreements signed in the first six...
Spain : unions and employers in the metal industry sign an agreement on safety at work
Information. Information will be communicated by visits of delegates to work sites in firms with 6 to 50 employees. Hitherto, visits by people appointed by the unions to companies without staff...
Portugal : tripartite agreement on the reform of the labor code
The agreement signed on June 25 terminates tough negotiations lasting six weeks (from April 22 to June 4 followed by bilateral meetings). Confronted with unexpected threats of the UGT   ( close to...
China : skilled workforce on the downturn and wages on the rise, China will soon no longer be “an employers’ paradise”
China, which introduced new labor regulations on January 1, 2008 (see article n° 070676), is beginning to witness the accumulation of worrisome signals in the employment sector. According to Cai...
Sweden : the social partners to update the Saltsjöbaden agreement regulating social relations for the last 70 years
This basic agreement had been negotiated in 1938 at Saltsjöbaden, a village on the coast near Stockholm between the Swedish employers’ confederation and the LO confederation. It is part of a...
Denmark : toward a law protecting the right of unions to collective bargaining
“We can fight social dumping by using the weapon of labor dispute”, said the minister of labor, Claus Hjort Frederiksen, on declaring on June 20, 2008 his intention to submit a bill taking into...
International: building up trade union and EWC networks in the building sector
The EFBWW (European Federation of Building and Wood Workers) and the Building and Wood workers' International (BWI) organized a meeting in Lisbon on June 11-14, 2008, with the union...
Germany : the minimum wage will be maintained in the building sector
This compromise, valid for one year, contains the following provisions :
Most viewed articles of the month on mind HR
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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...