Germany: Christmas bonuses are getting more and more variable
According to a study conducted by the Hans-Böckler foundation, the "Christmas bonus" ( Weihnachtsgeld) or "thirteenth month of salary" which used to be commonplace in Germany, is more and more...
France: discussions between trade unions and employers over labour market reform begins
Trade unions and employers, at the instigation of the latter, met on October 23rd to discuss the possible opening of negotiations over labor market reform. (Ref 061080)
Poland: trade union training courses to learn economics and finance
Brand new in Poland: during seventeen months, 1800 trade union activists will learn to read a balance sheet or will discover the secrets of management accounting. Starting this week, they will...
Germany : privatization of Deutsche Bahn now seems uncertain
Once more, the parties of the big coalition (CDU and SPD) failed to agree, during an important meeting on October 26th in Berlin, on how to privatize Deutsche Bahn AG. The following day, Transport...
Malta: government wants to change the mode of calculation of trade union enrolments
The Maltese government wants to reform the rules applying to trade unions as regards the determination of their enrolment. This comes after a controversy triggered by a trade union which had not...
Spain: HR directors have less and less influence on companies’ strategic decisions
HR directors are losing power when it comes to firms' management and strategic decisions, according to a study conducted by the ESADE institute in Barcelona. The study found that HR directors do...
Deutsche Telekom: 45 000 T-Com employees will be transferred to the new T-Service unit
Deutsche Telekom (DT) has just announced its intention to transfer some 45 000 employees of T-Com to its new subsidiary T-Service, with the aim to bring back salaries to a competitive level. DT...
Germany : BenQ’s bankruptcy affects its outside contractors
The bankruptcy of the cell phone producer BenQ (ex-Siemens), means the loss of 1900 jobs out of 3000. The outside contractors are also affected and are starting to lay off. IG Metall says 6000...
Allianz SE : « participation » chapter now in the agreement on workers’ involvement in the European company
The German insurance group Allianz, which announced its transformation into a European company, concluded an agreement on the involvement of workers in the European company (see article n°06938)...
Lithuania: trade unions and employers propose to increase minimum wage
Trade unions and employers would like the minimum wage to be raised, from 600 litas (173.77 euros) to 700 litas (202.73 euros) on January 1st 2007, but the Government has not yet approved this...
Eternit: a foundation for asbestos victims in Switzerland
On September 14th, 2006, Eternit created a foundation to financially support the employees of the Swiss plants of Payerne and Niederurnen which are ill due to asbestos, as well as their family...
25 October 2006
Great Britain : trade union Amicus launches information and prevention campaign related to crystalline silica
This campaign is a part of the European Safety Week and multi-sectoral agreement on breathable crystalline silica signed by European social partners on last April 25th and which has come into...
Daimler-Chrysler: the conflict between workers’ representatives in Germany worsens
How to deal with Daimler-Chrysler' s management? Since 1998, the official works council and a group of more critical staff representatives have been fighting over this question at the...
Netherlands: call to strike at Floraholland
The Confederation of Dutch trade unions (FNV Bondgenoten) called for a one-day strike on October 30th, which might paralyze Floraholland, the second auction flower market in the Netherlands. 215...
Luxembourg: minimum wage due to increase in January 2007
The October 19th, 2006 governmental council approved a bill regarding a raise of the minimum wage. The 1.9% increase should become effective on January 1st, 2007. (Ref. 061054)
Germany: the chemical industry union (IG BCE) presents its demands regarding the 2007 tariff negotiations.
After the German chemical industry underwent a 6% growth in sales (81.2 billion euros) during the first semester 2006, IG BCE wants to put wage increases and apprenticeship at the center of the...
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: collective agreement for rubber and plastics sector focuses on new skills
A month ahead of schedule, the Federazione Gomma Plastica employers' organisation and the Filctem-Cgil, Femca-Cisl and Uiltec trade unions have renewed the collective agreement for the rubber and...
5 January 2026
5
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...
6
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