Great Britain: the Government considering ways to change the steel industry’s pensions in a bid to save Tata Steel
No purchaser of Tata’s British interests is willing to take on the financial consequences of the employees’ pensions liabilities. Legally dissociating Tata Steel from the British Steel Pension...
Hungary: government reinstates Sunday opening
Hungarians will once again be able to go shopping on Sundays. An amendment was adopted via the emergency procedure and undoes the current ban on Sunday shopping; a political measure that had...
Turkey: coal miners stage a hunger strike deep in their mines in protest at unpaid wages
On 18 May eighty-five coal miners in northwest Turkey went down their mine and started a hunger strike to demand that their wages, which have been outstanding since the start of the year, be paid...
Belgium: social elections results show the CSC and FGTB maintaining their positions with progress being made by the liberal CGSLB
Today, 25 May, Labor Minister Kris Peeters, delivered the results of elections to 3,000 Works Councils (WCs) and 6,000 Committees for Prevention and Protection at the Workplace (CPPWs) that were...
Italy: positive start to negotiations over pensions and work
On 24 May, in a move to thaw the ice of two years of tensions, Giuliano Poletti, Italy’s labor Minister, received the unions to open talks over pensions and jobs whilst Prime Minister Matteo Renzi...
Germany: data protection, working time, and psychological risks are the main topics in company agreements negotiated with the WCs
The trade union backed Hans Böckler Foundation argues that if you want to see the future of the world of work then you need just to look into the content of the most recent company agreements...
Great Britain: seven out of ten labor disputes are settled without going to court
Two years after the introduction of the mandatory ‘Early Conciliation’ system, under which one of the parties in a dispute must contact Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) before...
e-learning course on European industrial relations now available
In partnership with Planet Labor the association Dialogues has launched an e-learning course on industrial relations systems in Europe. The course targets EWC members and managers and is now...
Norway: an agreement marks the hospitality sector’s determination to take on a different dimension
Started on 24 April, strike action in the hospitality sector finally came to a close with an agreement between the employers’ confederation, NHO, and employers in tourism (NHO Reiseliv) on the one...
Belgium: unions mobilize against social policies and working time reforms
Today on 24 May the ‘united front’ of the FGTB, CSC and CGSLB unions organized both a demonstration in Brussels and strike action impacting the transport system, public services and several...
Spain: union division at Michelin in Basque city of Vitoria complicates implementation of the group’s new collective agreement
Due to the absence of agreement by the majority unions, Michelin’s new collective agreement will only come into force in a limited way at the group’s factory in Vitoria, at the heart of the Basque...
Hungary: agreement between auto parts maker Autoliv, an indicator of manpower shortage in auto sector
On 07 April, shortly after Audi (Gyor) struck its agreement (c.f. article No. 9608) Autoliv, Europe’s main seat-belt maker, signed an agreement securing a 10% wage rise for production workers.  ...
Italy: new national collective agreement signed for the banking sector
On 16 April, following a period of difficult negotiations that were punctuated by threats of the talks being called off completely, as well as work stoppages and strike action that had garnered...
Germany: Volkswagen workers secure a 4.8% wage rise as well as a new agreement on early retirement
In spite of the emissions scandal and massive financial penalties looming over the German automaker, the metals union IG Metall succeeded in securing a new ‘in house Volkswagen agreement’. In...
Austria: the slowdown in the pace of pay rises continues
The major collective agreements that have been renegotiated since the start of 2016 confirm a trend that started several years ago. Pay rises are getting increasingly smaller. At the start of the...
Helvetia: the Swiss insurance company has signed a minimum standards agreement with its EWC
On 2nd December 2015 , the group, which employs some 7,000 across Europe (including Switzerland, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain), signed an agreement with its European Works Council...
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...