Labour relations

About 30 days before the deadline set by the Constitutional Court to get rid of the differences between blue-collar and white-collar workers, the government failed to agree, during the Council of...

10 June 2013

Great Britain: groundbreaking agreement to build the new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point

After months of negotiating, the UCATT, Unite and GMB unions have secured agreement with the client, EDF Energy, and the principal contractor, Bouygues Laing O’Rourke, a 'Common Framework...

6 June 2013

Germany: Karstadt, Amazon…, the Verdi union is fighting several battles to improve collective agreements in retail trade

Since the Karstadt department store company announced, in mid-May, that it wanted to get out, for two years, of the collective agreements in force in retail trade, a major dispute burst out...

6 June 2013

Italy: Turin Court of Appeal toughens sanctions against Eternit management (asbestos)

On Monday, June 3, the Court of Appeal of Turin sentenced Stephan Schmidheiny, the former Swiss CEO of Eternit, to 18 years’ imprisonment for “permanent culpable disaster and culpable omission of...

5 June 2013

Sweden: fashion and textile businesses sign agreement that tries to take low wages into account

The fashion and textile industry is the sector where wages are the lowest in manufacturing. This is way the agreement signed on April 2, 2013 after other manufacturing agreements signed by TEKO...

5 June 2013

Lafarge: interview of Philippe Jacquesson, SVP Social Policies for the group, about the global agreement on fundamental social rights and international social relations

In 2005, when it signed its Global Framework Agreement on fundamental rights, the French group was already a pioneer in establishing global dialogue with international unions. On May 21, the...

4 June 2013

France: employment guarantee agreements rush?

When are employment guarantee agreements signed? What’s in them? And what about the promises made to the employees? These agreements – alternatives to layoffs – will soon have a legal...

4 June 2013

Portugal: UGT and CGTP call for general strike on June 27

The UGT has decided to join in on the general strike decided by the CGTP for June 27. Support from the moderate union – which until now was the only one involved in dialogue with the government –...

4 June 2013

Belgium: should ArcelorMittal Liege be nationalized?

The rescue of the Walloon steel industry hogged the best of the weekend news after ArcelorMittal decided to postpone the nearly €32-billion investments it was planning for the cold-processing...

3 June 2013

Great Britain: government looks into appeal zero hours contracts

In an interview to People Management, Business Secretary Vince Cable announced that the government was reviewing zero hours contracts – a growing form of contracts with no minimum working time. ...

3 June 2013

Germany: first report by Hans-Böckler foundation found wages should be up in numerous sectors in 2013

2013 collective bargaining is already well on its way. In about 20 major sectors, the social partners have reached agreements, the outcome of which has been analyzed by the Institute of economic...

3 June 2013

United States: Walmart under social pressure prior to its annual general meeting

Despite the fact that Walmart initiated actions with a view to improving its associates' scheduling in response to the strike action organised in the Autumn, including during the crucial Black...

31 May 2013

Great-Britain : for the first time in a decade, unions grew according to the annual statistical report by the government department, Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS)

Membership for 2012 was 59,000 higher at 6.455 million workers compared to 2011. However, it is still considerably below the level of 2007 before the Global Financial Crisis when the figure stood...

30 May 2013

Italy: the Fim (metalworkers’) congress approves the merger with Femca (chemistry, energy) to constitute a single Cisl trade union federation for industry

The 18th national congress of Fim, the metalworkers' trade union federation of Cisl, which took place in Lecce, 22-24 May with some 500 delegates in attendance, approved the merger with Femca, the...

30 May 2013

Italy: insurance social partners sign agreement arranging the sector’s solidarity fund

On May 20, the national association of insurance firms (Ania) and the national association of assistance companies (Aisa) for employers and the Fiba-Cisl, Fisac-CGIL, F.N.A., SNFIA and Uilca-Uil...

29 May 2013

Germany: Volkswagen workers get a 5.6% wage increase and improved company pension

13 days after a pilot collective agreement was signed in the Bavarian metal industry, the IG-Metall union and Volkswagen’s management signed, on the night of May 27 in Hanover, a new “company...

28 May 2013

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mind RH analysis – Initial findings from CSRD social indicators

In 2025, for the first time, the universal registration documents of major European companies contain the sustainability reporting required by the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive...

31 October 2025

Candice Guillot (Talan): “Our recruiters save just over 80 hours per year on administrative tasks thanks to AI”

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20 October 2025

France: generative AI and older workers central to BPCE’s skills management strategy

On 17 July 2025, BPCE and its trade unions signed a second agreement on jobs and career management within the banking group. The text places generative artificial intelligence at the core of its...

15 October 2025

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Pascale Rauline (Axa EWC): “European charter formalises ongoing and accelerated social dialogue on AI”

On 27 November, Axa and its European works council (EWC) signed a charter setting out principles governing the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) and guaranteeing social dialogue on the...

3 December 2025

Germany: crisis-hit industries cast shadow over 2026 bargaining cycle

In 2026, collective wage agreements for nearly 10 million employees in Germany are set to expire. With upcoming negotiations in crisis-hit 'pilot' sectors such as chemicals and metalworking, the...

2 December 2025

Bulgaria: government approves bill to encourage sector-level collective bargaining

On 26 November, the Bulgarian government approved amendments to the labour code designed to reinforce the legal framework for sector-level collective bargaining. The reform aims to stimulate...

2 December 2025

EU: social partners in telecoms sign joint statement on AI

On 16 December, the social partners in Europe's telecommunications sector unveiled a joint statement on artificial intelligence. They propose an action plan for skills and commit to raising...

18 December 2025

Germany: Erwin Hymer Group’s innovative and award-winning AI agreement

Fed up with negotiating separate agreements for each new artificial intelligence (AI) tool, the social partners at Erwin Hymer Group (8,900 employees) have instead secured a broad, overarching...

12 December 2025

France: Orange submits gender equality agreement – including AI provisions – for union approval

The three representative trade unions at Orange France have until 10 December to validate an agreement on gender equality, work–life balance and anti-discrimination measures. While the text...

8 December 2025