Temporary work: study by the Prisme French employers’ organization, “crossed perspective in France and Europe in 2012” on representation and opinions on temporary work in four European countries
Temporary work more skilled in France.  Aged 24 in average, French temporary workers mostly start temporary work after being unemployed (54 percent).  A major change, more students and graduates...
23 May 2012
Ferrovial: international framework agreement signed with the Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI)
This agreement contains the commitment to comply with union freedom and the right to collective bargaining, with a commitment beyond neutrality since it reads that the company will “adopt a...
Italy: 20th Istat survey reports on ‘rough patch’ for Italian economy
Istat CEO Enrico Giovanni presented the latest annual report on May 22, explaining this ‘rough patch’ for the country’s economy.  Unlike last year (see our dispatch No.  110379), he says that...
23 May 2012
Spain: last-ditch stand for unions against the labor market reform
Spend one night and one day protesting against a useless, unfair and detrimental reform.  It is a way of reminding that unions won’t give in and will keep fighting “night and day” against a...
Belgium: liberals pass 10 percent mark in social election
Victory.  The increase in the number of candidates suggested that the CGLSB’s liberals were going to do well (see our dispatch No.  120303).  And they did, passing the symbolic 10 percent mark...
23 May 2012
GM Europe: increasingly uncertain future for the Bochum site in Germany after the new Astra was given to Ellesmere Port (UK) and Gliwice (Poland) in return for concessions on labor organization
Is GM going to shut Bochum down after 2014?  Since Opel’s management confirmed, on May 17 – Ascension Day – that it intended to produce its flagship car, the new Astra, only in Ellesmere Port, UK...
Germany: IG-Metall signs new agreement introducing “recruitment bonuses” for temporary workers in the metal industry
Bonuses varying with the length of assignment.  Like the 3.6 million metalworkers who will soon receive their highest wage increase in 20 years (see our dispatch No.  120326), temporary workers in...
Spain: Workers’ Commissions asks the government for rigor and transparency on the injection of public funds into banks
Carlos Bravo, member of CCOO’s executive committee, presented his analysis of the financial reform published in the State Official Journal on Saturday, May 12.  Here are a few excepts.
Great Britain: employees at General Motors Ellesmere Port sign concessions agreement to keep their job
GM. The decision by General Motors (GM) to locate the building of the new Astra at its Ellesmere Port factory on Merseyside - rather than at a German plant – has secured 2,100 jobs at the...
Germany: metalworkers get a 4.3 percent wage increase and more advantageous rules for apprentices and temporary workers
Highest increase in 20 years.  Confirming once again that Baden-Württemberg is a pilot region, the metal social partners in this southeastern Land managed to put an end to a conflict threatening...
Norway: new agreement in construction industry
e. This is why everyone was relieved when a last-minute agreement was reached on April 21 for the sector’s 6,000 employees, between the Byggenæringens Landsforening employers’...
EU: IndustriALL European Trade Union created
, on May 16, the 200 organizations affiliated with the three European trade union federations – the European Mine, Chemical and Energy Workers’ Federation (EMCEF), European...
20 May 2012
Germany: a 6.5 percent wage increase and job security for the 18,500 employees of T-Systems, a Deutsche Telekom subsidiary
Employment guarantee extended until the end of 2013.  Punctuated by major warning strikes, the collective negotiations between Verdi and DTAG finally ended on May 15 with a last agreement, this...
Sweden: new agreement in rail transport
Wage increase in line with the labor market.  the SEKO union is pleased with the negotiations’ outcome.  “It is the result of a compromise, but it is good we managed to amend working conditions...
Greece: wage elements neutralized in a great deal of sectoral collective agreements
Born from the austerity program adopted last February (see our dispatch No.  120104), this measure provides that employer may unilaterally bring wages to the level of basic pay provided for in the...
EU: European metal, chemical and textile employers in favor of framework conditions that ease prompt restructurings and transitions
Different scenarios.  According to the three organizations – the Council of European Employers of the Metal, Engineering and Technology-Based Industries (CEEMET), the European Chemical Employers...
15 May 2012
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
France: austerity measures proposed in social security financing bill for 2026
Limits on sick leave, the end of social security exemptions for apprentices, and the introduction of additional birth leave: the 2026 social security financing bill, presented to parliament on 14...
16 October 2025
2
Netherlands: ING cites AI as it plans to cut around 950 jobs
Dutch bank ING has informed the employment agency UWV that it may cut around 950 jobs by 31 December 2026. In its notification on 20 October, the lender said the planned reductions stem partly...
30 October 2025
3
France: Decathlon introduces a ‘duty to respect others’ right to disconnect’
A right-to-disconnect agreement was signed in late September for the French arm of the Decathlon sports retail group. It sets out a "duty to respect others’ right to disconnect" and provides...
14 November 2025
4
United Kingdom largely retained within scope of EWCs despite Brexit, study shows
A study published this month by the Institute for Economic and Social Research, the French trade union research organisation, examined how the involvement of British representatives in European...
5
Romania: collective agreement extended to entire insurance sector
On 3 November, Romania’s National Tripartite Council for Social Dialogue approved the extension of the collective labour agreement signed on 23 May by the Confederation of Employers in the...
6
Italy: new collective agreement for managers in tertiary sector
On 5 November, the ManagerItalia union and the employers’ association Confcommercio renewed the collective agreement for managers in Italy’s tertiary, distribution and services...