Italy: first union dedicated to internet professionals within the Uiltucs union federation
“To bring answers to the issues of recognition and protection of new professional fields, traditional unions have to be able to make major changes to its internal structure, operating system and...
Germany: Verdi is about to launch warning strikes in the banking industry
Bad timing for employers.  As Verdi was fighting to get a 6 percent wage increase for the banking sector’s 220,000 employees (see our dispatch No.  120040), we learned, on May 11, that Martin...
Great Britain: Unite members accept the agreement negotiated with the seven oil distribution firms
Observers say the duration of the conflict got the better of the tanker drivers’ determination (about the different episodes, see articles No. 120273 and 120141). On a 69% turnout, 2,000 Unite...
Austria: 4.35 percent wage increase in chemistry
The Austrian chemical sector avoided a social conflict at the last minute.  Indeed, in this rather prosperous sector, negotiations rarely drag on this long.  Thus, the social partners reached this...
Norway: wage agreement in the financial sector
This agreement was signed by the Finansnæringens Arbeidsgiverforening employers’ organization (union of finance businesses) on the one hand and, on the other, the Finansforbundet finance workers’...
United States: American Post bogged down in financial and social difficulties
Nine months ago, as the five-year negotiations for mailmen’s employment framework began, the United States Postal Service (USPS) asked the US Congress for the possibility to “adjust the size of...
14 May 2012
Deutsche Post DHL: UNI and ITF union federation intensify global campaign against the violation of workers’ rights by DHL
Lie detectors and bullying.  “Companies that do not embrace corporate responsibility as an integral part of their business model will not be as successful in the long run” declared Franck Appel on...
11 May 2012
Netherlands: 5 percent wage increase for Transavia’s ground staff
Transavia’s 600 ground staff will get a 3 percent structural increase in addition to two bonuses, in May 2012 and in May 2013, amounting to 1 percent of annual income.  This agreement answers the...
Corporate practices: to secure the skills needed in the future, Volvo AB Group sets up its own training program for young jobseekers
Recruitment is the new challenge of the coming years.  Olof Persson, CEO of Volvo AB Group, says recruitment will be a major challenge for Swedish manufacturing in the years to come.  “We’re doing...
Italy: the three union confederations call for a national demonstration to change the government’s economic policy
“A big, unitary union demonstration opening a series of claims on labor and taxes” announced CGIL leader Susanna Camusso, when she presented the unitary national demonstration of the three...
Belgium: social election launched
Economic crisis.  After two weeks mobilizing, Belgian unions rejoiced with the rise in the number of candidates for the social election.  This increase is greatly due to the economic context.  The...
9 May 2012
Inditex: new agreement on the involvement of unions to monitor the respect of workers’ conditions at supplier firms
The management of the international union federation provides for the introduction of a working program for these agreements to immediately come into force throughout the production chain...
Netherlands: employers worried about wage increases
Employers are sounding the alarm: the wage increases negotiated for 2012 are too high and “don’t mirror the country’s economic situation,” according to the General Employers’ Association (Algemene...
France: the new President of the Republic’s commitments affecting the labor world
First measures.  During his campaign, Hollande gave a few dates on the schedule of the first year of his Presidency and majority – if the socialist party wins the legislative election in June. ...
9 May 2012
Germany: Verdi union gets a 6.5 percent wage increase for Telekom Deutschland’s 50,000 employees
6.5 percent increase over two years.  Both parties welcomed the agreement, secured after arduous negotiations punctuated by a series of warning strikes at national level.  “It is a good agreement...
Great Britain: defeated in the fight against council workers’ wage cuts, Unite and Unison help bring the Labor Party at the head of the Southampton council
In mid-2011, the Conservative-run council instituted a 4.5% pay cut, a three-year pay freeze on cost-of-living increments, and a two-year freeze on annual increments. The choice facing council...
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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...