PSA/GM Alliance: the EWCs and unions of the two carmakers coordinate to assess the consequences of their alliance on employment
Coordination under the auspices of the EMF.  In a press release published today, March 19, the European Metalworkers’ Federation announced that leading figures from the European worker...
Great Britain: new minimum wage rate for adults and apprentices as of October 1, 2012
Minimum wage.  The independent Low Pay Commission (LPC), a statutory body whose role is to advise the Government on the National Minimum Wage, gave the government its 13th report on February 15. ...
Germany: regions are trying to attract skilled workers
the growing importance of the shortage of skilled workers in Germany. These past few years, over 700 networks gathering different roleplayers (chambers of commerce, employment agencies, towns...
19 March 2012
Italy: temporary unions staunchly opposed to agreements allowing agencies to derogate from equal treatment
Italia Lavoro, the Ministry of Labor’s technical agency, and Assolavoro, the association of temporary employers, signed, in September 2011, an agreement valid until December 31, 2013, to implement...
15 March 2012
United States: AFL-CIO gives Barack Obama conditional and fringe support
After major AFL-CIO members such as the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the Communication Workers of America (CWA), the United Steelworkers (USW), the...
Sweden: government, employers and unions agreed on a new type of agreement in case of crisis based on the German “kurzarbeit” (short-time working)
Learn the lessons from past crises.  The new system is called “korttidsarbete” (short-term working) and is directly inspired from the “krisavtal” (crisis agreements) negotiated in some...
13 March 2012
Italy: government speeds up labor reform
Yesterday, March 12, during the sixth unusual tripartite negotiation – because the government still hasn’t presented the social partners with a single document –, Labor Minister Elsa Fornero...
13 March 2012
Morocco: are employees having a hard time adjusting to corporate challenges?
Professional language and school system are the real problem.  “Our continuous education agency is generally called upon for upgrading middle staff's French and for the professional development of...
12 March 2012
Italy: insurance sector renews national collective agreement
Insurance unions (Fiba-Cisl, Fisac-CGIL, FNA, SNFIA and UILCA) and the Ania employers’ organization reached an agreement, on March 7, renewing the sector’s national collective agreement, which...
Germany: more and more young unemployed graduates from southern Europe are seeking happiness in Germany
Assistance to SMEs.  To help German businesses face the growing lack of skilled workers, the Federal Employment Agency, through its Foreign Workers Placement services (ZAV), has been carrying out...
9 March 2012
Spain: unions call for a general strike against the labor law reform on March 29
The two union leaders said the government was responsible for the strike because of “the way it acted and its carelessness” in presenting the reform without even discussing it with the trade...
Spain: Vodafone’s new collective agreement provides for short-time working, optional working time cuts and pay cuts to avoid layoffs
The UGT’s transportation and communication federation detailed, in a press release, a series of measures on the implementation of a savings plan via: 
9 March 2012
Italy: national Fiom demonstration for “Democracy at work”
“Empty factories and a full Piazza San Giovanni.”  This is what Maurizio Landini, leader of the Fiom, wants for the national mobilization day called by the CGIL’s union for tomorrow, Friday, March...
EU: interview of Fabrice Warneck, in charge of the trade industry at the Uni Europa union federation, about the campaign of the European Sunday Alliance
Fabrice Warneck.  Our Alliance defends decent working time in Europe.  This day of action specifically targeted rest on Sunday because, lately, there is a trend of deregulation affecting work on...
8 March 2012
Denmark: new collective agreement in computing
Improving training rights.  Employees may add to their training rights for up to three years but, in theory, they can’t use them during layoff notice.  As in the trade industry, “training...
MAN SE: new international framework agreement on fundamental rights at work
After becoming a European company in April 2009 (see our dispatch No.  090353), the MAN SE multinational company (€16.5 billion in sales in 2011), which has its headquarters in Munich, employees...
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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...