Austria: launch of collective negotiations for 520,000 trade employees
d in the Austrian trade on Wednesday, October 19th for 520,000 employees (280,000 for retail trade alone). The renegotiation of the biggest collective agreement in the country is arriving the day...
Spain: businesses say 2010 labor market reform is ineffective
85% of the people surveyed believe that the measures of the labor market reform, adopted in 2010 (see our dispatch No.  100669), brought about no significant changes to working conditions, and 60%...
Deutsche Bahn: German railway launches program at group level to increase the proportion of female employees
eutsche Bahn (DB) has set out clear objectives to increase the number of women in management over the next few years. And the railway company also concretely explained how it was going to do it...
19 October 2011
United States: former Wall Street banker advises American letter carriers union
Letter Carriers (NALC) asked Ron Bloom, restructurings expert, to help with the revitalization of the US Post Office. (Ref. 110627) In the US, the NALC recently hired Ron Bloom, restructurings...
19 October 2011
AXA: interview of Guillaume Floquet and Daniel Vaulot, respectively Deputy Head of AXA Group Human Resources and EWC secretary, about the European agreement on anticipation
group to sign an agreement on the anticipation of change. Guillaume Floquet and Daniel Vaulot, respectively Global Head of Human Resources and Secretary of the European Works Council, are telling...
Austria: metalworkers get a 4.2% wage increase
aining, the metal social partners announced, this morning (October 18th), that they agreed on an average 4.2% wage increase for the sector’s 165,000 employees. It will come into force on...
Germany: IG-Metall Conference calls for “green new deal” and “new labor culture”
all union federation ended last Saturday with, notably, a speech from Chancellor Angela Merkel. The meeting was an opportunity to celebrate the newfound health of a union whose membership is going...
ArcelorMittal: Belgian unions want a European answer to the closing down of the Liège blast furnaces
ent of the largest steelmaker in the world confirmed its decision to close its blast furnaces in Liège, Belgium. Union organizations are looking for alternatives and request a true European...
Denmark: first report on HR practices in multinationals in Denmark
HR policies.  Most multinationals involved with the survey are European (46% Scandinavian) and 16% American.  Two thirds claim they have an “International HR unit” with a cross-border coordination...
14 October 2011
Germany: the idea of universal minimum wage keeps gaining ground
Retail employers want minimum wage.  “We do not want wage dumping in German retail trade.  This is why we want to sign a collective agreement introducing minimum wage at national level and for all...
Great Britain: Prime Minister steps up to encourage businesses to appoint more female board members
Boards progress report published by Cranfield University, six months after the report by Lord Davies – recommending that FTSE 350 companies determine objectives and publish annual reports on...
13 October 2011
Austria: metalworkers start warning strikes right away
ns between the metal social partners in preparation of the sector’s collective agreements failed on Wednesday, October 12th. The Pro-Ge and GPA-dip unions, which negotiate wage increases for...
United States: UAW stronger after negotiations with the “Big Three”
October 12th, an agreement similar to those signed with General Motors on September 16th and with Ford on October 4th, the United Auto Workers are stronger after their negotiations with the...
Areva: launch of FACES, the European project aimed to improve social dialogue for better competence management
he launch of the FACES project (Forecasting and Anticipating Competences in Europe through Social Dialogue), to enforce the part on European social dialogue contained in the European agreement on...
Germany: big energy producers are getting ready to cut staff
generator in Germany, confirmed that it intended to cut 11,000 jobs, 6,000 of which in Germany. A social plan will be presented at the end of October, but this decision is rejected by the Verdi...
Netherlands: government ready to talk retirement with young people
ocial Affairs Henk Kamp wants to see more young people at the negotiating table on retirement. However, people under 25 only account for 4% of union members for 36% of 25-45 year-olds and 60% of...
11 October 2011
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...