Germany: DBG reveals that, in spite of the lack in skilled manpower, the quality of cooperative education has not improved
he Confederation of German Trade Unions (DGB) revealed, on September 14th, its “2011 Annual Report on Cooperative Education” (Ausbildungsreport 2011), which evaluates the quality of...
14 September 2011
South Africa: three-year agreement in the industry
neering Industry Federation of South Africa (SEIFSA, the steel employers’ organization) and several unions (NUMSA, Solidarity, UASA the Union, CEPPWAWU, MEWUSA and SAEWA) signed a three-year...
Portugal: unions and employers reject the government’s plan to create a compensation fund to pay for layoffs
d the government’s draft on the creation of a compensation fund to partly pay for workers’ layoffs. The social partners demand new guarantees as to its efficiency. (Ref. 110539)...
13 September 2011
Spain: unions are worried about the new constraints announced by the carmakers
several carmakers announced that they intended to reduce operations in their Spanish sites. They are asking that businesses don’t make employees alone pay for the consequences of the drop in...
13 September 2011
International: UNI launches global union alliance for Manpower staff
d, on September 6 in Nyon, an international union network for Manpower. In doing so, the union representatives are hoping for better follow-up of the memorandum of understanding signed in 2008...
Great Britain: creeping discontent in the construction industry after eight contractors proposed to cut hourly rates of pay
echanical contractors in the building and construction industry are proposing to cut hourly rates of pay by up to 35% from March 2012. The current industry rate of £16.25 per hour (nearly...
Spain: the pay gap between men and women with positions of responsibility is nine points higher than the average
ng for positions of responsibility. This is what comes out of a survey jointly released by the Secretary of State for Equality and the High Council of Spanish Chambers of Commerce. The heart of...
9 September 2011
Netherlands: one single federation for heavy and light metal industry
ight metal industries have merged into a single federation in order to have more power against unions. (Ref. 110527) Employers in the heavy (Metalektro) and light metal (Metaal en Techniek)...
Portugal: unions call for high wage increases in 2012
nizations in the country are asking for wage increases ranging between 2 and 4% for next year. They are also calling for an increase in Portuguese minimum wage as mentioned during social dialogue...
Portugal: employees’ 2011 income cut drastically with the enforcement of the extraordinary tax on the Christmas bonus
loyees’ Christmas bonus has come into force. The tax, withheld and amounting to 50% of the part of the bonus exceeding minimum wage, should bring the State EUR 1 billion. This tax is going...
Sweden: LO unions agree on joint claims for 2012 negotiations
ves from different trade unions affiliated with the LO confederation (the country’s key union confederation) met in order to think about ways to get organized for the 2012 negotiations. In...
Great Britain: Premier wants to water down European Agency Workers Directive
temporary work will come into force on October 1, 2011, the Prime Minister is looking at ways to lessen its impact on the economy, according to what The Telegraph wrote on September 5, 2011...
8 September 2011
Italy: the CGIL’s general strike opens the “hot fall”
“Sinful, absolutely unfair, completely useless, un-civic and irresponsible” is how CGIL leader Susanna Camusso qualified the budget austerity plan approved by the Council of Ministers on August...
Germany: chemistry social partners in eastern Germany work on groundbreaking system for flexible working time
in talks on the working conditions of the 36,000 people working in the eastern-German chemical industry, the IG BCE union announced, on September 1st, that it sent employers a proposal for a...
Finland: serial layoffs and wheezing social dialogue on the menu for the new social season
n trying, for weeks, to encourage cooperation between the social partners, mistrust is prevailing among union ranks. On the eve of another round of collective bargaining in many sectors (banking...
Ireland: government and social partners to negotiate exception to the European directive on temporary work
ike the principle of equal treatment as regards the working conditions of permanent and temporary workers to apply after six months in the job. Directive 2008/104 on temporary work lays this...
7 September 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...