Portugal: new conservative government gets two super ministries to combat the crisis
Technical skills.  The government chose two academics known for their technical skills and their experience of financial institutions and European cases.
23 June 2011
Norway: new banking agreement avoids strike
Grounds for the strike notice.  Considering that employers didn’t really want to negotiate, Finansforbundet issued a strike notice starting on June 7th.  With about 38,000 members, the union was...
EU: interview of Bart Samyn, deputy general secretary of the European Metalworkers’ Federation, about the future industry federation
Bart Samyn.  First, I should say that we made a big decision – going on with the merger, but that doesn’t mean that the merger is through.  We still need to solve the last elements.  Regarding the...
22 June 2011
Netherlands: Abvakabo union joins FNV and Allies in the struggle against the pension reform
000 members, joined the FNV and Allies in protesting the pension reform. This bill was subject to extensive negotiations in 2008 and 2009 but unions disagree on two major points:the financial risk...
22 June 2011
ST Ericsson: establishment of an EWC
Maintaining the link with the parent companies.  Union organizations were not highly enthusiastic about the establishment of this new European structure, Requested by the management.  Indeed, STE...
Spain: Court cancels minimum services established by the Region of Madrid for the last subway strike
e of Madrid a posteriori cancelled the minimum services imposed for the last subway strike in the capital on June 29-30, 2010. The same chamber also invalidated the minimum services demanded on...
Italy: unitary agreement for the renewal of the national collective agreement in craft metal businesses
After 16 hours of nonstop negotiations, the different units of the different employers’ organizations in craftsmanship and SMEs (Confartigianato, CNA, Casartigiani and CLAI) and the Fim-Cisl...
United States: OUR Wal-Mart or how the United Food and Commercial Workers’ Union is trying to organize Wal-Mart employees on the internet since it cannot do it in the stores
ing a new form of social activism. As it has always managed to keep unions at a distance, one of them has decided to counter attack by creating an online rallying space. This new group...
Romania: planned merger between two key union confederations
l Union Bloc), two of the key union confederations in Romania, are currently thinking about merging. The idea of uniting to rebuild the union movement is not new but is back after recent reforms...
Poland: talks on minimum wage increase have begun
Fake negotiations.  As provided for in the Act of October 10, 2002 on minimum wage, the social partners have gathered several times within the tripartite Committee (unions, employers, government)...
Spain: why is the reform of collective bargaining contingent on the social partners at national level?
Though the new enactment is really complex (v. dépêche n°110398), and gives new wording to a large number of articles, the essentials of the reform, all linked to the idea of labor flexibility...
Italy: Cisl and Uil union confederations organize their first “unitary” national demonstration
“We’re Italy’s hope.”  This is how Cisl leader Raffaele Bonnani described the first national demonstration organized by the Cisl and Uil on Saturday, June 18th in Rome on the Piazza del Popolo...
Germany: Verdi union calls for three-day strike in insurance from Monday, June 20th
The framework collective agreement at the heart of the conflict.  Martina Sönnichsen, Verdi spokesperson, told Planet Labor that the strikes would begin today in North Rhine-Westphalia, Hamburg...
Netherlands: FNV and Allies union mobilizes against pension reform
The FNV and Allies (FNV Bondgenoten), the Netherlands’ key union, present in the industry and armed with 500,000 members, called on its members to send emails against the pension reform by June...
20 June 2011
Great Britain: public sector employees start mobilizing against austerity program
Strike against pension reform in State services.  The strike by the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) is expected to close schools across England...
Italy: Fiom-CGIL launches first independent metalworkers’ social network, the FiomNetWork
On June 16th, the Fiom celebrated its 110th birthday.  The Federazione Italiana Operai Metallurgici (“Italiana” was replaced by “Impiegati” at the Congress in Turin in 1946) was founded in Livorno...
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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
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...
4
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...
5
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...
6
Germany: legal battle at Tesla ahead of works council election
The Frankfurt/Oder labour court has postponed a mid-November hearing in the case between the IG Metall union and Michaela Schmitz, employee representative and head of the works council at the...