Italy: tough negotiations ahead for the renewal of the national banking collective agreement
With over 1,000 participants, the round table on “Emergency national collective agreement” organized by the Fabi on March 29th on the priorities of the platform for the renewal of the sector’s...
Netherlands: threat of conflict in the light metal industry
Negotiations are at a standstill in the Metaal & Techniek industry, which employs 330,000 people in 30,000 different businesses.  No one came to the last meeting planned within the framework...
Belgium: interview of Nico Cué, general secretary of the MWB-FGTB Wallonia-Brussels Metalworkers’ Federation
Nico Cué.  In Belgium, we negotiate collective agreements at cross-industry level.  The starting point is a report by the Central Economic Council (Conseil Central de l’Economie, CCE), composed of...
Netherlands: postal businesses promise to hire 80% of their current daily mailmen
An agreement in principle was reached in the postal sector on April 1st: Selekt Mail, Sandd and VSP Netwerk, the delivery subsidiary of TNT Post (the former public post) agreed to hire, with a...
4 April 2011
Italy: unitary transport strike paralyzed cities across the country
“Homologous and nearly total mobilization.”  Unions declare an average turnout of 100% in Naples and Benevento, 95% in Genoa, Imperia and Turin, 94% in Venice and Mestre, 90% in Rome, Bari...
United States: United Auto Workers ranks grew by 6% in one year
In 2009, there were only 355,191 members, the lowest level since the 1940s, when the union was created.  This number was well below its peak of 1.5 million members in 1979.  Bob King, new UAW...
Areva: new European agreement on forecasting and anticipating employment and competences
To prepare employees to anticipate and manage their career evolution, the group commits, with this agreement, to provide employees with visibility on evolutions within careers and professions via...
Denmark: the working conditions of ‘atypical’ workers have been worsening for ten years
Agency workers in manufacturing, seasonal workers in agriculture, occasional on-call workers (løsarbejderen)… atypical contracts (atypisk ansættelsesform) allegedly concern half a million...
31 March 2011
Romania: talks started on the reform of collective industrial relations
This new bill is going to finalize the labor law reform undertaken by the Emil Boc administration (about the Labor Code reform, see our dispatch No.  110202).
Spain: agreement on flexible pay in Catalonian metal industry
The metal employers’ organization and the Workers’ Commissions and UGT unions agreed to establish an equal committee for the collective agreement, with mediation from the Department for Business...
Germany: 4.1% increase for chemical workers
Agreement difficult to find but differentiated.  It was after nine meetings at regional level and one at federal level that the chemistry partners, gathered in Bad Honnef, near Bonn, reached a...
Italy: metal unions sign unitary agreement with Electrolux on restructuring program in Italy
The agreement signed between the Swedish multinational and the Fim-Cisl, Fiom-CGIL and Uilm-Uil: 
31 March 2011
Germany: large businesses refuse the government’s proposal to increase the proportion of executive women
Mrs. von der Leyen and Mrs. Schröder tried putting on a brave face after a meeting which should have led to a change of direction regarding the integration of women into the management of German...
31 March 2011
Sweden: since temporary work is progressing, unions and temporary agencies are looking for ways to work together
A development which might frighten unions.  Over the last 2010 quarter, temporary work agencies’ sales had increased by 42%, reaching, for the first time, SEK 5bn (€560M) and there should be...
Germany: is bringing tariff unity back with a law not such a good idea?
Bring tariff unity back with a law.  A federal government spokesman announced that the next mediation meeting between the government coalition parties would look at the question of bringing tariff...
Great Britain: shop workers’ union alarmed about the categorization of shops as low-risk workplaces
Context.  In preparation for the simplification of health and safety regulations (see our dispatch No.  110189) and following a consultation organized by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)...
30 March 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
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...