Italy: Indesit management and unions agree on national restructuring program
Indesit Company employees in Brembate (Bergamo) and Refrontolo (Treviso) are currently voting on the agreement signed on the night of December 7th between the Ministry of Economic Development, the...
13 December 2010
Netherlands: strike continues at TNT Post
After two 24-hour strikes in November where 8,000 people turned out, only 4,000 mailmen came to the last strike movement.  A fourth strike is going to be organized on December 15th, announced, on...
Greece: government adopts bill bringing flexibility to the labor market
First approved by Brussels earlier last week, the bill which notably brings flexibility to the labor market in the private sector was discussed by the Council of Ministers on Thursday, December...
Great Britain: more and more small disputes over pay and pensions
Workers at Heinz’s Wigan food factory have balloted overwhelmingly for strike action and industrial action short of a strike over what they consider to be a poor pay offer while company profits...
Germany: Verdi union calls for a 6.5% wage increase for Deutsche Telekom staff
Improve the pay plan of T-Service employees.  For the renegotiation of the company collective agreements, which expire on December 31, 2010 (see our dispatch No.  090314), Verdi’s collective...
Spain: unions present own-initiative bill to amend the labor market reform voted in September
When presenting the text, the union leaders, Candido Mendez (UGT) and Ignacio Fernandez Toxo (CCOO), explained that they were hoping for a chance to revive the debate and give the government the...
EU: metal social partners place growth, employment and training at the heart of sectoral social dialogue
A strong industry. During this social dialogue meeting, the union and the employers’ organization rejoiced that the industry was back at the top of the European agenda.  In a first statement...
9 December 2010
Pfleiderer: signature of an international social charter
Requirements that also apply to subcontractors.  Based in Neutmark, Bavaria, Pfleider specializes in the wholesale trade of wood and construction materials.  It employs nearly 5,200 people in 22...
Germany: chemistry union claims for up to 7% increase for 550,000 employees
Record claims.  Any other offers?  In September, the first post-crisis wage agreement brought a 3.6% increase and a €150 bonus to steel employees (see our dispatch No.  100688).  In the fall...
Italy: last Censis report shows the country is “flattened” and “without vigor”
A country without laws or desire, sliding under “a wave of unbalanced impulses” which no longer trusts the leading classes, is the image coming from the 44th report published by Censis, the...
8 December 2010
Spain: first meetings between employers and unions on the reform of collective bargaining
It could be difficult to bring both parties’ views together and labor market experts aren’t very optimistic as to the outcome of the negotiations.  While unions and employers are in favor of a...
Sweden: a study by the working environment authority found that 200 people die following professional stress each year
A report that links causes of death and working conditions. Arbetsmiljöverket presented, on November 18, 2010, an overview of work-related deaths that aren’t industrial accidents.  It seems they...
8 December 2010
Germany: IG-Metall demands a 6% increase for Volkswagen’s employees
Disagreement over the next wage increase.  “This is a very bad joke…  They can’t sell us what we already have” declared the chairman of Volkswagen’s central WC and IG-Metall member, Bernd...
Italy: Fiat leaves negotiating table with unions on the future of the Mirafiori site
Ambitious program. With an investment of over €1 billion and a new joint venture with Chrysler, Fiat wants to double  production at Mirafiori, going from 120,000 cars currently to over 250,000...
Ireland: after the Greeks, the Irish are going to test Brussels’ will to be more directive on labor market reforms in the name of financial and economic stability
The Irish State is tied.  The government had already flagged some of these changes, imposed by a Memorandum of Understanding signed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European...
Sweden: The Phone House AB given permission to fingerprint its employees to monitor working time
Reasons for using fingerprints. The Phone House AB, a subsidiary of the namesake group, which employs 16,000 people in Europe, is a major chain that sells mobile phones in Sweden, since it...
2 December 2010
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: Bayer puts female health and inclusive parenthood at the centre of its equality policy
In a new agreement on gender equality highlighted by mind RH, Bayer commits to strengthening its parenthood policy. Furthermore, the company is anticipating pay transparency and introducing...
25 September 2026
2
Germany: Volkswagen cancels almost all collective bargaining agreements signed with IG Metall
The Volkswagen brand announced on 30 September that it is terminating 10 of its 13 internal collective bargaining agreements, effective 31 December 2026. The announcement, which the carmaker...
1 October 2026
3
France: final document on the work of the Labour, Employment and Pensions Conference
After six months of discussions between French social partners, the guarantors of the Labour, Employment and Pensions Conference submitted the conclusions of the discussions to the Prime Minister...
17 September 2026
4
Germany: Employers’ representatives seek to limit the rights of works councils
The Employers' Federation of German Employers' Associations (Bundesvereinigung der Deutschen Arbeitgeberverbände - BDA) published a report at the end of September in which it proposes a...
5
Germany: working time dispute between Mercedes and the IG Metall Union
The news. At the beginning of September, Mercedes-Benz asked employee representatives and the IG Metall union to agree to an increase in the weekly working time from 35 to 40 hours, without any...
16 September 2026
6
Germany: major day of union action in the automotive industry ahead of collective bargaining
A few weeks before the start of collective bargaining in the German metalworking sector, the IG Metall trade union mobilised nearly 175,000 workers across more than 200 industrial sites on 21...
22 September 2026