Sweden: end of State pharmaceutical monopoly and first controversial collective agreement
Two agreements to regulate this “new” sector. The entire drugstore network, which used to be controlled by Apoteket AB (State owned), was dismantled on July 1, 2009. The State sold 150 pharmacies...
Germany: industrial cleaning employers’ federation blocks the renewal of sectoral minimum wage
The minimum wage agreement negotiated in 2008 by the social partners in industrial cleaning will expire on September 30, 2009. Yet, the sector's employers completely reject unions' claim - a...
Chile: collective bargaining reform postponed to 2010
Employment and economic recovery override labor law reform. After disagreements within the government coalition (composed of four parties), Chilean President Michelle Bachelet decided to suspend...
Italy: Filcem-CGIL launches collective bargaining for over 500,000 employers in four sectors
Waiting for a “universal collective bargaining system.” After presenting a separate platform in electricity (see our dispatch No. 090705), the Filcem-CGIL is now presenting four new claim...
Germany: Federal Labor Court extends the right to strike to “flashmobs”
Flash mob to block a supermarket. The judgment rendered by the Federal Labor Court came from charges pressed by the Regional Federation of Retail Trade of Berlin-Brandenburg (case 1 AZR 972/08)...
Sweden: two collective agreements in technology and design give priority to local wage negotiations
Unionen gives individual wage negotiations up. The sector’s employers’ organization, Almega STD, represents around 740 businesses in the construction and manufacturing sectors, i.e. 2/3 of...
Germany: IG-Metall threatens with warning strikes at Volkswagen if collective bargaining fails again
“In the middle of a crisis, Volkswagen is gaining market shares in Germany and western Europe. This is due to the amazing development of our products and to the equally amazing effort of...
Saint-Gobain: new amendment strengthening the EWC’s information and consultation rights
Effective and practical social dialog. Amendment No. 5 of May 2008 (see our dispatch No. 080713) included the commitment to negotiate, as soon as the second 2008 quarter, the practical modalities...
Opel: European trade unions mobilized against the shutdown of the Antwerp site
Number fight. On September 23, whereas the EMF was expecting 3,000-5,000 workers from throughout Europe in Antwerp, out of solidarity for the site’s workers, Fritz Henderson, Opel’s CEO, told...
Italy: food social partners sign a unitary collective agreement
agreement for the food sector is the first to be signed by all trade unions since the separate agreement on the reform of the conventional system. This recovered unity was seen as a strong signal...
International: international unions working so that the next G20 meeting focuses on employment
ed, G20 meetings have been increasingly important over the years. The summit to be held on September 24-25 will be the occasion to take the pulse of the global economic situation and the degree of...
Netherlands: bankers still as well paid
Despite a few signs of good will, Dutch bankers still receive tremendous premiums. Those whose wages exceeded €1.5 million received bonuses amounting to 311% of their remuneration for 2008 (as...
Denmark: 54th Dansk Metal Congress confronts the crisis
Maintain benefits and increase the number of members. The 54th Dansk Metal Congress, held in Aalborg on September 12-18, focused on how to face the union’s future challenges. The 486...
United States: Richard Trumka elected as the new head of the AFL CIO union
60, is the new leader of the AFL CIO, the powerful American 57-union federation representing 11 million members. He was elected in mid-September during the Pittsburg convention, replacing retiring...
Finland: negotiations for the renewal of collective agreements started
are preparing, with the crisis in the background, to renegotiate the collective agreements which will expire between January and April 2010, both in the public and in the private sector. In the...
Poland: ITF launches support campaign for LOT workers
the polish airline were laid off and after the management unilaterally terminated a company agreement, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (IFT) launched an international...
Most viewed articles of the month on mind HR
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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
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...
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
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...
6
France: generative AI and older workers central to BPCE’s skills management strategy
On 17 July 2025, BPCE and its trade unions signed a second agreement on jobs and career management within the banking group. The text places generative artificial intelligence at the core of its...