Colombia: sugar workers on strike for a month
About 20.000 workers in the sugar agro-industry have been on strike since September 15. They want to be employed directly by large refiners; they demand wage increases and better working...
Imperial Tobacco Group: union coordination against the restructuring plan
Union members representing employees in Germany, Great Britain, Spain, France and the Netherlands for Imperial Tobacco Group met in Brussels on October 10 with representatives from the European...
Italy: the Council of Ministers approved the guidelines for the reform of the right to strike
Labor Minister, Maurizzio Sacconi, announced last week his desire to speed up the presentation of his reform bill “in relation with this period of strike action.” Consequently, on the same day...
Germany: the number of companies not covered by a collective agreement keeps increasing
According to a study published by the German Labor Market and Employment Research Institute (IAB) on October 9, 2008, only 52% of employees working in private firms in western Germany were still...
Brazil: bank officers on strike throughout the country
Brazilian bank officers have been paralyzing their activity since October 8. They want better wages to recover their buying power and profit sharing. Banks employ over 430.000 people throughout...
PFW Aerospace: a European works council for a former Airbus subsidiary
The management of the German aeronautical equipment manufacturer PFW Aerospace (formerly Pfals-Flugzeugwerke) signed, on September 6, 2008, with a special negotiating body, an agreement...
Germany: chemistry social partners launch the establishment of an agreement on demography in undertakings
Faithful to their reputation as pioneer social partners, the IG BCE chemistry union and the BAVC chemistry employers' federation presented, during a joint congress held on October 9-10 in Berlin...
Italy: the two union confederations Cisl and Uil reach an agreement with employers on the reform of the conventional system
On October 10, the Confindustria employers' organization and the two unions, Cisl and Uil, agreed on guidelines on the reform of the conventional system. For the moment, there are no talks about a...
Wabco: establishment of a European works council
The management of the brake system manufacturer Wabco (7.700 employees) - former subsidiary of the American group Standards -signed, on October 1, 2008, an agreement on the establishment of a EWC...
Germany: unions approve the deferment of the privatization of Deutsche Bahn
Referring to the "extreme anxiety" which took over the financial markets, the German Minister of Finance and the railway company Deutsche Bahn announced, on October 9, the postponement of the...
Germany: IG Metall and Dansk Metal organize cross-border placement services for their members
The IG Metall Küste (Küste = sea coast) signed, on October 7, 2008, a cooperation agreement with its Danish counterpart, Dansk Metal. The objective is to place workers - both active and unemployed...
Spain: bank unions criticize the pressure and threats employees are faced with because of the financial crisis
Employees in the banking sector refuse to pick up the pieces of the financial crisis. Discontent is rising and unions are mobilizing. The representatives of the Comfia-CCOO de la Caixa and of...
Germany: metal sector employers propose extending wage negotiations to 2009 on account of the financial crisis
Even before the onslaught of the financial storm, Gesamtmetall, the employers’ federation in the metal sector, was already shocked by the level of IG Metall wage claims. “They are out of their...
Argentina: the pay gap between employees and executives is reducing
The maximum pay difference between employees at the bottom of the scale and the senior executive of the same company was almost divided by half since the 1990s. In some businesses, this reduction...
Netherlands: employees’ contribution to unemployment insurance removed
A social agreement, presented as "unique"; was signed on October 7, 2008 during the traditional fall negotiations between the social partners and the government. The Federation of Dutch trade...
Germany: the record increase of sickness insurance raises controversy
During a new summit meeting after several months of break, the parties of the Grand Coalition agreed, on October 5, 2008, on a major increase of sickness insurance which will amount, from January...
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
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...