Poland: the social pact of TP SA, discussion with Jacek Kallaur
The management of TP SA (France Telecom group) and the trade unions of the company have signed a social pact valid three years, on December 9th 2006 (see story n° 061253) and an implementing...
Germany: the construction workers’ trade union asks for a 5.5% wage increase in 2007
The federal tariff commission (Bundestarikomission) of the IG BAU announced, on Thursday January 18th 2007, that it would request a wage increase of 5.5% for the 680 000 employees of the sector...
Great Britain: Amicus wants to create a transnational trade union
Amicus, the most important trade union of the private sector, currently merging with the TGWU in order to create a huge trade union with 2 million members (see story n°061182), has also signed...
Germany: the DGB wants a vast reform of the low-wages sector
During its annual press conference held on January 17th in Berlin, Michael Sommer, president of the German trade-union Confederation (DGB), asked the government for an in-depth reform of low wages...
Luxembourg: difficult negotiations on the collective agreement for the banking sector
The Association of Luxembourg banks and bankers (ABBL) considers necessary to reduce the wage bill in order to increase banks’ profits and recommends a deep reform of the methods of compensation...
Germany: trade union IG-Metall invites employees to protest against the project of retirement age at 67
The German metalworkers' trade union IG Metall began, on January 16th 2007, in the Saar, its campaign to protest against the bill raising the legal retirement age from 65 to 67 (see story nº...
DHL: trade union ver.di wants to extend its power within the world’s leader for express delivery and logistics
From January 10th to 12th, the German trade union for services ver.di invited 45 colleagues from Germany, China and the United States to a new conference in Leipzig. Objective: to build a...
16 January 2007
World : ITUC creates Council of Global Unions, starts working on three joint initiatives
Following the creation of the International Trade Union Confederation last November, the latter created, on January 9th and 10th, together with the international sectoral federations and the ITUC...
Germany: wage negotiations begin in chemical industry at the regional level
The chemical sector, which employs some 560 000 people, has inaugurated a round of important tariff negotiations, which will take place this year in Germany (see story nº 70002). The first...
Estonia : interview with Harri Taliga, President of the EAKL union
First there are historical reasons.  Under the Soviet Union, Estonians had to be members of unions which were just a sham. In 1991, the switch to the market economy and capitalism consequently...
Volkswagen: summary of the information and consultation procedure during the restructuring at Forest factory
By announcing on November 21st 2006, the shedding of 4000 jobs in its Belgian factory of Forest because of the transfer of production of the Golf to two German sites, the automobile group...
12 January 2007
Germany: the difference between employees’ income and companies’ income increased in 2006
According to the federal Office of statistics, Germany reported in 2006 its strongest growth (+2,5%) since 2000. But in spite of the recovery, the pay of employees has increased only slightly last...
France Telecom : worldwide agreement on social rights ; interview with Laurent Zylberberg
It should be acknowledged that it was not easy to negotiate such an agreement inasmuch as personnel representation differs considerably from one group entity to another. In fact, we have...
Elcoteq : board of directors decides to transfer headquarters of European company (SE)
The board of directors of Elcoteq, a Finnish company of the telecom technology sector transformed into a European company in 2006, announced, on last December 22nd, that it will propose to the...
11 January 2007
Sony Spain : Catalan factory reduces precariousness but increases flexibility
450 temporary workers of Sony in Villadecavalls, Catalonia, should be permanently hired following an agreement signed between management and the work's council, which also provides for more...
Great Britain: employers who don’t pay the minimum wage will be fined much more and quicker
Within the framework of its policy against rogue employers, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has just announced the creation of a £ 225 fine -per worker and per day- for employers who...
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