Labour relations

A new dispute has erupted between the services union, Verdi, and Europe’s largest online retailer, Zalando. A study published on 20 November and commissioned by the union-friendly Hans-Böckler...

21 November 2019

EU: 5th EFFAT Congress held in Croatian capital Zagreb on 06 /07 November under the banner: ‘Organise, Fight and Win: A recipe for a stronger EFFAT’

‘EFFAT is standing at a crossroads.’ This opening statement from the EFFAT ( European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism) Action Plan that was adopted in Congress preceded a list of...

20 November 2019

South Korea: trade unions make inroads into Samsung Electronics

For the first time in fifty years a labor union affiliated with the South Korean umbrella union group, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), has established a presence at the Samsung...

19 November 2019

Germany: Verdi and ING-DiBa strike deal on ‘agreement for the future’, which introduces an individual training allowance

German labour union Verdi and the management of German bank ING-DiBa struck an agreement at the start of November to renew their collective agreement ‘for the future’ (Zukunftsvertrag), which is...

18 November 2019

France: how Coca-Cola European Partners France relaunched and rebuilt social dialogue to support its new business plan

With production volumes on the decline, a transformation of the French market, three redundancy plans in five years, CCEP France – which produces, bottles and markets Coca-Cola in France – has...

18 November 2019

Italy: Milanese retail sector social partners agree on more flexible rules for recourse to temporary employment contracts

On 06 November, the territorial agreement called ‘Milan a tourist city’ (Milano città turistica) was signed. It allows more workers to be hired on temporary employment contracts during certain...

15 November 2019

Inditex: renews its global framework agreement with IndustriALL Global on respect for working conditions throughout the whole production chain

On 13 November, at the ILO's head offices in Geneva, Inditex Executive Chairman, Pablo Isla, and the general secretary of IndustriALL Global Union, Valter Sanches, signed the agreement extending...

14 November 2019

Switzerland: a new agreement for Lidl focuses on longer paternity and maternity leave periods

On 08 November, Lidl Suisse, together with the trade unions Syna and the Swiss Society of Commerce Employees (Société suisse des employés de commerce), signed a new collective convention for the...

14 November 2019

Italy: collective agreement renewal for the water and oil services sector

On 07 November 2019 social partners in Italy’s water and oil sector signed a draft agreement to renew the sector’s collective agreement that expired on 31 December 2018 and that covers some 48,000...

12 November 2019

Austria: metals sector social partners agree on pay rise of between 2.6% and 2.8%

On Friday 8th November, pay negotiations across the six sub-sectors of Austria’s metals industry came to a conclusion, after an agreement was reached in the foundry sector. The six agreements...

12 November 2019

Great Britain: with five weeks to go before the general election the TUC disparages the Tory government’s economic record

On 07 November the TUC published an analysis showing that since the previous 2017 election, called for by the then Tory PM Theresa May, the UK economy has fallen into the ‘relegation zone’. Using...

7 November 2019

Sweden: trade unions ready to negotiate fresh collective agreements in 2020

Sweden’s social partners are readying themselves to negotiate new collective agreements for most of the sectors at the start of 2020. Caution hangs in the air because even if the government is...

7 November 2019

Chile: no weakening of social contestation in the face of a sclerotic political class

Since 18 October 2019, Chile has been living through its biggest social conflict since the period of dictatorship ended in 1990. The entire political class that is now at its most unpopular is...

6 November 2019

Finland: a disorderly start to negotiations on new sector collective agreements

Finland’s business leaders and trade unions have commenced negotiations for new collective agreements that will replace those set to expire in the months ahead. As such this will be the second...

6 November 2019

Germany: IG Metall and YouTubers announce campaign against YouTube to improve working conditions

The German trade union IG Metall, which has partnered with the YouTubers Union, announced in August of this year that Google Deutschland had agreed to open talks, set for 22 October, over the...

4 November 2019

United States: automobile union UAW strikes multi-year wage agreement with Ford

Negotiators for the UAW (United Automobile Workers) and industry giant Ford have reached a deal for a new four-year salary agreement, four days after a deal was struck by the union and General...

4 November 2019

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The three representative trade unions at Orange France have until 10 December to validate an agreement on gender equality, work–life balance and anti-discrimination measures. While the text...

8 December 2025

mind RH analysis – Initial findings from CSRD social indicators

In 2025, for the first time, the universal registration documents of major European companies contain the sustainability reporting required by the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive...

31 October 2025

Candice Guillot (Talan): “Our recruiters save just over 80 hours per year on administrative tasks thanks to AI”

Candice Guillot, group director of employee experience and HR performance at Talan (7,000 employees), outlines for mind RH her vision and strategy for introducing artificial intelligence at the...

20 October 2025

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...

15 October 2025

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Pascale Rauline (Axa EWC): “European charter formalises ongoing and accelerated social dialogue on AI”

On 27 November, Axa and its European works council (EWC) signed a charter setting out principles governing the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) and guaranteeing social dialogue on the...

3 December 2025

Germany: crisis-hit industries cast shadow over 2026 bargaining cycle

In 2026, collective wage agreements for nearly 10 million employees in Germany are set to expire. With upcoming negotiations in crisis-hit 'pilot' sectors such as chemicals and metalworking, the...

2 December 2025

EU: social partners in telecoms sign joint statement on AI

On 16 December, the social partners in Europe's telecommunications sector unveiled a joint statement on artificial intelligence. They propose an action plan for skills and commit to raising...

18 December 2025

Bulgaria: government approves bill to encourage sector-level collective bargaining

On 26 November, the Bulgarian government approved amendments to the labour code designed to reinforce the legal framework for sector-level collective bargaining. The reform aims to stimulate...

2 December 2025

Inditex European works council mobilises on value sharing

In a joint statement, 10 trade unions comprising the European works council of the Inditex clothing group are calling for rallies in Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal, France, Italy and Germany...

24 November 2025

Germany: Erwin Hymer Group’s innovative and award-winning AI agreement

Fed up with negotiating separate agreements for each new artificial intelligence (AI) tool, the social partners at Erwin Hymer Group (8,900 employees) have instead secured a broad, overarching...

12 December 2025