Free France: Thales signs group agreement on working time National industrial relations The management of French defence and aerospace group Thales and the trade unions signed an agreement on working time on 20 November, following three years of negotiations. The agreement provides for a new group-wide fixed working day, monitors workloads and takes account of difficult working conditions.
Exclusif [mind RH news] France: first agreement on caregiver employees signed at TotalEnergies National industrial relations On 7 November, multinational oil and energy company TotalEnergies signed an agreement with all its trade unions, which mind RH has obtained. The agreement is aimed at employees who are caregivers in the company's 'common social basis' (socle social commun). The agreement provides for flexible working hours, the appointment of carer advisers and the retention of pay for any leave taken.
France: new agreement at Michelin aims to promote a learning culture to develop skills of the future National industrial relations The leadership of French tyre manufacturer Michelin has negotiated an agreement with the unions on the management of jobs and career paths (GEPP) in order to anticipate skills needs and meet its development plans for the period 2024-2026. The agreement strengthens training and introduces new measures to enable employees to manage the latter part of their careers in the best possible conditions, taking account of the longer working lives brought about by the pension reform.
France: unprecedented agreement on the ecological transition signed in the pharmaceutical industry National industrial relations On 17 October, the French pharmaceutical industry reached its first collective agreement on the ecological transition. The agreement provides for social dialogue to support the transition, requires companies to carry out a carbon audit and offers a toolkit for companies.
Italy: Acea cuts back to 38 hours and tightens controls on subcontracting National industrial relations Italian multi-utility group Acea, which manages electricity, gas and water distribution in Rome, the trade unions Filctem-Cgil, Flaei-Cisl, Uiltec and the autonomous trade unions have just signed two significant agreements: the first reduces working hours by half an hour a week for employees in the gas and water sectors, while the second provides greater protection for workers in the supply chain.
Italy: new agreement at Ferrero focuses on digital inclusion of workers National industrial relations The agreement signed on 6 October by the Italian food giant (with around 7,000 employees in Italy) and the Flai-Cgil, Fai-Cisl and Uila trade unions devotes a great deal of attention to digitalisation and training as part of the "Smart Factory" project, extending a series of practices to workers. The agreement also improves the work-life balance and enshrines the "zero tolerance" policy towards discrimination, particularly gender discrimination.
Sweden: Klarna employees go on strike as collective agreement talks fail National industrial relations After eight months of fruitless negotiations with Klarna management, the Swedish trade unions – Unionen and Engineers of Sweden – at the specialist in the ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ (BNPL) payment system, which enables consumers to pay for a purchase in several instalments without interest,…
Germany: IG Metall rejects company pensions without guaranteed returns National industrial relations On 25 October, the delegates' assembly of the major German metalworkers' union IG Metall, which met in Frankfurt, decided to reject any future negotiations on company pensions without guaranteed returns. This decision could "kill" a formula chosen by the chemical sector but which has always had difficulty establishing itself.
Exclusif France: 2023 agreements on older workers focus mainly on support towards retirement National industrial relations With social partners soon to sit down to negotiate a national inter-professional agreement (ANI) on the employment of older workers, mind RH has analysed the company agreements signed since the beginning of the year, in anticipation of the pension reform, to organise the continued employment of employees up to the age of 64. While most of these agreements focus on end-of-career arrangements, which was already the case in previous agreements, the focus now seems to be on training and job retention, as well as on preventing arduous work.
France: Icade renews agreement for disabled employees National industrial relations On 27 September, the French property developer (1,200 employees) signed a new agreement with its trade unions (SNUHAB-CFE-CGC, CGT,…