News brief

Germany: IG-Metall demands 4.2% increase for Volkswagen employees
steel union (IG-Metall) presented, on June 26, 2009, the wage claims it will defend during the re-negotiation of the “company” wage agreement at Volkswagen, which will start on August...
Baltic countries: unions’ helplessness leads them to join forces to speak up
nstrators gathered, on June 18, in front of the Latvian embassy in Vilnius (Lithuania), answering the call of the three large unions, the Confederation of Lithuanian Unions (LPSK, close to the...
Estonia: unions content with the strike against the new law on the labor contract in spite of low mobilization
f the June 3 demonstration indeed took place on June 16, still against the enforcement of the new law on labor contracts, particularly lower unemployment benefits. However, only 1,800 employees...
Italy: “labor pact” signed in the distribution and service sectors
service confederation, Confcommercio, signed an agreement with the Filcams-CGIL, Fisascat-Cisl and Uiltucs-Uil unions to defend employment in the sector, badly affected by the crisis. With this...
Metro Group: German giant assumes social responsibility for the employees of RL. Denim, Bengali subcontractor
eard of international coalition composed of NGOs and unions from Germany, the UK and the US, the Metro supply group decided to reintegrate the Bengali jean manufacturer which was excluded after a...
29 June 2009
EU: regulation amending the European Globalization Adjustment Fund published in the Official Journal
ding Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006 on establishing the European Globalization Adjustment Fund (EGF) was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on June 29, 2009. This fund, which...
Great Britain: unions and employers have a different analysis of the impact of the crisis on labor relations
the labor world, according to a new survey carried out by the CBI employers’ organization: more flexible working time, more holidays, no more paid overtime, frozen wages and...
Spain: Nissan unions object to the 581 layoffs announced in Barcelona
management to withdraw the mass layoff (ERE) procedure and re-open the negotiations broken off on June 16 to find a less traumatizing solution to deal with excess staff. Since voluntary leave...
Germany: undeclared work goes back up with the crisis
customs, in charge of combating illegal labor since 2004, controlled 8,100 businesses in the construction sector and observed thousands of irregularities. With a turnover valued at 352 billion...
Portugal: the management of Autoeuropa’s Palmela factory maintains the 250 jobs in danger but provides for a new partial unemployment period
ees rejected the new company agreement introducing more flexibility, Autoeuropa’s management announced the renewal of the 250 fixed-term contracts it wanted to cancel but plans a new ten-day...
Italy: Adecco signs the first agreement on partial unemployment for agency workers
signed with the trade unions an agreement on “derogatory social dampers” provided for in the anticrisis act (see our dispatch No. 090122) to the 77 agency workers of the Trelleborg...
EU: note on the European blue card directive
ng the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purposes of highly qualified employment was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on June 18. It...
Germany: “Pact for apprenticeship” threatened by the crisis
“Pact for apprenticeship”(Ausbildungspakt) was created in 2004, the signatory parties – the federal government and the largest employers’ organizations (BDA, BID, DIHK and...
Austria: unions abandon the dogma of the 35 hour work week
gress (June 30 – July 2, 2009), the Confederation of Austrian Unions (ÖGB) wants to commit in favor of new working time reduction systems which don’t automatically imply wage...
Denmark: after revelations from the Danish TV, the Nordea bank promises a more ethical portfolio of investments
estments by pension funds (see our dispatch No. 080175), a program aired on June 2, 2009 denounces investments by three large Danish banks, notably in weapons. Nordea officially gave up...
24 June 2009
Netherlands: failing money, partial unemployment is out of service
d to cover partial unemployment in 2009 were spent in three months. Reimbursements are temporarily suspended. The social partners demand an extension of the system until 2010 with a...
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
United Kingdom: government urged to legislate against forced labour
After consulting victims, businesses and NGOs, the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner (IASC) has published a report showing that the UK is lagging behind in the fight against forced labour. The...
13 January 2026
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EU: European Parliament calls for a directive on just transition
On 20 January, MEPs approved, with 420 votes in favour, an own-initiative report calling for a just transition directive. The text calls for the protection of workers to be guaranteed in the...
20 January 2026