News brief

Portugal: debate over measures against the crisis at the UGT’s 11th Congress
union, the General Workers’ Union (UGT) held its 11th Congress on March 20-21 in Lisbon. The watchword was: “Overcoming the crisis, a future under the sign of employment and...
Romania: new parental leave benefits enforced
reform of the parental leave, enforced this month, replaces the all-inclusive benefit of 800 lei (about 250 euro) with a benefit amounting to 85% of the average income limited to 4.000 lei (around...
Netherlands: bonuses to be banned in bailed out banks
Wouter Bos announced a total ban on bonuses for all groups bailed out by the State. This decision comes after ING decided to grant a welcome bonus to its new financial manager, Patrick Flynn. The...
Netherlands: bill on severance pay to be reviewed
ament asked Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Piet Hein Donner to review his paper. Indeed, MPs and the State Council – which only gives consultative opinions – rejected his bill...
EU: the temporary sector wants to join the think tank on adjusting professional skills to the future labor market
deration representing temporary work agencies, Eurociett, published its contribution to the European Commission’s initiative: “New Skills for New Jobs”. Launched in December...
EU: the European social partners join think tank on how to fight the crisis
summit on March 19, the Twenty-Seven launched consultation of the European social partners so they become more involved in the work of the European Council – which gathers heads of States...
Great Britain: 219 billions pounds of deficit in private pension funds
ed benefit pension schemes in the private sector doubled in less than a year, reaching 219 billion pounds (232 billion euro) – the largest deficit since 2004. However, no need to panic, said...
Germany: 5.5%-8.6% wage increases at Deutsche Telekom
m and the Ver.di union accepted the propositions made by the mediator called in to settle the block in the negotiations which started in early 2009. The agreement is valid for 24 months and mostly...
Czech Republic: subsidies for employers to train workforce when activity is decreased
just released details of an extraordinary training subsidy program allocating CZK 3.3 billion (over 120 million euro) to bear the training costs of employees of businesses willing to keep their...
Poland: bill amends appointment of works council members
rt invalidated some provisions of the law on the information and consultation of workers which gave unions priority in appointing works council members (see our dispatch No. 080555), the Ministry...
Italy: first attempt to bring union unity back
he CGIL, Cisl and Uil unions met on March 16 – at the request of Gugliemo Epifani, CGIL leader – to launch a unitary approach on representation and union democracy. Notwithstanding a...
United States: Senate takes time looking at the equal pay bill
ollowed the enactment of the “Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act” (see our dispatch No. 090135) by President Obama, the “Paycheck Fairness Act” should be adopted by the Senate...
Great Britain: annual paid leave for offshore employees included in resting time ashore
h 9, the Employment Appeal Tribunal of Edinburgh declared that the annual paid leaves of offshore employees have to be included in the resting periods ashore to which they are entitled. This is...
Netherlands: “Invest into minorities to overcome workforce shortages” – interview with Mustapha Laboui
the largest trade union confederation in the Netherlands – the Federation of Dutch Unions (FNV) – is responsible for diversity. He tells Planet Labor about the main characteristics of...
EU: the conciliation meeting between Council and Parliament on working time failed in spite of propositions on both sides
e revision of the working time directive met on the evening of March 17, without success. Since they cannot agree on the opt-out, the Council and the Parliament couldn’t reach a general...
Great Britain: employers call on the government to postpone “tax on jobs”
lacement agencies will no longer enjoy reduced VAT, which enabled them to be taxed on commission only, on the condition that the organization employing the agency workers pays them directly. The...
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
Oliver Dietrich (IG Metall): “The advent of AI can be a means of deepening social partnership within companies”
In Germany, trade unions want to influence how AI is deployed in companies. Oliver Dietrich is an AI project manager at the regional office of the IG Metall trade union in North Rhine-Westphalia...
2
Germany: collective bargaining negotiations begin in chemical industry
Collective bargaining talks in Germany’s chemical and pharmaceutical industries are due to open this week, covering nearly 580,000 employees across around 1,700 companies. With the sector facing...
3 February 2026
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Italy: collective agreement for rubber and plastics sector focuses on new skills
A month ahead of schedule, the Federazione Gomma Plastica employers' organisation and the Filctem-Cgil, Femca-Cisl and Uiltec trade unions have renewed the collective agreement for the rubber and...
5 January 2026
4
Italy: new generational renewal agreement penned at UniCredit
The agreement signed on 30 December by UniCredit, Italy’s second-largest banking group, with the Fabi, First-Cisl, Fisac-Cgil, Uilca and Unisin trade unions aims to continue generational...
5
France: social partner talks extend far beyond contractual terminations
After a false start on 3 December, French social partners resumed talks on 7 January 2026 on potential changes to the unemployment insurance agreement, including the rules governing compensation...
12 January 2026
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EU: banking sector social partners commit to combating violence and harassment
On 15 January, the trade union federation UNI Europa Finance and three employers’ associations in the banking sector signed a joint statement on preventing violence and harassment in the...