News

Spain: UGT union demands control of mass layoffs in businesses making profit
According to a study published by the technical cabinet of the UGT union, the number of employees concerned by employment reduction procedures (EREs) - partial, temporary or permanent - increased...
Germany: the Bundestag ratifies the law on employees’ capital interest
More tax aids for employees. To improve employees’ access to the companies’ capital, the new law provides for the creation of investment funds to which employers and employees may contribute...
Germany: the IG BAU, the building union, demands a 6% wage increase
Full order books. The order books of the sector’s companies are full until at least mid-2009. In addition, they should benefit from the €50 billion recovery plan presented in mid-January by the...
Netherlands: sharp drop in the bonuses of bosses and CEO’s of listed firms
The lot of these bosses is nonetheless enviable, considers this newspaper. The average salary of a company chief has a fixed part of € 1 million  with an annual maximum bonus of € 1 million  and a...
Germany: IG Metall stabilizes its members
In 2008, for the first time in 15 years, the IG Metall, the largest union in Germany with 2.3 million members, put a temporary end to the erosion of its strength. According to an assessment...
Italy: collective bargaining reformed
A "historical" agreement on the reform of the unique conventional system for the private and the public sector was signed on January 22, 2009 in Rome between the government and the social...
Portugal: new Labor Code adopted after the plan to extend the try-out period was abandoned
On January 21, the Chamber of Deputies adopted the draft revision of the Labor Code. This review of a text adopted on November 7, 2008 follows the decision of the Constitutional Court (see our...
SAS: the airline signed an agreement with unions to reduce costs
On January 11, 2009, Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS), which has two head offices, one in Sweden and one in Denmark, signed an agreement with its unions on a new collective agreement to help the...
Spain: Competitiveness Plan to help auto businesses face downturn
Planet Labor, January 23, 2009, No. 090075 – www.planetlabor.com
EU: the CJEC opposed to the loss of paid annual leave in the case of absence for illness
The ruling rendered on January 19, 2009 by the Court of Justice of the European Communities (CJEC) is in keeping with the case law interpreting Directive 2003/88 on the organization of working...
Brazil: one in three businesses prepares layoffs for the beginning of the year
Cutting short rumors and assessments from independent sources, the Brazilian Ministry of Labor finally recognized that a record in terms of job cuts was reached at the end of 2008. According to...
EU: the CJEC will have to determine whether individual employees can object to the non-respect of the information and consultation procedure
A more fundamental question concerns the nature of the right of information and consultation. Directive 98/59 on collective redundancies imposes a series of obligations on the employer in terms...
Germany: Lufthansa prepares for warning strikes
After breaking off, on January 16, 2009, the 3rd negotiation round with Lufthansa, the independent flight attendants' union, Ufo (Unabhängige Flugbegleiter Organisation e. V.), warned that it was...
Portugal: unions hit by the crisis too
Portuguese unions are directly hit by the crisis because of its impact on employees' contributions. The CGTP (General Confederation of Workers, the largest union in Portugal) is expecting a 1.9%...
Italy: an email sent by employees criticizing their company is legitimate if the fact stated is true
In a decision rendered on January 15, 2009, the Supreme Court cancelled the sentence for defamation of four former employees who, in an email to the customers of their former company, described...
Netherlands: banks are reviewing their wage policy
The financial and economic crisis which led the State to step in to support the sector has consequences on wage policy, particularly managers' pay. Banks keep announcing reduced remuneration or...
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
Spain: new terms and conditions for in-company training contracts
On 25 November, Spain's Council of Ministers approved a regulation on training contracts. This text defines the terms and conditions for hosting work-study students and interns doing professional...
2
France: sectors feel economic slowdown to differing degrees
The latest data on France’s occupational sectors (branches professionnelles), covering the year 2023, show how employment trends are shaping workplace dynamics. After a more favourable period for...
3
Germany: apprenticeship openings fall sharply in manufacturing and chemicals
From 1 January 2026, Dutch collective agreements for temporary employment agencies will alter the employment conditions of temp workers. Agencies will be required to pay these workers at least the...