News

Germany: the Grand Coalition agrees on a second revival plan with a historical scope
Nine months before the federal legislative elections, the Chancellor, Angela Merkel (CDU), presented, on January 13, 2009, the main measures of the "largest revival plan in the history of the...
EU: a collective agreement transposing a EU directive can apply to employees who are not union members
Whereas the Court of Justice gave a rough ride to Scandinavian social relations systems with the Viking and Laval cases, it recognized their specificities in a decree on December 18, 2008...
Portugal: Tyco Electronics appeals to partial unemployment for six months for part of its staff
The factory making electronic components for cars, Tyco Electronics of Evora, south Portugal, decided to appeal to partial unemployment for six months. Negotiations helped reduce the staff...
Italy: EDS and HP unions announce new strike
On January 8, 2009, unions were disappointed when they came out of the meeting with representatives from Electronics Data Systems (EDS) and Hewlett Packard (HP) Italia about the restructuring plan...
Great Britain: government announces new financial incentives to recruit difficult publics
As of April 2009, job placement agencies will be able to award employers who recruit and commit to train job seekers who have been out of work for six months or longer a financial incentive of up...
Spain: the UGT union demands a revised tax system for economic redundancies benefits in the name of equality
Faced with more and more collective redundancy procedures (EREs), the UGT union wants an emergency reform of the tax status for layoff pay to ensure fair treatment for those who loose their job...
Netherlands: works councils directly informed by the labor inspectorate
From now on, the labor inspectorate itself will inform works councils of the results of its investigations on working conditions, pay levels and illegal labor. Piet Hein Donner, Minister of Labor...
Germany: Gesamtmetall wants the government to give more support to “employment pacts” signed in businesses
The tariff agreement on job security (Tarifvertrag Beschäftigungssicherung) in force in the metallurgy and electronics sector, enabling companies facing a dropping demand to reduce working time...
Denmark: companies’ social commitment can be a burden for employees
Danish businesses are making more and more room for diversity, but this commitment can also be a burden for employees. This is the observation that came out of the annual report of the National...
12 January 2009
Italy: focus on the Mobilità procedure
The Mobilità procedure was introduced by Law 223 of July 23, 1991 to solve problems related to the lack of legislation on mass layoffs, following European Directive No. 129/1975 reconciling...
EU: the Commission consults the European social partners on second-hand smoke at work
The European Commission launched a consultation to improve the legal framework on the prevention of workers' exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. It reminds its detrimental effects and...
Spain: the administrative authorization granted to Renault to use partial unemployment angers unions
The Ministry of Labor allowed the plan for temporary employment regularization (ERE) presented by the French car manufacturer. It will affect Renault's four Spanish factories and 10.311 employees...
Netherlands: reduced working time for all Nedcar employees
All of Nedcar's employees are going to be subject to the ATV (Arbeidstijdverkorting, working time reduction system). This is a first since the system was introduced at the end of November, to...
Great Britain: ACAS launches consultation to make improve the representation of workers
In December 2008, the ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, which notably helps improving industrial relations) published two documents for consultation in an attempt to modernize...
Italy: Fiat sends its white-collar workers to partial unemployment
As announced in December (see our dispatch No. 081029), Fiat is sending some of its white-collar workers to partial unemployment. The employees concerned are the 1.200 workers of the Orbassano and...
Italy: government proposes to reduce working time to prevent layoffs
“Fix employment within the company”. According to the Confindustria employers’ association, 600.000 jobs (1 million according to unions) would be in jeopardy because of the crisis. In this tense...
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1
Netherlands: new government seeks to “control” social costs
In his government policy statement to Parliament on 25 February, Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten announced several measures designed to "control" social costs. Notably, he proposed raising the...
2
Spain: a bill to regulate internships
On 3 March, the Council of Ministers approved the bill on the “Status for persons undergoing non-professional practical training in companies”. The text limits the number of interns a company can...
3
EU: co-legislators aim to pivot European Globalisation Adjustment Fund towards restructuring anticipation
On 25 February, the Council of the EU and the Parliament reached an agreement on the Commission’s proposed regulation to expand the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF). Under the...
4
Germany: launch of the “WE-Fair” alliance for binational training of skilled foreign workers
Germany continues to expand and diversify its initiatives to attract skilled foreign labour from outside the EU. In mid-March 2026, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development...
5
Block to slash workforce by nearly half
The news. In his latest shareholder letter, Jack Dorsey, CEO of payment service provider Block (formerly Square), announced plans to slash the company’s workforce “by nearly half, from...