News

Germany: several companies refuse to apply the wage agreement in the metal sector
Hardly signed, the collective agreement which provides for a 4.2% wage increase in two steps for the 3.6 million workers in the metal and electronic sectors (see our dispatch No. 080888) is...
EU: launching of a Euro-Mediterranean social cooperation
For the first time, the Employment and Labor Ministers of the Euro-Mediterranean partner countries (43 countries) gathered for a ministerial conference in Marrakech on November 9-10, as part of...
Argentina: Supreme Court ruling ends union monopoly
The Supreme Court ruled that the legislation which prevents a worker from being elected union representative if he wasn't a member of the official trade union, the CGT, was unconstitutional. This...
Bolivia: the government imposes a 12% wage increase upon businesse
The Bolivian government announced a decree determining to 12% the wage increase in the private sector in 2009. Companies say this is unworkable, and unions raise the bar to 25%. (Ref. 080894)
HP-EDS: first evaluation of the European trade union day of action
The European Metalworkers' Federation (EMF) and the UNI Europa union federation evaluated, on November 13, 2008, the first European day of action organized the same day to object to the...
Austria: after the announcement of 9.000 job cuts at the Post AG, unions are getting ready to strike
In spite of the last minute turnaround of the Post AG's management, which announced on November that the 9.000 job cuts and the closing of 1.000 offices were only the elements of one of the...
Argentina: 10.000 workers in the car industry affected by the decline of the sector
With Renault's announcement to suspend 1.000 jobs in Argentina, there are now more than 10.000 jobs threatened by the crisis in the sector. Volkswagen, Fiat, Iveco, Peugeot and Mercedes-Benz...
Spain: the national CSR Council to start working soon
The national CSR Council is launched. The tripartite structure, which should meet for the first time in November, is composed of 56 members. It equally involves public services, employers, unions...
12 November 2008
Venezuela: the National Assembly working to reduce working time to six hours a day
Reducing working time from eight to six hours a day was part of the draft reform of the constitution, rejected by a referendum in December 2007. However, this measure, proposed by the government...
Germany: the metallurgy sector avoided a strike in extremis
After a marathon 22-hour negotiation, the IG Metall union and the Sudwestmetall employers' organization agreed, on November 12, 2008, in Sindelfingen - in the Bade-Wurttemberg pilot region -on a...
International: global dialogue on temporary agency work
Six large groups from the temporary work sector, member of the International Confederation of Private Employment Agencies (CIETT), adopted a memorandum of understanding with the international...
12 November 2008
EU: UNI Europa Graphical adopts a procedure to bargain for transnational agreements
During the general assembly held on October 23, 2008 in Rome, the European trade union federation UNI Europa Graphical (UNI-EG) adopted a procedure to bargain for transnational agreement, based on...
Italy: important participation to the national transport strike to support the negotiation of a single collective agreement
Over 80% of employees in the rail transport sector and local public transportation took part in the national 24-hour strike which paralyzed Italy on November 10, 2008. Unions are asking the...
United States: a bill favoring union establishment could change the social landscape
Here is our first layover in the United States mentioning the Employee free choice Act (EFCA,) supposed to reverse the decline of American unions. The latter set this law as their priority, since...
Belgium: unions denounce legal appeals against picket lines
Can employers bring to court the appeal to pickets to prevent companies from accessing customers or workers? The question is being debated in Belgium after the blocking of several companies...
Germany: Volkswagen shelves the emblematic “5.000 x 5.000” project with the IG Metall’s agreement
After removing the famous four-day week in 2006, it is now the turn of the "5.000 x 5.000" project, created in 2001 to train and employ 5.000 unemployed people, to disappear. The agreement...
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
Pascale Rauline (Axa EWC): “European charter formalises ongoing and accelerated social dialogue on AI”
On 27 November, Axa and its European works council (EWC) signed a charter setting out principles governing the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) and guaranteeing social dialogue on the...
2
Germany: crisis-hit industries cast shadow over 2026 bargaining cycle
In 2026, collective wage agreements for nearly 10 million employees in Germany are set to expire. With upcoming negotiations in crisis-hit 'pilot' sectors such as chemicals and metalworking, the...
2 December 2025
3
Bulgaria: government approves bill to encourage sector-level collective bargaining
On 26 November, the Bulgarian government approved amendments to the labour code designed to reinforce the legal framework for sector-level collective bargaining. The reform aims to stimulate...
2 December 2025
4
EU: social partners in telecoms sign joint statement on AI
On 16 December, the social partners in Europe's telecommunications sector unveiled a joint statement on artificial intelligence. They propose an action plan for skills and commit to raising...
18 December 2025
5
Germany: Erwin Hymer Group’s innovative and award-winning AI agreement
Fed up with negotiating separate agreements for each new artificial intelligence (AI) tool, the social partners at Erwin Hymer Group (8,900 employees) have instead secured a broad, overarching...
12 December 2025
6
France: Orange submits gender equality agreement – including AI provisions – for union approval
The three representative trade unions at Orange France have until 10 December to validate an agreement on gender equality, work–life balance and anti-discrimination measures. While the text...