News

Nokia: Finnish unions call for an international framework agreement
Supported by the International Metalworkers' Federation and its European counterpart, several Finnish unions represented in the Nokia group called, on April 9, 2008, the Finnish firm to be the...
Vietnam: more and more wildcat strikes at foreign companies subcontractors
The temporary shutdown of the Ching Lue Shoes factory - a Vietnamese subcontractor for Nike -after 15.000 employees went on strike, is only the tip of the iceberg. Since 2005, strikes against low...
Germany: controversy around the new social and environmental standards for the award of public contracts
In order to adapt national law to European Directive 2004/18/EC on the modernization of procedures for the award of public contracts, the Ministry of the Economy presented a bill which proposes to...
Saint-Gobain: the EWC defends the group’s social model
Saint-Gobain Convention for European Social Dialogue's steering committee Members (the group's EWC), reacted, on April 8, to the agreement, adopted the 20th of March, about the entrance...
Michelin: amendment to the agreement on the EWC
The amendment, dated December 13, 2007 (see our article No. 080099), was signed on April 2 by the company’s management and the special group mandated by the committee to negotiate and finish the...
EU: ETUC to decide on April 15 if it accepts to bargain for the revision of the directive on EWCs
Although the European Trade Union Confederation rejoiced when the European employers' organization BusinessEurope expressed, on April 2, that it was willing to bargain for the revision of the...
Germany: Ver.di suspects Aldi of financing a “counter-union” and wants to sue
Less than three weeks after lodging a complaint for bribery against the GNBZ (the young trade union of the postal sector's new companies), (see our dispatch No. 80230), the services' union Ver.di...
Germany: Nokia to pay €200 million for the closing of its Bochum factory
Almost three months after the disputed announcement, on January 15, 2008, of the closing of Nokia's Bochum factory (see our dispatch No. 580052), the Finnish telecom giant and the works council...
Deutsche Telekom: CWA and Ver.di form a single union for the T-Mobile division
The American Communications Workers of America – CWA, 700.000 members – and the German union confederation Ver.di (2.4 million members) announced, on April 3, 2008, the creation of a new union...
Netherlands: buying power at stake for spring social negotiations
The annual tripartite social meetings which will open on April 23 are going to evaluate the main ongoing reforms and spur new changes. This year, purchasing power is at issue. (Ref. 080282)
Germany: in North-Rhine Westphalia, the IG-Metall and employers help young people find a training place
The IG-Metall and the employers' federation of the metallurgy and electronic industries in North-Rhine Westphalia (Metall NRW) signed, on April 4, 2008, an unprecedented tariff agreement. For one...
Freundenberg Group: the EWC wants to become a driving force in social policy with its “health map making” plan
An international family business, the German company Freundenberg employs 33.000 people, 22.000 of them in Europe. In 1996, a European works council was established. Last year, it decided to...
EU: European social partners join the climate-energy package
In a joint declaration on April 4, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and the European Centre of Enterprises with Public Participation and of Enterprises of General economic Interest...
Germany: after the Lidl scandal, Germany mentions a special law on the protection of employees’ personal data
For a few years, the German Parliament, trade unions and federal and regional representatives for the protection of data, asking the federal government a "Law on the protection of data concerning...
European social agenda from April to December 31, 2008
We offer an agenda of the main events concerning social Europe and institutional meetings. You can send your scheduled events to the following address: planetlabor@planetlabor.com (Ref. 080276)
Norway: wage agreement on early retirement in the private sector
The bargainers of the Norwegian confederation of trade unions (LO) and of the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprises (NHO) signed an agreement on early retirement and wage increases. LO's member...
7 April 2008
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