20 January 2021
On 18 December 2020, Belgian chemicals group Solvay signed an agreement with the French CFDT and CFE-CGC trade unions, albeit without the CGT union, to enhance flexibility by giving employees in France and within its scope the right to work remotely for up to 4 days a week from a location of their choosing. The agreement also sets out the group’s global ‘work from anywhere’ policy for its French employees.
19 January 2021
Is this the final episode in the Verizon European Works Council (EWC) saga? Barring a reversal on appeal, it would appear that despite its determined activism, the Verizon EWC (c.f. articles No.12166 and No.11716), will no longer be able to take legal action. A CAC* decision published on 18 January (here) has stated that the agreement instituting the EWC had expired on 19 October 2020...
19 January 2021
On 14 January 2021, Intesa Sanpaolo, which is currently integrating its recent takeover target, UBI Banca, announced it will hire 3,500 young people by the first half of 2024, i.e. 1,000 more than the union agreement signed in the autumn of 2020 (c.f. article No. 12162). Intesa decided to accept 7,200 applications for voluntary departures, some 2,200 more than the 5,000 provided for in the agreement. The FABI, First-Cisl, Fisac-Cgil, Uilca and Unisin trade unions called for and secured one of the toughest issues...
18 January 2021
On 15 December 2020, the management of the Belgian chemicals firm Solvay and its global staff representation body, the Solvay Global Forum (see article n°10248), revised their first global agreement on the minimum levels of protection for employees in terms of welfare and healthcare, signed on 22 February 2017 (see article n°10083), in order to extend parental leave (mothers, fathers, co-parents and adoptive parents) to 16 weeks.
18 January 2021
Amid a technological boom, positive results in negotiations with the government and an upsurge in membership, UK trade unions have enjoyed an unprecedented revival during this health crisis, according to a new report entitled “Covid-19 and the work of trade unions: new challenges and new responses”. Unveiled on 14 January by Union 21, a forum for trade unions, the study however warns that the coming months could prove more difficult for these organisations, which will have to prepare themselves for mass...
18 January 2021
Amazon employees at one of the e-commerce giant’s fulfilment centres – in Birmingham, Alabama – are to vote on whether they want to join a trade union. The process will be supervised by the National Labor Relations Board. The 6,000 workers, which includes full-time, part-time and seasonal staff, will be able to vote by mail from 8 February until 29 March. If there is a vote in favour, the workers will join the Retail Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), which already has a presence at department...
14 January 2021
This new basic hourly rate of £10 per hour (€11.22 E) was negotiated as part of a wage agreement by the retail trade union, Usdaw, which is now asking its members to formally accept this landmark deal, and which if approved, will take effect from 05 April 2021. Morrisons said that 96,000 employees, currently being paid £9.20 pounds per hour (€10.32), should benefit from this increase that will raise their pay above the Living Wage level of £9.50 (€10.66). For Usdaw national officer, Joanne McGuinness,...
5 January 2021
German trade unions are starting call for a shift in the current distribution of voting rights on corporate supervisory boards between shareholder representatives and those representing employees. The main driver behind this call is the IG Metall union, which believes that during the current round of sector-based collective bargaining, employee opinion can take priority as regards decisions on the implications of the digital and electrical transitions as well as on the future of the production sites. The IG BCE...
5 January 2021
Two software engineers working at the Alphabet group, Google’s parent company, have just triggered a ‘mini-bomb’ in the form of their newly created Alphabet Workers Union (AWU) that is affiliated with the CWA, Communication Workers of America, which traditionally represents telecommunications and media personnel in North America. Rather than assuming a negotiating role (AWU is a minority trade union) the AWU body instead intends to draw attention to certain discriminatory practices for which the Google is being criticized.
4 January 2021
Following the announcement of a strategic transformation and digitalisation plan, the management of Inditex, the parent company of the prêt-à-porter brands Zara and Pull & Bear, revealed that it had already committed in June to preserving jobs despite the closure of shops that its strategy entails. A joint statement issued on 21 December by Inditex and the EWC details the commitment made by the management as well as the approach adopted: “A process has been launched, together with trade union...
