France: joint negotiations on universal time savings account (CETU) and professional retraining National industrial relations Social partners in Italy's food sector have signed two protocols in the space of just a few days. The first seeks to foster gender equality in the workplace, while the second aims to guide social relations in the sector towards environmental protection. These initiatives are all the more important because they concern a key sector for the country's economy: Made in Italy. Unione Italiana Food, the employer organisation that signed the deal, brings together some 550 companies, from pasta giant Barilla to leading coffee brands such as Lavazza and Illy, and mulitnationals Mondelez and Nestlé to players in the food supplements space.
Italy: generational renewal agreement penned at BNP Paribas subsidiary National industrial relations The agreement signed on 9 April by BNL-BNP Paribas, the Italian subsidiary of the French banking group,…
France: Publicis regulates teleworking without rolling back this right National industrial relations Publicis chief executive Arthur Sadoun signalled a return to the office for the communications group's staff in statements to the media in autumn last year, however the firm struck an agreement in November that maintains the existing rhythm of two days of teleworking per week. The text, signed by a majority of the unions more than three and a half years after the start of Covid-19, provides a framework for a decentralised group and grants new rights to disabled employees, carers and pregnant women. The company's HR director discusses the implementation of this framework with mind RH.
France: Engie hands staff a €500 sustainable mobility package National industrial relations Under an agreement signed on 29 March 2024, Engie SA is granting €500 a year to its employees so they can make regular use of bicycles (including electric and self-service) or carpooling.…
France: negotiations on keeping older workers in employment fail National industrial relations Negotiations initiated by the social partners at the request of the government to accompany the recent increase in the legal retirement age and to prevent burn-out have ended in failure. The possibility of an agreement being signed now seems in jeopardy.
Italy: collective agreement in tertiary sector puts emphasis on equality National industrial relations The agreement signed on 22 March by the employer organisations Confcommercio and Confesercenti and the trade unions Filcams-Cgil, Fisascat-Cisl and Uiltucs provides for a €240 pay rise and improvements in the area of gender equality. This is the most significant collective agreement in Italy's private sector, covering more than 3 million people in retail (excluding supermarkets), the tertiary sector and services.
Germany: Deutsche Bahn proposes switch to 35-hour week with an ‘options-based’ model National industrial relations After two months of failed collective bargaining and "surprise" strikes, the train drivers' union GDL and Deutsche Bahn have reached an innovative agreement on a 35-hour working week with no reduction in pay, starting in 2029, and in several "non-automatic" stages.
France: agreement struck in digital, engineering and consultancy sectors to combat sexual harassment National industrial relations On 15 March, the social partners in France's so-called 'Betic' branch, comprising technical consultancies, engineering consultancies and consultancy firms (1.2 million employees), signed an agreement designed to combat sexual harassment and sexist behaviour in the workplace. Both educational and practical in nature, the text aims to give employers and employees in the sector the tools they need to prevent and deal with such situations.
Luxembourg: OGBL union seeks breakthrough at Amazon National industrial relations The OGBL, the largest trade union in the Grand Duchy (with over 70,000 members), is for the first time presenting a list of candidates at Amazon ahead of the “social”…
United States: Starbucks pledges to start negotiations with Workers United union National industrial relations In a press release issued on 27 February, Sara Kelly, vice president and chief human resources officer of Starbucks (240,000 employees in the United States),…