21 July 2022
After six months of negotiations, social partners in Italy’s electricity sector signed an agreement on 18 July that introduces a protocol on “the value of people in companies” into the national collective labour agreement (CCNL). The renewal of this agreement will also see a significant increase in minimum wages as well as advances on employee participation, training and new skills. Valid until 31 December 2024, the CCNL covers almost 60,000 people and now needs to be approved by employee...
20 July 2022
An eleventh sectoral pact has been signed as part of the European Skills Agenda launched by the Commission (see articles n°12903 and n°12881), this time in the digital space. Despite the continued growth of the sector, social partners note the lack of skilled workers and the need to implement an upskilling and reskilling strategy. For example, only 54% of Europeans aged between 16 and 74 have basic skills, despite the fact 90% of jobs have a digital component. Following several workshops organised since autumn 2021, the text sets the objective of reaching 20 million employees in the sector by 2030, with jobs distributed in a balanced way...
13 July 2022
According to survey results from the Direction de l’animation de la recherche, des études et des statistiques (Dares- the research, studies and statistics division operating under the French Ministry of Labour) that were published on 12 July, three quarters of businesses in France have consulted the relevant staff representative bodies, where they exist, on the implementation of Covid-19 adaptation measures (masks, distancing, disinfection, teleworking, etc.), and that number even rises to 95% for companies...
5 July 2022
On 13 June the chemical-pharmaceutical sector’s social partners signed a new collective agreement that includes provision for a significant increase in minimum wages along with a specific mechanism to take account of inflation. The agreement also lays down foundations to accommodate digital transition and it devotes a comprehensive chapter to the topic of social inclusion especially as regards female and older workers. The new collective agreement is due to expire on 30 June 2025 and will now have to be approved...
1 July 2022
US ride hailing giant Uber and the Transport Workers Union of Australia have penned an historic agreement in which they jointly call for the creation of an independent body tasked with setting minimum standards for the working conditions of platform workers. This body will have the capacity to: set minimum earnings; facilitate a mechanism to resolve disputes, such as when platform workers see their accounts deactivated; ensure the right of platform workers to be represented by a trade union; and make sure the...
16 June 2022
On 15 June, Germany’s steel industry social partners signed a new collective agreement spanning 18 months until 30 November 2023, and covering employees working in North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, and Bremen. These workers will receive a 6.5% pay rise from 01 August 2022, as well as a lumpsum €500 payment for the months of June and July (apprentices will receive €200). This is the “highest percentage salary increase in the steel industry for 30 years,” said Jörg Hofmann, president of the IG...
7 June 2022
On 01 June, the Stellantis automotive group (a result of the 2021 PSA-FCA merger) announced it had renewed its agreement on advancing female employment and gender professional equality. Signed unanimously by the trade unions (CFDT, CFE-CGC, CFTC, CGT, FO), the text includes new and greater provisions for tackling sexist behaviour and for augmenting the company’s efforts to boost female professional participation rates.
17 May 2022
French industrial group Legrand (5,000 employees in France), which is global specialist in electrical and digital building infrastructures signed a telework agreement that came into force in April 2022. In it the group extends teleworking to two days per week alongside additional work flexibility measures provided for workers who are parents, caregivers, over age 58, or working with disabilities. All the company’s representative trade unions (CFDT, CFE-CGC, CGT, FO) signed the agreement which will run until 30...
16 May 2022
Food delivery workers in the United Arab Emirates have gone on strike for the second time since the start of the month. On Tuesday 10 May, delivery workers on motorised vehicles working for Talabat, the Middle East subsidiary of German group Delivery Hero, refused to deliver meals in the vast megalopolis of Dubai. They are demanding a $0.54 increase in pay per trip on the current rate of $2.05, pointing to the fact that fuel prices in the country have risen by 30% since the start of the year. According to workers...
13 May 2022
Online food delivery group Deliveroo and the British trade union GMB have announced the signing of a “Voluntary Partnership Agreement”. The agreement signed on 12 May will, for the first time, entitle Deliveroo’s more than 90,000 delivery riders to representation by the GMB in the event of disputes.
