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Surveys
UK 2009 pay rises among lowest in the world
Source: IRS Employment Review
Date: 29/05/2009
Salary increases for UK workers in 2009 will be among the lowest in the world, with the median basic salary increase expected to be worth only 1%, according to a study carried out by global management consultancy Hay Group. This is significantly below the median global projected pay rise of 2.8%.
International: National minimum wage update 2008
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 15/01/2009
National minimum wages in the EU in July 2008 ranged from €112 per month in Bulgaria to €1,610 in Luxembourg, according to the latest figures from Eurostat.
Germany: Trade union institute highlights danger of German export bias
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 15/01/2009
Germany's success in holding down labour-cost growth in recent years has boosted export competitiveness, but raised the risks of an increased exposure to fluctuations in world trade, according to a November 2008 analysis of labour costs by a trade union-linked research institute.
France: Differing fortunes for unions in works council elections
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 29/10/2008
Ministry of Labour figures published in October 2008 reveal that the CGT and CFDT trade union confederations lost support in works council elections held in 2005-06, while FO, CFTC, CFE-CGC and unions outside the five main confederations gained ground.
France: Report reveals high level of bargaining activity
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 02/09/2008
The Ministry of Labour’s report on collective bargaining in 2007, published in summer 2008, reveals a high level of negotiating activity at national, sector and company levels.
International: Minimum wage update 2007
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 09/08/2007
In 2007, national minimum wages in the EU range from €1,570 per month in Luxembourg to €92 in Bulgaria, according to the latest figures from Eurostat.
International: Call centre employment and HR practices examined
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 12/07/2007
Research published in May 2007 analyses employment and HR management in call centres in 17 countries worldwide. It finds that the widespread view of call centres as “electronic sweatshops” with low pay, poor quality of work and little collective representation of workers is not true in all countries and types of call centre.
France: Anti-discrimination report issued for 2006
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 06/06/2007
In April 2007, France's high-level authority to combat discrimination, Halde, issued its second annual report. It highlights a threefold rise in the number of cases brought to the authority’s attention, compared with its first year of operation. We examine the key points of the report.
Average £90,678 a year for HR directors
Source: IRS Employment Review
Date: 18/05/2007
Salaries for HR directors continue to lag behind those for finance and marketing directors in most countries, according to the 2007 Global Pay Summary published by Mercer Human Resources Consulting.
France: Working time deal in hospitality sector
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 01/03/2007
Four trade unions concluded a new working time agreement at the beginning of February 2007 with three employers' organisations in the hotels, cafés and restaurants sector.
France: Most new EU migrants work in agriculture
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 01/02/2007
The French government has carried out the first evaluation of the limited labour market access granted to migrants from the eight central and eastern European states that acceded to the EU in 2004.
France: Enterprise-level social dialogue
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 01/01/2007
A report by the employment ministry's research institute, Dares, finds that company-level bargaining and dialogue have become more widespread over the past decade, while more firms have employee representative structures. At the same time, however, relations have become more conflictual.
European Union: Flexicurity in the spotlight
Source: European Industrial Relations Review
Date: 01/12/2006
With "flexicurity" - a balance between flexibility and security on the labour market - high on the EU agenda at present, the European Commission has recently published research examining the extent to which flexicurity currently exists in the member states.
Employee engagement is "low" in the UK
Source: European Industrial Relations Review
Date: 01/12/2006
A recent survey carried out by the global research and consultancy firm, ISR, indicates that more employees in the UK are thinking about leaving their jobs than in other major European economies.
Commitment matters
Source: IRS Employment Review
Date: 01/12/2006
British employees are more likely to be disaffected with their work life than their counterparts in mainland Europe, according to a study by research and consultancy business ISR.
European Union: Employing an ageing workforce
Source: European Industrial Relations Review
Date: 01/11/2006
Increasing the employment of "older workers" has been a focus of European Union policy for many years. A new study examines national policies and looks at company practice on this issue across Europe in a series of case studies.
European Company Statute state of play
Source: European Industrial Relations Review
Date: 01/11/2006
The European Company Statute and its employee involvement Directive came into force in October 2004. Two years on, we review progress in national implementation and in the establishment of European Companies.
Case studies
International: ArcelorMittal signs Europe-wide restructuring deal
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 10/12/2009
ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel producer, signed a European agreement with trade unions in November 2009 on managing and anticipating change. The accord provides for no plant closures or compulsory redundancies during the current economic downturn, and puts in place long-term training and skills policies, along with commitments to dialogue with employee representatives and unions.
International: DNV sets up global employee forum
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 15/10/2009
DNV, a risk-management services multinational based in Norway, has set up a global employee information and consultation forum. We look at the DNV case and at other companies that have established "world works councils".
International: Post-merger EWC agreed at GDF Suez
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 18/06/2009
An agreement signed in May 2009 to create a European Works Council (EWC) at GDF Suez, the newly merged energy multinational, has been hailed as a "benchmark" by trade unions, not least because it reflects some of the changes recently made to the EWCs Directive.
International: Gaz de France signs Europe-wide CSR agreement
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 31/07/2008
In July 2008, Gaz de France, a French energy multinational, signed a Europe-wide agreement on corporate social responsibility (CSR) with European and national trade union organisations, which includes commitments in areas such as training, health and safety, skills management, diversity and employment conditions.
International: Schneider Electric signs Europe-wide agreement on 'anticipation of change'
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 12/09/2007
Schneider Electric, the France-based power and control engineering multinational, signed a European-level agreement on "the anticipation of change" with the European Metalworkers' Federation on 12 July 2007. The innovative accord promotes information and consultation on future organisational change within the company and aims to develop and adapt employees' skills in advance of such change.
International: Suez signs three transnational agreements
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 12/09/2007
Suez, the France-based utilities multinational, has negotiated three transnational agreements with its European Works Council. Agreements on a supplementary profit-sharing scheme and on equality and diversity cover all Suez operations worldwide, and an accord on forward-looking management of employment and skills covers European operations only.
International: 'Euro-bargaining' develops at Total
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 09/05/2007
Total has recently signed a highly innovative Europe-wide agreement with trade unions on assistance in the creation or development of small and medium-sized enterprises in the areas around its main production sites. The France-based petrochemicals multinational is pioneering a form of European-level collective bargaining - this is the third agreement of this type that it has concluded since 2004.
France: Teleworking, hot-desking and outsourcing at Renault
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 01/03/2007
A company agreement on teleworking, the introduction of "hot-desking" and outsourcing of training and building services at its Paris sites form part of a new cost-cutting programme at Renault.
International: Areva European equality agreement
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 01/01/2007
In an innovative move, Areva, the French nuclear power multinational, has signed a Europe-wide equal opportunities agreement with the European Metalworkers' Federation.
International: PSA Peugeot Citroën signs CSR/global council agreement
Source: European Industrial Relations Review
Date: 01/05/2006
PSA Peugeot Citroën has signed a global framework agreement on corporate social responsibility with international trade union organisations, which also provides for the group's EWC to be expanded and turned into a global council.
France: Training agreement concluded at Schneider Electric
Source: European Industrial Relations Review
Date: 01/02/2006
Management and unions at Schneider Electric France recently concluded a training agreement, guaranteeing access to training for all employees through the implementation of the employee right to individual training.
Two new global accords on CSR and labour standards
Source: European Industrial Relations Review
Date: 01/11/2005
New global framework agreements on corporate social responsibility and labour standards were concluded in September 2005, at the France-headquartered building materials manufacturer the Lafarge Group, and at the Luxembourg-headquartered steel group Arcelor.
From poor productivity to high performance
Source: IRS Employment Review
Date: 16/09/2005
Continuing our series on the people management practices that can help close the productivity gap and build high-performance workplaces, we look in detail at the NHS, a sector currently benefiting from record investment.
Two new global social accords
Source: European Industrial Relations Review
Date: 01/04/2005
European Industrial Relations Review looks at the new three-year global social responsibility agreements that have been concluded at the French public energy group EDF and the French chemicals multinational Rhodia.
France: 35-hour week under pressure
Source: European Industrial Relations Review
Date: 01/09/2004
The conclusion of an agreement to increase working time at one of the Bosch sites in France follows in the wake of similar agreements in neighbouring Germany, and has ensured that the working time debate remains at the top of the agenda.
France: Equality accord at Peugeot Citroën
Source: European Industrial Relations Review
Date: 01/01/2004
Management and trade unions at the French motor manufacturer Peugeot Citroën have concluded an innovative agreement promoting equality between men and women at the workplace.
International: Restructuring in the European steel industry
Source: European Industrial Relations Review
Date: 01/05/2003
The new steel giant Arcelor was created out of a merger of French, Luxembourg and Spanish iron- and steel-producing organisations in February 2002. Part of a sector that has undergone significant restructuring over the past 20 years, Arcelor is embarking on a process of reorganisation, which has been met with heavy criticism from trade unions, over the coming decade.
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