Surveys
Spain: Temporary lay-offs and redundancies increase nine-fold
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 14/01/2010
During the first three quarters of 2009, about nine times more employees were affected by redundancy and temporary lay-off procedures in Spain than in the same period of 2008, as the employment effects of the economic crisis deepened.
Spain: Pay settlements fall
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 15/10/2009
The average collectively agreed pay increase in Spain stood at 2.67% in the first eight months of 2009, compared with 3.49% in the same period of 2008, according to latest figures from the Ministry of Labour.
Spain: Redundancies and temporary lay-offs soar
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 18/06/2009
The number of employees affected by redundancy and temporary lay-off procedures in Spain in the first quarter of 2009 was more than 20% higher than in the whole of 2008, with manufacturing industry particularly hard hit.
Spain: Workplace accidents down in 2008
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 09/04/2009
The rate of workplace accidents fell by more than 10% in 2008, according to Ministry of Labour figures published in March 2009.
Spain: Redundancies and temporary lay-offs rise sharply
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 30/01/2009
The number of employees affected by redundancy and temporary lay-off procedures rose by more than 40% between January and October 2008 compared with the same period in 2007, underlining the employment impact of the deepening economic downturn.
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.
Spain: Unemployment rises as economic problems increase
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 02/09/2008
According to official figures, the number of registered unemployed people rose by 23% in the year to July 2008, reflecting Spain's economic slowdown and severe problems in the construction sector.
Spain: Uptake of maternity and paternity leave increases
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 02/09/2008
In the first half of 2008, nearly 10% more employees took maternity leave than in the same period of 2007, while some 140,000 men took advantage of a new right to paid paternity leave, according to official figures.
Spain: Survey finds high level of satisfaction with work
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 05/08/2008
Around seven out of 10 Spanish workers are “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their jobs, according to asurvey by the Ministry of Labour and Immigration, published in July 2008.
Spain: One employee in five says they have been bullied at work
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 10/10/2007
Recently published research finds that 19% of employees report having suffered psychological harassment, or bullying, at work. Further, 8% of women and 3% of men state that they have been the victims of workplace sexual harassment.
Spain: Bargaining progresses slowly in 2007
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 12/09/2007
Figures published in July indicate that collective bargaining has been slow so far in 2007, with fewer agreements signed than at the same stage in 2006.
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.
Spain: Collective bargaining round-up
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 09/08/2007
Major new collective agreements have recently been signed in the construction industry, banking and at the Spanish subsidiary of the France-based automotive group Renault.
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.
Spain: Partial retirement increasingly popular
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 12/07/2007
According to a report published by the tripartite consultative Economic and Social Council (CES) in June 2007, companies are making increasing use of a partial retirement scheme introduced in 2003, and some 13% of older workers now leave the labour market through this route.
Spain: The 2006 labour market reform, one year on
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 06/06/2007
Official statistics issued in May 2007 claim that the labour market reform measures agreed by the government and social partners a year previously – notably promoting open-ended contracts rather than fixed-term ones – are having an effect.
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.
Spain: Fewer redundancy procedures
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 01/02/2007
According to the latest figures from the ministry of labour, it authorised "redundancy procedures" affecting 34,734 workers between January and October 2006, a fall of 37.8% on the figure for the same period in 2005.
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: Bargaining on CSR and workers' rights at Inditex
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 28/10/2009
Inditex, a major Spain-based fashion multinational, signed a worldwide agreement on workers' rights in its commercial and distribution operations in October 2009. In 2007, it had signed a similar accord for its manufacturing operations, including external suppliers, and the new agreement underlines the company's commitment to engaging trade unions in its global corporate social responsibility (CSR) approach.
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.
Spain: Family-friendly agreement signed for savings banks
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 12/03/2008
An innovative new collective agreement for the Spanish savings bank sector, which will be in force until the end of 2010, provides for a range of paid time-off rights for family reasons, shorter hours for parents, and unpaid leave of up to three years to care for children or disabled relatives. Other provisions of the accord include inflation-linked pay rises and a job-creation commitment by employers.
Spain: Energy sector reaches accords
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 01/03/2007
Collective agreements have recently come into force at Repsol YPF, the energy group, and the Petróleos del Norte oil-refining company, which is majority-owned by Repsol. We review the main provisions of two of the key accords in the Spanish energy sector.
Spain: Two-year accord at Siemens now in force
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 01/02/2007
A two-year collective agreement covering 4,900 employees at Siemens SA in Spain has now taken effect, providing for pay increases of 3.2% each year for two years. We review its main provisions.
Spain: New agreement at Correos
Source: European Industrial Relations Review
Date: 01/12/2006
Employees at the state-owned Spanish postal company, Correos, are now covered by a collective agreement that will run until the end of 2008. The accord sets out new rates of pay and regulates areas such as job classification, employee mobility, working time and health and safety.
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.
Responding to market liberalisation: Union Fenosa
Source: Competency & Emotional Intelligence
Date: 01/12/2000
Spanish electricity and gas company Union Fenosa is seeking to develop a more competitive and customer-oriented workforce. It is achieving this through performance management, a competency framework applied to the majority of its employees, and individual "competency development plans".
