The government, German Rail (DB), and the Railway and Transport Union (EVG) have formed a ‘railway alliance’ to agree a financial rescue package for DB in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The objective is to cope with the economic and social consequences of the crisis for DB, so that DB’s Strong Rail strategy and associated expansion and modernisation programme, as well as recruitment and training, can continue.
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[close]The European Commission has approved a Polish subsidised loan scheme to support large enterprises in the context of the coronavirus outbreak. Under the scheme, public support will take the form of subsidised loans at favourable interest rates.
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[close]After the introduction of the lockdown, many employers introduced teleworking, some for the first time. In 2019, almost a quarter of the workforce worked from home at least occasionally, a proportion that more than doubled during the actual crisis. Expectations are that remote working will not fall back to pre-crisis levels. It is likely that the already existing trend of growing teleworking will continue.
Read on: in English ... Data accessible from: the Federal Statistical Office …
[close]According to a report by Eurostat, around 1% of Luxembourg’s workforce is employed in the aviation industry. With the highest rate of employment in aviation in the EU, Luxembourg is vulnerable to the havoc caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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[close]Last month, there were 5,005,000 employed persons in Sweden, a decrease of 99,000 persons. The number of unemployed persons in Sweden increased by 80,000 to 449,000. The unemployment rate increased by 1.4% to 8.2%. Seasonally adjusted figures show a decrease in employment and an increase in unemployment. The average number of hours worked amounted to 143.6 million hours per week, which corresponds to a decrease of 11.2%.
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[close]The chairman of the Flemish employers’ organisation suggested in a newspaper column that employees should develop a more flexible attitude to working at night. He also proposed an increase in the number of voluntary overtime hours per employee. Finally, he called for employer social security contributions to be postponed or even abandoned and for tax payments to be withheld if a company is heavily affected by the corona crisis.
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[close]The government has drawn up plans to require employers to cover 20% to 30% of furloughed employees’ wages from August to reduce the vast burden of the coronavirus crisis on government finances. The job retention scheme was extended by four months on May 12, but employers were told they would have to help to meet its cost from August.
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[close]Ryanair's Laudamotion airline, which has been hit hard by the coronavirus crisis, announced it would close its main base in Vienna after the transport union refused to accept pay cuts for employees. Vida, a trade union representing workers in the transport and service industries in Austria, refused to agree to a contract that stipulated reduced wages for Laudamotion employees.
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[close]The latest report by the Securex human resources agency shows that workers called in sick less often in April 2020 than in April 2019. The drop is a result of both widespread teleworking (employees working from home are less prone to apply for sick leave) and temporary unemployment (the fear of unemployment makes workers less likely to take sick leave). Only absences of over one month increased, which can be explained by the corona crisis.
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[close]The members of the Icelandic Airline Pilots Association (FIA) have approved a new collective agreement with the Icelandair Group which will be valid until 31 September 2025.
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