The government gave itself new veto powers over foreign industrial takeover bids, which will allow it to control the fortunes of, for instance, French giant Alstom, a current target. The new rules, which could be applied to block the attempts of US General Electric or Germany's Siemens to take over Alstom's energy arm, were published in the official journal and will come into effect this month. The initiative in fact defines the public authority as an important stakeholder that can play a fundamental role in protecting the strategic interests of the country.
English: http://www.thelocal.fr/20140515/france-foreign-takeovers-investments-general-electric
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The Index of Agreed Minimum Wages (basis: 2006 annual average = 100) measures the minimum wage trend. This index is a key evaluation criterion for wage and salary negotiations and, with other indices relating to wage and price trends, an important economic indicator. In April 2014 the index reached a (provisional) value of 122.4, there was a change of 0.2% compared to March 2014. The rate of increase compared with April 2013 was 2.6%. In 2013 the annual average of the Index of Agreed Minimum Wages amounted to 119.8. In general, minimum wages were 2.6% higher than in 2012 (+3.3% for blue collar workers, 3.0% for white collar workers and 0.7% for civil servants).
English: http://www.statistik.at/web_en/statistics/social_statistics/index_of_agreed ...
German: http://www.statistik.at/web_de/statistiken/soziales/tariflohnindex ...
Employers' organisations CEOE and CEPYME on the one hand, and trade unions CCOO and UGT on the other, have started negotiations over the framework agreement on pay. The framework agreement concluded at the national level between social partners sets the stage for collective agreement negotiations and in effect establishes the bounds of wage demands and offers. UGT and CCOO have started the bargaining round stating they accepted pay freezes in the last two agreements (2010 and 2012) and therefore expect this year's agreement to outpace inflation. Employers, however, have argued that the recovery is fragile and it is too early to start increasing wages.
Spanish: http://economia.elpais.com/economia/2014/05/15/actualidad ...
The site www.kollektivvertrag.at is the result of a cooperation project of the trade union confederation OGB and its affiliates with the ministry of labour. It provides information (in German) on all collective agreements in force, summaries of a selection of agreements, news on ongoing negotiations and thematic background information. Short reports in English are considered. Latest news on the site is that the negotiations in the chemical sector and in the Vienna harbour were finalised in May 2014.
German: www.kollektivvertrag.at
Results of the Labour Force Survey conducted by the Central Statistical Bureau show that in the first quarter of 2014 there were 118.7 thousand unemployed persons aged 15-74, of which 15.5 thousand or 13% were young people aged 15-24. Unemployment rate (share of unemployed persons in the total active population) in the first quarter accounted for 11.9%, and over the year it has dropped by 1.1 percentage points (in the 1st quarter of 2013 - 13.0%). In the first quarter slightly more than two fifths (or 43.6%) of the unemployed in age group 15-74 years were long-term unemployed who are seeking job for 12 and more months. This share has dropped by 10.2 percentage points, as compared to the first quarter of 2013, and by 2.9 percentage points compared to the previous quarter.
English: http://www.csb.gov.lv/en/notikumi/over-year-share-long-term-unemployed ...
A report by local government union Kommunal reveals that temporary workers employed at municipalities earn less than their permanently employed counter parts, as well as that their number is growing. Kommunal reports that temporary workers receive lower pay, are more likely to work part-time, work more shift duties and receive less training. One in five temp workers at the municipalities does not earn a living wage.
English: http://www.epsu.org/a/10445
Partners in collective bargaining concluded a collective agreement for the banking sector, after almost five months of negotiations. Employer organisation ABBL and the trade unions agreed, in principle, on the terms of a collective bargaining agreement for the years 2014 to 2016, i.e. the period running from 1st January 2014 to 31st December 2016. The official signature of the new agreement took place on 15 May 2014.
English: http://www.abbl.lu/collective-bargaining-agreement-2014-2016
Although net profit rose in the first quarter of 2014 from the same period a year earlier, thanks to returns on its investments, Zurich Insurance is continuing with a plan to cut hundreds of jobs in Switzerland and elsewhere. A three-year programme aims to save Zurich Insurance 180 million euros by the end of 2015, with measures including cutting 800 jobs and removing management layers between the group and its business units.
English: http://www.thelocal.ch/20140515/insurer-zurich-sticks-to-swiss-job-cuts-plan
The government has drafted proposals that aim to deliver on the commitment in the coalition programme to legislate on employees' right to engage in collective bargaining. Workers will get new protection from employers in disputes over pay cuts, pensions and other conditions. The legislation is designed to see companies that refuse to recognise trade unions being hauled in front of the Labour Court for the first time.
English: http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/workers-given-new-protections ...
Education and science workers mobilised on 12 May in order to demand decent wages and reform of the education financing model. Latvian teachers' salaries fall far behind the EU average, have not kept up with inflation and do not reflect an average of 18 hours that teachers work more than they are paid for contractually. At the moment that the Education and Science ministry is redesigning the remuneration system, teachers are demanding fair wages.
English: http://www.ei-ie.org/en/news/news_details/3021