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Car manufacturer Volkswagen delivered a major blow to its Belgian workforce last November when it announced plans to cut 4,000 of the 5,400 jobs at its Forest/Vorst plant near Brussels. But a deal with the unions means that 1,000 of those jobs will now be saved as part of a package that includes generous voluntary redundancy and early retirement schemes. The 1,000 people whose jobs have been saved will, however, face a period of “temporary unemployment” until production of the new Audi A1 begins in 2009. We report on the agreement and its implications. More…
The system of co-determination, which allows equal employee and shareholder membership of large company boards, has been a source of controversy as German companies step up their efforts to become “global players”. Although a government-appointed commission has now given the system a generally clean bill of health, it was unable to come up with an agreed series of recommendations for reform. We look at the report’s proposals to simplify the system and make it more flexible – and at employer and union views. More…
The Czech economy is growing almost twice as fast as the EU average. But while many employers are finding it difficult to recruit skilled workers, unemployment remains high. One problem is that, while demand for skilled labour is increasing, a substantial number of people left school without qualifications or with only a primary school education. Czech employers also face a shortage of graduates in key disciplines, including computer science and design. We look at the effect on wages and at initiatives aimed at addressing skills shortages. More…
This month’s European Employment Review has much more than we can include in this email, but you will find a full contents list on XpertHR. More…
You can also see earlier editions of this e-journal and others published by IRS. More…
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Related articles on XpertHR:
>> Belgium: Volkswagen’s flexible working proposal
>> Germany: Co-determination report published
>> EU: Migration and skills shortages |
