News Flash

A two-year collective agreement has been reached between the German utility company RWE and the trade union IG BCE, which reflects the low level of electricity demand in Germany’s sluggish economy. This gives 11,000 employees a basic wage increase of

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has, in the last few days, filed civil charges against two major companies that required their employees to undertake, in severance agreements, that they will not accept government rewards for whistleblower actions. Further subpoenas

The structure of middle incomes across Europe has come under the spotlight in recent figures published by Eurostat. The proportion of people with incomes at or above 130% of the median has remained remarkably stable over the period 2008-2014/15 (29.5%-30%).

The UK Department of Education has just issued guidance on the new apprenticeship levy scheme that will be introduced on April 6^th 2017 . The 0.5% levy will only be paid by those companies with wage and salary bills

The state-owned South African Nuclear Corporation (NECSA) has finally reached agreement with the Nehawu and Pelindaba Workers Unions. The deal is backdated to July 1st and gives lower paid staff a 7% increase ,plus a ZAR 5,000 ($US337) one-off bonus

Since 1968, Section 29 (b) of the Jamaican Interpretation Act has set a maximum fine for any infringement of an Act of Parliament or Regulation at $1,000 (US$7.90). This has meant that if politicians wished to allow for the imposition

After remaining static for three months, average contractual hourly wage rates in June rose by 0.2% over the previous month. The average hourly increase in the Italian private sector over the year to June was 0.9% – whereas average contractual

According to the latest structure of earnings survey women in Cyprus earn, on average, per hour 88.4% of the rates earned by men. But when length of service data is taken into account the picture changes dramatically. Women managers start

A new draft Companies Bill will shortly be debated by the national parliament. This contains provisions requiring company officers to take all necessary steps to prevent fraud and money laundering in their company. It will also give foreign companies based

Over the year to Q1 2016, median monthly earnings for full-time employees in the Czech economy grew by 6.5% to CZK 22,533 ($US 921). The median wage for men rose to CZK 24,570 ($US1,004) and for women to CZK 20,165

An ancient treaty dating back to 1912 will shortly come to an end and with it the facility for Japanese nationals to work in the Netherlands without a work permit. From October 1^st Japanese nationals who wish to work

All companies with at least 20 female employees aged 15 to 49 must now establish a special safe and contamination-free area for mothers to breast-feed their babies. This may be designated outside the workplace provided it is easily accessible. The

A ‘right to disconnect’ Bill has been submitted to the South Korean Parliament by a group of opposition MPs. This bans the sending of messages by telephone, text, social media or mobile messaging apps after normal working hours. Korean employees

A number of companies in the Jiangxi and Shanxi provinces of China have been considering the introduction of a 2.5 day weekend, with a half-day on Fridays. Their lead has come from the General Office of the State Council that

According to a survey report just published by Willis Towers Watson, Wages and Salaries are expected to grow in the United Arab Emirates by 4.7% next year. This is close to FedEE’s own projection for 2016 based on a real