All articles

Germany: Covid-19 screening in companies becomes mandatory
As of 19 April, all private and public sector companies must offer all their onsite employees a rapid Covid antigen test, free of charge, at least once a week. This testing requirement will remain...
13 April 2021
France: new complaint filed against four multinational clothing companies for concealed forced labor (Uyghurs)
Legal mechanisms that are trying to remove corporate impunity in terms of human rights? At the beginning of April, three NGOs, the anti-corruption group Sherpa, the NGO Ethique (the French branch...
13 April 2021
Ireland: parental leave extended to 5 weeks
As of 01 April 2021, parents of a child born or adopted on or after 01 November 2019, can now take an additional three weeks of parental leave bringing the total number to five weeks. The Family...
United States: Amazon fortress holds in face of unionisation effort
After the failed unionisation campaign at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama, activists plan to turn their attentions to the US Congress as well as to other sites of the US online retail giant.
12 April 2021
Vodafone launches initiative to support jobseekers during the pandemic
UK telecommunications giant Vodafone announced on 8 April that it has extended its plan supporting those who are unemployed, which was first launched in the UK at the end of 2020. The initiative...
12 April 2021
Argentina: workers having received first dose of Covid-19 vaccine may be called to work on site
Anyone in Argentina who has received the first dose of their Covid-19 vaccine may be called to work on site, regardless of their age or any underlying conditions, under new rules issued by the...
12 April 2021
Italy: government and social partners sign protocol to allow Covid vaccinations in the workplace
The protocol signed on 6 April will allow companies that put themselves forward to set up a vaccination plan for employees who wish to be vaccinated, once vaccines are widely available in Italy...
9 April 2021
Health crisis exposes shortcomings of EU member states’ welfare systems
European Union member states were all compelled by the Covid-19 pandemic to implement urgent reforms to their welfare systems. According to a study of social protection during the Covid-19...
9 April 2021
Italy: ENI oil group secures agreement on up-skilling and generational renewal
Signed on 01 April by ENI and the Filctem-Cgil, Femca-Cisl and Uilca trade unions under the auspices of Italy’s Ministry of Labour, the agreement will enable 900 employees to take voluntary early...
Great Britain: have big companies set aside the gender pay gap issue?
While the U.K. has given companies with at least 250 staff an extra six months to publish their gender pay gap data (c.f. article No. 12377), only one out of four met the initial 04 April...
8 April 2021
EU: a broad switch to telework is presenting trade unions with both challenges and opportunities to reconnect with their grassroots
‘Telework is here to stay and unions need to learn how to organise workers online and address their concerns.’ With this in mind, IndustriAll Europe, the European industry trade union federation...
Mexico: government secures agreement on outsourcing regulations with employers’ and unions’ organizations
On 05 April, Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced that a tripartite agreement regulating outsourcing had been secured, following several months of...
7 April 2021
Germany: slow start to coronavirus testing in companies causing controversy
In line with a decision by Germany’s Federal Government and its various Länders on 03 March 2021, companies are being called on to offer free weekly (at least) Covid rapid antigen tests...
6 April 2021
Mexico: Supreme Court endorses new rules on trade union democracy under 2019 labour reform
The highest court in Mexico has defended and reaffirmed a range of articles from the 2019 labour reform, including direct, secret and free ballots for trade union elections, the transparency...
2 April 2021
United Kingdom: PwC unveils hybrid model for post-pandemic working, combining remote and in-office work
On 30 March professional services firm PwC announced that its 22,000 UK employees will be able to continue flexible working once the Covid-19 pandemic has passed and will be able to go to the...
2 April 2021
UNI Global Union and group of investors join forces to pressure nursing home operators to improve working conditions
UNI Global Union, the international union federation for the services sectors, and a group of large investors – asset managers and 70 pension funds looking after $3.34 trillion of assets combined...
2 April 2021
Most viewed articles of the month on mind HR
What readers clicked on the most last month.
What readers clicked on the most last month.
1
Pascale Rauline (Axa EWC): “European charter formalises ongoing and accelerated social dialogue on AI”
On 27 November, Axa and its European works council (EWC) signed a charter setting out principles governing the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) and guaranteeing social dialogue on the...
2
Germany: crisis-hit industries cast shadow over 2026 bargaining cycle
In 2026, collective wage agreements for nearly 10 million employees in Germany are set to expire. With upcoming negotiations in crisis-hit 'pilot' sectors such as chemicals and metalworking, the...
2 December 2025
3
Bulgaria: government approves bill to encourage sector-level collective bargaining
On 26 November, the Bulgarian government approved amendments to the labour code designed to reinforce the legal framework for sector-level collective bargaining. The reform aims to stimulate...
2 December 2025
4
EU: social partners in telecoms sign joint statement on AI
On 16 December, the social partners in Europe's telecommunications sector unveiled a joint statement on artificial intelligence. They propose an action plan for skills and commit to raising...
18 December 2025
5
Germany: Erwin Hymer Group’s innovative and award-winning AI agreement
Fed up with negotiating separate agreements for each new artificial intelligence (AI) tool, the social partners at Erwin Hymer Group (8,900 employees) have instead secured a broad, overarching...
12 December 2025
6
Italy: telecommunications sector introduces new measures to navigate major transformation
The agreement reached between Asstel, the employers’ association for Italy’s telecommunications sector, and the SLC-Cgil, Fistel-Cisl and Uilcom unions centres on strengthening labour relations to...
27 November 2025