All articles

Germany: collective negotiations in the interim employment sector at a time of a faltering economy and manpower shortages
On 17 September social partners in the interim employment sector commenced negotiations to renew collective agreements that are set to expire on 31 December 2019. Mandated by its members, the DGB...
19 September 2019
AccorInvest signs a global agreement with the IUF on fighting sexual harassment
On 17 September, the international trade union federation, the IUF, along with French hotels group AccorInvest announced their signing of a global agreement fighting sexual harassment at work. The...
18 September 2019
Germany: metallurgy employers in the northern region set up their own employment website
With Germany facing a shortage of skilled manpower, metallurgy and electro-technical employers in the north of the country have decided to take the situation into their own hands and have set up...
18 September 2019
Poland: political parties looking to secure the female vote
The female vote is attracting a great deal of attention in the period leading up to the 13 October legislative elections. The major political bodies have devoted significant portions of their...
18 September 2019
Unilever Italy: unions sign “Industry 4.0” agreement promoting workers’ life-long learning so as to safeguard employability in light of ongoing technological transformation processes.
On Friday 13 September, an agreement on Industry 4.0 was signed between the Italian branch of the multinational group Unilever and the three sectoral unions FLAI-CGIL, FAI-CISL and UILA-UIL. The...
17 September 2019
Poland: ruling conservative PiS party announces an unprecedented increase in the minimum salary
With the legislative elections under a month away, the election’s front-runner, the ruling national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party’s election program has dropped a bombshell policy...
17 September 2019
United States: first UAW led strike action at General Motors in 12 years
On Sunday 15 September 2019 the UAW trade union called on its 46,000 members to commence strike action at General Motors (GM) facilities in a bid to unlock difficult multi-annual agreement...
17 September 2019
Suez: European agreement on professional equality renewed
Today, on 16 September, Bertrand Camus, chief executive of French utility group Suez, the group’s European trade unions, and the European Union Federations have signed an agreement to reinforce...
16 September 2019
Great Britain: amid the Brexit crisis, the Labour Party promises an employment rights ministry and considers cuts to working hours
With an early general election expected in November or December, after the UK’s planned departure from the European Union on 31 October, the country’s Labour Party has made some statements that...
16 September 2019
Sweden: employers seek confederation-level agreement to frame upcoming sector-level negotiations
The majority of collective agreements covering the Swedish economy are set to expire by the end of the first quarter of 2020. Consequently, negotiations to renew some 500 collective agreements...
16 September 2019
United States : California simplifies procedure for reclassifying independent workers as employees
The State of California is close to finalising its adoption of Assembly Bill 5 (AB5), which will make the so-called ABC or Dynamex test, comprising three criteria, the standard used when it comes...
13 September 2019
United Kingdom : parental leave of 20 weeks with full pay for all Hachette employees, to encourage new fathers to take time off
Hachette UK, subsidiary of Hachette Livre and the second-largest publishing group in the UK, is granting new mothers and fathers within its company identical rights to parental leave – 20...
13 September 2019
France: Court of Cassation recognizes the harm of anxiety in cases of exposure to noxious and toxic substances
In a ruling handed down on 11 September the French Court of Cassation has opened the door to the official recognition of anxiety-related damage, currently recognized for workers who were...
13 September 2019
Hungary: two studies confirm heightened rate of pay rises among manual workers and managers
According to a study conducted by recruitment company Trenkwalder, based on the pay data of some 7,000 job candidates, the average gross hourly wage of manual and trained manual workers increased...
13 September 2019
Switzerland : fathers will get two weeks paid paternity leave
On 11 September the Swiss parliament backed a proposal to give fathers two weeks of paid paternity leave per child. As one of Europe’s few remaining nations not offering paternity leave hitherto...
12 September 2019
Spain: purchasing power guarantee clauses making a return to collective agreements
After years of salary restraint, Spain’s trade unions are starting to win their first salary related battles. Employees are effectively starting to win back some of the purchasing power they...
12 September 2019
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
France: Orange submits gender equality agreement – including AI provisions – for union approval
The three representative trade unions at Orange France have until 10 December to validate an agreement on gender equality, work–life balance and anti-discrimination measures. While the text...