All articles

Poland: establishment of a competences planning Council
On 04 April, Poland’s government officially launched a Rada Progamowa (competences planning Council). The Council’s primary objective is to formulate guidelines to reform the education system in...
17 April 2018
Germany: ‘generous’ deal reached at Deutsche Telekom amid pressure of digitalisation
On 12 April, after a fourth meeting, negotiators from Deutsche Telekom and the services trade union Verdi announced that they had reached a compromise that is likely to please the 55,000 employees...
13 April 2018
Brazil: labour market begins to adjust to the ageing population by harnessing the human qualities of older workers
In 2017, a number of Brazilian companies launched their first-ever recruitment campaigns specifically targeting workers over the age of 50. Such individuals are experiencing heightened interest...
13 April 2018
Italy: rescue plan for the former Alcoa Sardinia steel facility sparks debate over worker participation in companies’ capital structures
To general surprise, on 09 April during a meeting on a rescue plan for the Alco Sardinia steel facility, Carlo Calenda, Italy’s Minister for Economic Development announced that the project...
12 April 2018
Brazil: as the government launches its agenda for ‘Industry 4.0’, unions are seeking consultation and dialogue on the future of jobs
In mid-March Brazil’s Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade put a series of measures forward that aim to stimulate ‘the industry of the future’. The metals union has harshly criticized the lack...
12 April 2018
Rana Plaza; five years on
It was almost five years ago when on 24 April 2013 the 8-storey Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh collapsed resulting in 1,134 fatalities and 2,000 injured. At the time the disaster caused a great...
12 April 2018
Germany: a new collective agreement at Deutsche Post allows employees to choose between more money and more free time
In line with recent sector and company level negotiations that indicate how Germany’s workers are seeking ways to achieve a better work-life balance, Deutsche Post’s (DP) 130,000 employees, who...
11 April 2018
Great Britain: satisfied senior managers but with the low skilled stuck in their jobs, the CIPD provides its first overview of how good job quality is in the UK
On 11 April, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the professional body for HR and people development, published its first broad survey on the quality of jobs in the UK...
11 April 2018
EU: European social partners are divided over the New Deal for Consumers
Europe’s New Deal for Consumers, which in particular aims to introduce a system of limited collective recourse across the EU has met with hostility from representatives of both workers and private...
11 April 2018
News update as of 10 April 2018
On the menu :wage gap law on the way in Ireland, towards a right to disconnect in North America/?, japanese draft law to combat work-related mortality due to overwork, the number of company rating...
10 April 2018
Norway: agreement on salaries and pensions struck between the union confederations (LO and YS) and the employers’ body (NHO)
On 08 April 2018, 15 hours after the date that was set for strike action, agreement was eventually found between the employers’ NHO body, and the LO and YS union confederations. Extracting...
United Kingdom: a breakdown of gender pay gap figures
More than 10,000 UK companies with 250 employees or more published their gender pay gap in time for the April 4 deadline set by the country’s government, as part of a new law adopted in 2017 (see...
9 April 2018
Spain: talks between unions and employers over collective bargaining and employment framework agreement at a standstill
Will trade unions and employers in Spain manage to seal a framework agreement on collective bargaining and employment this year? That is the question on people’s lips as talks remain at a...
United States: trade unions raise concerns over draft labour law reforms in Mexico, which could undermine the objectives of the NAFTA renegociation
With negotiations over a new free trade agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico (NAFTA), which had long been viewed as dead in the water, recently resuming, aided perhaps by the...
News updates as of April 5, 2018
On the menu : in Germany, major retailer Real quits the employer’s body in order to cease dealing with the services union Verdi, roughly 1,500 UK companies have missed the midnight 04 April...
4 April 2018
Italy: oil and gas company ENI augments ‘smart working’
In light of the success of its pilot phase that was launched in February 2017 and which only concerned parents with young children, on 23 March 2018, ENI, together with the Filctem-Cgil...
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...