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Sweden: Seko union terminates ongoing negotiations in rail industry to lobby Veolia Transport within the framework of their conflict regarding staff recruitment conditions
Following the sectoral agreement signed in 2013, a working group was set up.  One of its missions was to think about ways to secure employees in case of a transfer of activities.  However, Seko...
Great Britain: CWU and GMB unions create their own legal firm
The Communications Workers’ Union (CWU) and the GMB general union have together launched the first ever union legal firm. Called UNIONLINE (meaning also ‘union online’), the firm will provide a...
Spain: listed businesses to set female representation objectives on their decision-making structures
The government approved, at a Council of Ministers meeting, the bill on the governance of listed companies.  It provides for the obligation for these undertakings to set objectives to achieve...
26 May 2014
Norway: agreement reached in logistics
On May 15, the NHO Logistikk og Transport employers’ organization (logistics and transportation) and the NTF (Norsk Transportarbeiderforbund) union signed an agreement for the logistics and...
Germany: Bundestag adopts innovative pension reform introducing ‘flexible retirement’
A large majority of MPs in the Bundestag approved a major pension reform that gives a ‘way out’ for retirement as early as 63 for employees who paid contributions for 45 years.  It also slightly...
23 May 2014
EU: reference pay for calculating annual leave must take commission payments into consideration
In a ruling issued on May 22 in a British case, the ECJ decided that the annual leave allowance for employees whose remuneration is made up of basic pay plus commission – whose amount is defined...
22 May 2014
Denmark: Parliament permanently adopts equal pay reform
The Parliament adopted the reform of the act that contains the obligation for businesses to issue pay statistics divided by gender.  In addition to extending this obligation to all businesses with...
Greece: towards a reform of union law regulations
Major changes to union practices and operation mode are about to be adopted – by the end of the year.  Indeed, pressed by the Troika, the Ministry of Labor is working on the development of a new...
Great Britain: working time as the grounds for many collective disputes
The traditional 1 April settlement date for annual pay rises has passed, so unions’ priorities have shifted. A crop of industrial disputes over issues of working time have emerged. They focus...
Luxembourg: banking sector signs collective labor agreement
On May 15, the social partners in the banking industry reached an agreement for a collective labor agreement (CCT) for the period between 2014 and 2016.  This conclusion came after months of...
Japan: firms are searching for more flexibility
Market pressure combined with global market changes have weakened japans’ traditional model of durable employment, leading businesses that need to cut costs to increasingly recruit workers with...
Ireland: government presents draft reform of collective bargaining law
On May 13, the government presented its draft reform of collective bargaining law.  Ireland was under pressure from European and international law, notably the ILO, to better enforce employees’...
21 May 2014
Norway: the new wage agreement signed in the oil industry doesn’t dismiss the risk of social conflict
A deal was reached on May 9 between the manufacturing and energy workers’ union (Industrienergi) and the Norwegian Gas and Oil Association (Norske Olje og Gass).  It covers workers (operators...
Germany: Bosch’s social partners strengthen employees’ rights in the framework agreement on “mobile work”
After observing that some hierarchical structures were very reluctant to the ‘home office’ system, whereby employees can partly work from home, Bosch’s social partners redefined the company...
Nearly 14 million economic forced workers in the world, ILO says
Across the globe, the number of people doing forced labor, victims of sexual exploitation and of modern slavery is around 21 million, denounces a new report by the International Labor Organization...
20 May 2014
Italy: Electrolux signs agreement with unions, government and local authorities to maintain production in the country
In January, Electrolux presented drastic conditions to maintain production in Italy, demanding, among other things, a pay cut, tougher working conditions or even limited union rights.  Following...
Most viewed articles of the month on mind HR
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What readers clicked on the most last month.
1
Italy: Enel signs agreement to manage the effects of AI on work
An agreement signed at the end of July by the electricity company Enel (31,000 employees) and the unions Filctem-Cgil, Flaei-Cisl, and Uiltec is pioneering in the Italian energy sector. It aims to...
7 September 2026
2
Italy: artificial Intelligence on the menu of Barilla’s new company agreement
Prior consultation with trade unions on innovations related to artificial intelligence, strengthened training, and progress on parenthood: these are the main new features of the agreement signed...
2 September 2026
3
France: final document on the work of the Labour, Employment and Pensions Conference
After six months of discussions between French social partners, the guarantors of the Labour, Employment and Pensions Conference submitted the conclusions of the discussions to the Prime Minister...
17 September 2026
4
Germany: working time dispute between Mercedes and the IG Metall Union
The news. At the beginning of September, Mercedes-Benz asked employee representatives and the IG Metall union to agree to an increase in the weekly working time from 35 to 40 hours, without any...
16 September 2026
5
France: Bayer puts female health and inclusive parenthood at the centre of its equality policy
In a new agreement on gender equality highlighted by mind RH, Bayer commits to strengthening its parenthood policy. Furthermore, the company is anticipating pay transparency and introducing...
25 September 2026
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Germany: major day of union action in the automotive industry ahead of collective bargaining
A few weeks before the start of collective bargaining in the German metalworking sector, the IG Metall trade union mobilised nearly 175,000 workers across more than 200 industrial sites on 21...
22 September 2026