All articles

Austria: genuine improvement to the conditions of combined pay to fight unemployment
With the moderate but constant rise in unemployment, the Minister for Employment and Social Affairs, Rudolf Hundstorfer, announced that the combined pay system introduced in 2009 – a subsidized...
9 July 2013
Italy: annual report of the Commission monitoring application of the strike act in essential public services
The Commission monitoring application of the strike act in essential public services issued its 2012 activity report.  Set up by Act No. 145/1990, this “independent administration” is made up of 8...
Austria: Parliament introduces “transitional retirement” for hard work in construction industry
In its last session before the summer, the Austrian Parliament voted to extend early retirement for hard work, on January 1, 2015, to construction workers only.  Employees may retire when they...
8 July 2013
Great Britain: after a peak in 2011, strike statistics for 2012 are at their lowest
In 2012, just 248,800 working days were not worked from 131 strikes, with 63 strikes in the public sector compared with 68 in the private sector, compared with 1,389,700 days not worked in 2011...
Belgium: historical agreement between the social partners to harmonize blue-collar and white-collar workers’ statuses
After debating for 27 years, the social partners finally reached an agreement in the afternoon on July 5 on the sensitive issue of the single status for blue-collar and white-collar workers.  It...
7 July 2013
EU: new sectoral social dialogue committee for the port sector
On June 19, the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the port industry was formally launched in Brussels.  This sector employs 1.5 million people without taking account of indirect jobs...
5 July 2013
Suez Environnement: new agreement sets up European Works Council
The approximately 70,000 European employees of Suez Environnement will no longer be represented by GDF Suez’s EWC on July 23.  Following from its deconsolidation, the group operating in the field...
Norway: outcome of bargaining in the oil industry
Negotiations are over between the Norsk Olje og Gass employers’ organization (oil and gas businesses) and the trade unions – SAFE (energy), Inustri Energi (energy industry) and Lederne (Norwegian...
Renault: interview of Tristan Lormeau, Director Resources and Skills at Renault Group, on the international framework agreement signed by the French carmaker
On July 2, Renault, IndustriAll Global Union and the Global Group Council signed an international framework agreement on social, societal and environmental responsibility.  Tristan Lormeau is...
Italy: the Labor Code provision granting union representation only to unions that have signed the collective agreements is “unconstitutional”
The Constitutional Court has ruled that the Labor Code provision granting union representation in a company (called RSA, a representation system that is still in force in some sectors) only to...
4 July 2013
EU: new directive on workers’ exposure to electromagnetic fields published
The new directive on the exposure of workers to electromagnetic fields, which replaces Directive 2004/40 (never applied because of the problems it posed in the medical industry) was published in...
4 July 2013
United States: Affordable Care Act postponed as an answer to employers’ concerns
The Obama administration wanted to prove that it could listen to employers and is delaying to 2015 the obligation for all businesses with 50 or more workers to provide affordable health insurance...
4 July 2013
Switzerland: heated debates over new draft pension reform
In 2010, 73 percent of Swiss citizens rejected the plan to reform the pension funding system in a popular vote.  And yet, with the decrease in the number of working people contributing to the...
4 July 2013
Great Britain: the battle continues between Royal Mail and CWU
In the continuing battle over the privatisation of the Royal Mail, the CWU communications workers' union has rejected an 8.6% pay rise over three years from the employer. The CWU accused Royal...
Italy: labor-related measures of the new decree-law to revive employment
The decree-law on the first emergency measures “to promote employment, particularly youth employment, and social cohesion” was published in the Official Journal on June 28.  Here is an overview of...
3 July 2013
France: new bill encourages fathers to take parental leave
To tackle the “unfair division of parental responsibilities” and keep mothers closer to the labor market, a bill was introduced in the Council of Ministers yesterday, July 3.  It extends the...
3 July 2013
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
France: sectors feel economic slowdown to differing degrees
The latest data on France’s occupational sectors (branches professionnelles), covering the year 2023, show how employment trends are shaping workplace dynamics. After a more favourable period for...
2
Germany: government seeks to facilitate immigration of skilled Indian workers
During a visit to India earlier this week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz addressed the strategic importance of attracting Indian workers to Germany, signing a series of cooperation agreements...