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Austria: metalworkers’ unions accept partial questioning of 40 years of unitary collective bargaining
Negotiate fast to negotiate more.  “Until now, unions have been doing their best to maintain joint collective negotiations with the six employers’ organizations.  We’re sad we still have not...
Brazil: Mercedes-Benz freezes pay to save jobs
3,000 surplus jobs kept.  The metalworkers’ union in the ABC area (the name given to the Sao Paulo metropolitan zone), affiliated with the Unified Workers’ Central (CUT), and Mercedez-Benz...
Corporate practices: new agreement on “demography and the creation of a competitive and sustainable personnel structures” for Unilever DACH staff in Germany, Austria and Switzerland
Project mostly initiated by the central WC.  It took the social partners at Unilever Deutschland four years to reach an agreement on “Demography and the creation of a competitive and sustainable...
13 September 2012
Brazil: Sao Paulo metalworkers on strike for pay
The metalworkers’ federation of the State of Sao Paulo (EMF/CUT-SP), affiliated with the Unified Workers’ Central, has been organizing several strikes and mobilization actions within the framework...
Portugal: CGTP union mobilizes against austerity
The General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP) is calling for a day of struggle and a gathering on September 29 in Lisbon against austerity. Independent, unorganized movements have called...
Germany: a majority of Länder is about to support a bill introducing universal minimum wage
The issue of the introduction of universal minimum wage was revived after the Land of Thuringia, run by a conservative/social-democratic coalition, presented an initiative for a bill introducing...
EU: European Commission withdraws draft regulation on the balance between collective action and the free provision of services
Yellow card.  The possibility for national assemblies to have the Commission review its text is a part of the Lisbon Treaty which came into force in December 2009.  So this is a first.  The draft...
Italy: Monti seeks agreements from the social partners to increase productivity
Bringing back the competitiveness of Italian businesses would be “even more important than the spread” Mario Monti said, hence the need for employers and unions to find an agreement on the...
Austria: Council of Ministers adopts the bill transposing the European temporary work directive
The blockade organized by several employers’ organizations, opposed to some of the provisions of the bill negotiated between the PRO.GE manufacturing union and the Austrian Chamber of Commerce...
Great Britain: unions could mobilize against the government’s austerity policy
The political temperature of the union battle against the government’s austerity programme moved up several notches at the annual gathering of the Trades Union Congress. Prior to it, the general...
EU: report on the strategies of energy companies and their social and environmental impact
Debt.  In the first part, the study talks about the purchases, mergers, and sales of sites and transmission networks done since 2010 and explains the national division of these businesses’...
11 September 2012
Spain: the civil society mobilized on September 15 against austerity
The second social summit, supervised by the UGT and Workers’ Commissions unions and made up of representatives from over 150 social organizations, presented the program for the march called in...
EU: Commission launches consultation on the introduction of an optional framework for transnational company negotiations
The parties concerned by European and/or international framework agreements have until the end of the year to submit their views on the relevance of European action supporting these practices...
Portugal: government announces new reform for employers and employees’ social contributions
Amending social contributions.  TSU will be amended on January 1, 2013.  Employers’ share of social contributions, currently 23.75 percent, will be brought down to 18 percent.  At the same time...
Spain: agreement to outsource supplementary pension for Banco Santander staff hired before 1980
The UGT, Comfia-CCOO and FITC unions announced that they signed an agreement with the management of Banco Santander on the conditions to outsource supplementary pensions which will, in the future...
Italy: with national union division in the background, IndustriAll Europe mobilizes against Fiat Iveco’s restructuring
Explaining that the “different local agreements” signed since the demonstration was called on June 28 “gloss over the main reason which gave rise to the debate within IndustriAll,” the two unions...
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
EU: right and far right join forces in parliament to dismantle sustainability due diligence
On 13 November, the European Parliament approved the report by EPP MEP Jörgen Warborn on the proposed omnibus directive, clearing the way for trilogue negotiations. Backed by the far right, the...
13 November 2025
2
mind RH analysis – Initial findings from CSRD social indicators
In 2025, for the first time, the universal registration documents of major European companies contain the sustainability reporting required by the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive...
3
Netherlands: ING cites AI as it plans to cut around 950 jobs
Dutch bank ING has informed the employment agency UWV that it may cut around 950 jobs by 31 December 2026. In its notification on 20 October, the lender said the planned reductions stem partly...
30 October 2025
4
Germany: EU pay transparency directive to force companies to ‘get tough’
Germany introduced a pay transparency law in 2017, meaning companies are already somewhat familiar with the issue. However, the broader scope and stricter requirements of the EU directive, the...
24 October 2025
5
EU: omnibus bill stalls in parliament
On 22 October, members of the European Parliament narrowly voted against a negotiating mandate that would have opened trilogue talks on the omnibus directive, which seeks to dilute the corporate...
23 October 2025
6
France: cabinet adopts suspension of pension reform
On 23 October, the French Council of Ministers approved an amendment to the social security financing bill (PLFSS), confirming the suspension of the 2023 pension reform until 2028. This measure...
24 October 2025