All articles

Germany: Defense Minister open talks with social partners to transfer at least 17,000 soldiers and to recall reservists
When meeting with union and employers’ representatives in early September in Berlin, German Defense Minister Thomas de Maizière called on the social partners to actively support soldiers’ transfer...
18 September 2012
United States: New York stands up to Walmart
Walmart opponents have won a major victory: the supermarket backed out of entering the city of New York. This is a great victory for union members, opposed to the group from Bentonville, AR...
Great Britain: new measures to make labor law simpler
A broad strategy.  These measures are answers to businesses’ calls to make the dismissal process quicker.  As a reminder, the coalition government started the Employment Law Review in 2010.  Now...
Spain: transport strike against the sector opening to competition
All rail unions called for this strike (Workers Commissions, UGT, Semaf, Sindicato Ferroviario and sindicato de Circulación).  This is the second day of strike since the government approved the...
EU: finance unions hope that the new European banking supervisory authority will help change practices in the sector
Profit.  Last week, the European Commission proposed a regulation providing for the supervision of all banking undertakings in the eurozone by the European Central Bank (ECB).  The first step...
17 September 2012
Chile: major change for the key union which appoints a 33-year-old woman as its leader
ero, professor of philosophy, was appointed as the new President of the Workers’ United Center (CUT). This should give Chilean unionism a boost, as it is often criticized for its lack of...
Sweden: Unionen and Handels union step in to defend IKEA staff in Turkey and sign an international framework agreement
Repeated union rights violations, aka the limits to IKEA’s great principles.  IKEA’s stores worldwide are managed either directly by the group or by franchised.  In Turkey, the stores are managed...
France: employers and unions open “ambitious” talks on the labor market reform
Tight schedule.  This first one-hour meeting was only about the schedule.  The CGT, CFDT, FO, CFTC and CFE-CGC unions and the Medef, CGPME, and UPA employers’ organizations will get to the heart...
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...
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
Spain: government seeks to strengthen protection for employee whistleblowers
On 28 July, the Spanish Council of Ministers approved a draft bill aimed at providing legal protection to employees who report corruption or breaches of labour law, shielding them from potential...
27 August 2026
2
France: Cabinet adopts pay transparency bill
After several months of delay beyond the European deadline of 7 June 2026, French Labour Minister Jean-Pierre Farandou finally presented the bill transposing the Pay Transparency Directive to the...
10 September 2026
3
Germany: IG Metall demands 5% pay rise amid severe pressure
Despite the crisis hitting the automotive industry, the leadership of the German trade union IG Metall announced on Wednesday 23 September that it would be asking for a 5% pay increase as well as...
23 September 2026
4
Italy: Crédit Agricole introduces a handbook on managerial behaviour
The document adopted in mid-July by Crédit Agricole Italia and the main banking trade unions goes beyond the proper use of meetings and emails. This six-point handbook aims to foster constructive...
3 September 2026
5
Spain: government revisits its draft decree on salary transparency
The Spanish Ministry of Labour has opened a consultation on the transposition of the European directive on salary transparency and the reduction of the gender pay gap. This decision follows a...
8 September 2026
6
Slovakia: 6% increase in the minimum wage from 1 January 2027
The news. As Slovakia’s social partners failed to reach an agreement during tripartite negotiations, Labour Minister Erik Tomas has decided to increase the minimum wage by 6% from 1 January...
1 September 2026