All articles

EU: modifying its previous case law, the ECJ limits the possibility for employees to accumulate entitlements to paid annual leave during absence for illness
to contain the impact of one of its case laws, the mostly vividly criticized by employers. In a ruling rendered in early 2009, the European judges laid down the principle that the national...
Italy: Fiat terminates all collective agreements to be free to negotiate a single agreement for the group
With the termination notified yesterday, the Italian carmaker is seeking to “harmonize company and territorial conventional rules which followed one another and make them consistent and compatible...
Germany: new steel collective agreement provides for a 3.8% increase and the recruitment of apprentices
3.8% increase.  “It was a ‘tough start’ but we got an excellent result” rejoiced Oliver Burkhard, leader of the IG-Metall in North Rhine-Westphalia.  Reminding the uncertain character of the...
International: according to KPMG, CSR reporting has become the de facto law for business
cabinet has been doing an international survey on reporting in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The 2011 edition shows a general increase in the phenomenon, and mostly that large...
22 November 2011
Italy: Luxottica’s company agreement tests “family job sharing”
“Bank of hours” for parents.  Throughout this agreement, employees planning on having a baby may put unused leaves, overtime and flexibility hours they usually turn into remuneration on a “bank of...
22 November 2011
Italy: measures affecting the labor world in the Monti administration’s program
he Italian Parliament, with a record approval rate. Based on three pillars – “budget austerity, growth and equity” – his program aims to brave the pension reform, to reform...
Germany: GDL train driver ends conflict with four private rail companies
Compromise.  After 10 months of bargaining, massive warning strikes and a mediation procedure which lasted for 11 weeks, run by Georg Milbradt, former Prime Minister of Saxony, the GDL and four...
Corporate practices: how the Rudus construction materials manufacturer managed to significantly cut the number of industrial accidents on its production sites
uction company which employs about 1,300 people. It produces concrete, coated macadam and asphalt and operates in Finland, the Baltic countries and Russia. Bought, in 1999, by Irish multinational...
21 November 2011
Netherlands: Philips wants to spread efficiency premiums
lips, wants to bring variable pay from 7 up to 12% of annual earnings for the group’s 14,000 employees in the Netherlands. Unions and the works council are currently discussing the new...
21 November 2011
Great Britain: unions press ahead with the national strike on 30 November
In early November, the David Cameron administration made two concessions on its draft public pension reform to soften unions: the first increasing the accrual rate – the percentage of salary...
United States: discrimination complaints soar
Created in 1975, the institution also rejoiced with the 10 percent decrease in its pending charge inventory, “the first such reduction since 2002.”  The agency also reminded that, “In previous...
18 November 2011
Great Britain: new government measures for apprenticeship and vocational training
nment announced a GBP 1,500 (EUR 1,755) subsidy for businesses recruiting apprentices aged 16-24 and the creation of a GBP 250 million (EUR 292 million) fund to help businesses develop vocational...
Germany: Alcatel-Lucent Network Services employees sign company framework agreement with the support of the IG-Metall
High employee mobilization.  The IG-Metall claims that the employees of Alcatel-Lucent Network Services GmbH, in Düsseldorf, were not covered by a collective agreement.  They were paid depending...
Romania: private managers for national businesses
Until now, the authorities appointed the managers of national businesses. Because of disastrous results in most of these companies - in 2010, the 35 biggest State firms made €10 billion in...
EU: home stretch for the creation of the first European Sector Skills Councils
textile social partners will officially launch the first European Sector Skills Council. Trade should follow, and many other sectors (automotive, chemistry, steel, construction…) also want...
Italy: report shows green economy “resists the crisis”
“The experience of the 370,000 businesses which, from 2008 to present, invested into ecotechnologies once again proves that this crisis can be overcome by banking on innovation, quality and...
17 November 2011
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: 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
2
Italy: collective agreement for rubber and plastics sector focuses on new skills
A month ahead of schedule, the Federazione Gomma Plastica employers' organisation and the Filctem-Cgil, Femca-Cisl and Uiltec trade unions have renewed the collective agreement for the rubber and...
5 January 2026
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France: social partner talks extend far beyond contractual terminations
After a false start on 3 December, French social partners resumed talks on 7 January 2026 on potential changes to the unemployment insurance agreement, including the rules governing compensation...
12 January 2026