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Sweden: learning agreement in the wood industry departs from layoff order to keep young skilled workers
e wood and furniture sector signed by the GS union (Forest, Wood and Graphic Workers’ Union) and its employers’ counterpart, Tra och moberlindustriforbundet (furniture and wood...
Austria: banking employees get a 1.36% raise
to go through the four statutory negotiating meetings to reach, on Tuesday, January 19, a wage agreement. The sector’s 80,000 employees will see their salary increase of 0.75% on February 1...
Great Britain: family policy at the heart of the electoral debate
s, the Department for Children, Schools and Families presented, on January 20, a Green Paper on Families which contains several proposals on how to improve work-life balance. It notably promises a...
Colombia: 3.64% minimum wage increase after failed negotiations between the social partners
a 3.64% minimum wage increase after the recurrent stalemate of negotiations between unions and employers on the issue. The increase is lower than planned inflation in 2010 – 2%, like in...
Netherlands: FNV union organizes “free public transportation” operation to send a message on the pension reform
The two biggest FNV unions, Abvakabo (civil servants) and FNV and Allies (manufacturing) wanted to raise the public’s awareness regarding the reform of retirement age, discussed on January 20 at...
Germany: in keeping with the ECJ ruling, the government announced a quick amendment to the law on the notice period
Revising German labor law. On January 19, the ECJ ruled that the German Civil Code provision (§622 BGB) not taking into account years worked before the age of 25 for calculating the notice period...
Italy: CGIL sent to Parliament the bill on the right to permanent training which got 130,000 signatures
“A contribution so the Parliament will willingly address the issue of permanent training” is how CGIL general secretary Gugliemo Epifani defined the own-initiative bill on permanent training...
Finland: chemical and media workers’ union merge, creating TEAM
TEAM (Teollisuusalojen ammattiliitto) has officially been active since January 1, 2010. It is the result of a draft union merger discussed for several years, supposed to bring about the country’s...
Germany: Deutsche Telekom keeps rejuvenating its staff
Promote young talents within the company. Like in 2008 and 2009 (see our dispatch No. 080060), the phone operator wants to hire 3,500 new employees in 2010, including 1,400 young postgraduates and...
EU: the ECJ ruled that the German rules for calculating the notice period based on age are discriminatory
Facts. The German Civil Code provides that notice periods vary with the workers’ seniority in the job but that the periods completed before the employee reaches the age of 25 are not taken into...
Portugal: government adopted employment program for 2010 and its going to unfreeze 480 million euros
Socially handling unemployment. The Employment Initiative approved by the Council of Ministers should affect 750,000 people and represents a €480-million budget. Labor Minister Maria Helena Andre...
Great Britain: the debate on scrapping default retirement age is quickening
Work until 70 or 80? It’s what Minister for Equality Harriet Harman told the Daily Mail on January 11 that quickened the debate. She said that workers would not be forced to work beyond 65, but...
EU: the social partners respond to the Commission’s EU 2020 Strategy
Common observation. The ETUC and BusinessEurope at least share one observation: the next decade will be imbued with the economic crisis. Unions mostly point to social consequences, increases by...
Romania: government blocks pension increase, angering pensioners who threaten to go down in the street
iament adopted the 2010 budget. Because of the severe recession which affected the country in 2009, this budget is very strict. The pension scheme is one of the many victims of this budget...
Italy: the first Observatory on occupational safety was set up in Milan
Insurance against Accidents at Work (INAIL), the Regional Equal Committee for Occupational Safety in Construction (CPT) and the Tribunal of Milan created, on January 14, the first Italian...
Poland: launching of the National Development Committee
ounced during the last social summit in March 2009, the National Development Committee met for the first time on January 7. This structure, which gathers all sorts of experts, will soon look into...
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: Yves Rocher convicted of breach of duty of vigilance for infringement of freedom of association
The specialised chamber of the Paris Judicial Court convicted Yves Rocher on 12 March for breaching its duty of vigilance. The group was sued by Turkish employees dismissed in 2018 by a subsidiary...
12 March 2026
2
Spain: business support package to tackle the economic impact of the Middle East conflict
The Spanish government approved a series of measures on 20 March to support companies facing rising energy prices. In return, these businesses are prohibited from making redundancies for economic...
23 March 2026
3
EU: Council adopts position on simplifying AI rules
The Council of the EU approved its position on 13 March regarding the “omnibus regulation” proposal, published last November by the Commission to simplify the AI Act. Confirming the...
20 March 2026
4
Germany: a corporate group supports local political engagement via its “Democracy Charter”
Large corporations in the Hesse region, surrounding Frankfurt, are defending local democracy by enabling employees to volunteer in local public life through an initiative dubbed the "Democracy...
11 March 2026
5
United States: Coca-Cola subsidiary sued by the administration over women-only event
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced on 18 February that it is launching federal proceedings against Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast for “sex-based...
6 March 2026