All articles

Spain: agreement at Renault to maintain Spanish sites
Wage freeze and mobility in exchange for new models. The draft agreement of the “Pact for Employment and Competitiveness at Renault Spain” was signed by the management and the UGT, CCOO and CCP...
Unicredit: global union alliance within the group
Improved cooperation. Last week, 13 national unions and the members of Unicredit’s EWC launched a global union alliance. In a communiqué, UNI Finance said that the rapid integration of European...
Italy: the pilot project to support temps affected by the crisis was successful
Promising results. On September 24 Labor Undersecretary Pasquale Viespoli presented the first results of the pilot project to support temps who aren’t entitled to social dampers. In Italy, the...
EU: European trade unions in favor of a revision of the law on the protection of workers from electromagnetic fields
Take account of scientific progress. European staff representatives answered yes to the consultation launched by the European Commission shortly before the summer (see our dispatch No. 090796) on...
Germany: for the first time, Volkswagen’s collective agreement includes a variable wage component based on performance
Towards more flexible wages. Disappointed that the group’s management refused claims accepted by Audi and Porsche, the IG-Metall threatened, last week, with launching warning strikes (see our...
Sweden: end of State pharmaceutical monopoly and first controversial collective agreement
Two agreements to regulate this “new” sector. The entire drugstore network, which used to be controlled by Apoteket AB (State owned), was dismantled on July 1, 2009. The State sold 150 pharmacies...
EU: staff representatives involved in the future financial supervision system
Three advisory groups. The day before the G20 summit, the European Commission tried to bring its two cents to the global financial regulation structure by improving coordination of supervisory...
Germany: industrial cleaning employers’ federation blocks the renewal of sectoral minimum wage
The minimum wage agreement negotiated in 2008 by the social partners in industrial cleaning will expire on September 30, 2009. Yet, the sector's employers completely reject unions' claim - a...
Chile: collective bargaining reform postponed to 2010
Employment and economic recovery override labor law reform. After disagreements within the government coalition (composed of four parties), Chilean President Michelle Bachelet decided to suspend...
Great Britain: consultation on employees’ auto-enrolment to their company’s professional pension fund
Auto-enrolment. What is it? Angela Eagle, Minister for Pensions and the Ageing Society, explained: “These landmark reforms, on a scale unprecedented anywhere in the world, will ensure millions of...
Italy: Filcem-CGIL launches collective bargaining for over 500,000 employers in four sectors
Waiting for a “universal collective bargaining system.” After presenting a separate platform in electricity (see our dispatch No. 090705), the Filcem-CGIL is now presenting four new claim...
Germany: Federal Labor Court extends the right to strike to “flashmobs”
Flash mob to block a supermarket. The judgment rendered by the Federal Labor Court came from charges pressed by the Regional Federation of Retail Trade of Berlin-Brandenburg (case 1 AZR 972/08)...
Sweden: two collective agreements in technology and design give priority to local wage negotiations
Unionen gives individual wage negotiations up. The sector’s employers’ organization, Almega STD, represents around 740 businesses in the construction and manufacturing sectors, i.e. 2/3 of...
Germany: IG-Metall threatens with warning strikes at Volkswagen if collective bargaining fails again
“In the middle of a crisis, Volkswagen is gaining market shares in Germany and western Europe. This is due to the amazing development of our products and to the equally amazing effort of...
Saint-Gobain: new amendment strengthening the EWC’s information and consultation rights
Effective and practical social dialog. Amendment No. 5 of May 2008 (see our dispatch No. 080713) included the commitment to negotiate, as soon as the second 2008 quarter, the practical modalities...
Opel: European trade unions mobilized against the shutdown of the Antwerp site
Number fight. On September 23, whereas the EMF was expecting 3,000-5,000 workers from throughout Europe in Antwerp, out of solidarity for the site’s workers, Fritz Henderson, Opel’s CEO, told...
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: already well on the way to pay transparency?
Spain is preparing for the implementation of its national law transposing the EU Pay Transparency Directive, which will take effect on 7 June 2026. The legislation marks another step forward in...
5 November 2025
2
Italy: decree-law adopted to increase workplace safety
On 28 October, the Italian cabinet adopted a decree-law on health and safety at work, aimed at preventing and reducing accidents. The text addresses both the powers and actions of supervisory...
4 November 2025
3
Romania: parents of children with disabilities granted up to eight days of remote work per month
On 9 October, the Romanian parliament adopted a bill aiming to bolster support for parents of children with disabilities up to the age of 18. The legislation, which came into force on 12 October...
4
EU: Court of Justice largely upholds directive on adequate minimum wages
On 11 November, the Court of Justice of the European Union upheld most of the directive on adequate minimum wages, rejecting Denmark’s claim that it infringed on national sovereignty over wage...
12 November 2025
5
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...
6
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