All articles

Germany: Schaeffler brings joint management home and breaks a taboo
fects. After objecting to it for several years, the Schaeffler family group announced, on February 23, 2009 in a joint press release with the IG Metall union, that it accepted to extend joint...
Netherlands: ING’s CEO won’t be paid in 2009
he ING bank, decided to do without remuneration for 2009. A decision will be made for his 2009 salary in 2010, when the policy on bank managers’ pay, currently discussed, is established...
25 February 2009
EU: BusinessEurope opposed to binding measures against environmental tobacco smoke
ion launched by the European Commission at the end of 2008 (see our dispatch No. 090028), BusinessEurope announced that it wasn’t in favor of measures forbidding smoking at work. The...
EU: Parliament demands better application of the directive on the information and consultation of workers
Ps adopted the report of French MEP Jean-Louis Cottigny (PES, FR) on the application of Directive 2002/14/EC on the information and consultation of workers. The European Parliament deplores Member...
Denmark: the 3F building union presented wage propositions for posted workers
hed its wage propositions in preparation for a collective agreement on workers posted in Denmark. However, negotiations with employers are at a standstill. (Ref. 090208) 171.40 crowns (€23)...
Netherlands: raising retirement age to 67 debated
Planet Labor, February 24, 2009, No. 090200 – www.planetlabor.com
EU: MEPs want to extend social liability to the production line
of the European Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs adopted an own-initiative report inviting the European Commission to propose a legal tool establishing joint and...
Colombia: unions legally object to the government decree on minimum wage increase
State Council an application for annulment of the decree providing for a 7% minimum wage increase for 2009. Staff representatives want to show that the negotiation process provided for by the law...
Italy: latest quarterly report of the metallurgy employers’ federation sounds the alarm on the economic situation
ca employers’ federation has been carrying out a quarterly study among a panel of member businesses. The results of the 109th study for the last quarter of 2008 were published on February...
Spain: employers want freedom to lay off
nsist upon the idea that the only way to curb the rise in unemployment (from 8.5% to 14.5% in one year) is to make dismissals more flexible. They want lower compensation scales and removed...
Luxembourg: monthly minimum social wage brought up to 1.682,76 euro
the highest in the European Union – will be increased on March 1, 2009 and reach, for unskilled employees aged 18+, 1.682,76 euro a month. (Ref. 090198) Minimum social wage applied to all...
Belgium: age limits for the right to parental leave raised
uncil of Ministers adopted a royal draft decree allowing workers to take their parental leave until their child is 12. This amendment to the conditions for allowing parental leave was decided...
Germany: 800.000 employees regularly take drugs to improve their performances at work
study presented in early February 2009 by the Deutsche Angestellte Krankenkasse (DAK), one of the biggest health insurance funds in Germany – mostly focuses on the issue of...
Poland: the social partners seek solutions to the crisis
nts (see our dispatch No. 090103), the social partners are determined to curb the negative impact of the economic crisis: many bilateral (unions-employers) and trilateral...
Slovenia: detail on the application of the law on the Participation of Employees
Maximum amounts. The law provides that the profit distributed amongst employees may not exceed 20% of the accumulated profit of the business year or 10% of the gross amount of salaries paid out to...
Belgium: Flanders opposed to simpler employment subsidies to protect seniors
tly voted a conflict of interest motion which suspends the federal legal procedure and opens a long consultation phase against the simplification of employment subsidies. This simplification...
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
Pascale Rauline (Axa EWC): “European charter formalises ongoing and accelerated social dialogue on AI”
On 27 November, Axa and its European works council (EWC) signed a charter setting out principles governing the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) and guaranteeing social dialogue on the...
2
Germany: crisis-hit industries cast shadow over 2026 bargaining cycle
In 2026, collective wage agreements for nearly 10 million employees in Germany are set to expire. With upcoming negotiations in crisis-hit 'pilot' sectors such as chemicals and metalworking, the...
2 December 2025
3
Bulgaria: government approves bill to encourage sector-level collective bargaining
On 26 November, the Bulgarian government approved amendments to the labour code designed to reinforce the legal framework for sector-level collective bargaining. The reform aims to stimulate...
2 December 2025
4
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
5
Germany: Erwin Hymer Group’s innovative and award-winning AI agreement
Fed up with negotiating separate agreements for each new artificial intelligence (AI) tool, the social partners at Erwin Hymer Group (8,900 employees) have instead secured a broad, overarching...
12 December 2025
6
France: Orange submits gender equality agreement – including AI provisions – for union approval
The three representative trade unions at Orange France have until 10 December to validate an agreement on gender equality, work–life balance and anti-discrimination measures. While the text...