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Switzerland: unions defeated on flexible retirement age
Swiss unions suffered a major defeat on Sunday, November 30th, during the referendum on the introduction of a flexible retirement scheme for low incomes. Indeed, 58% voted against the possibility...
Netherlands: borders will stay closed until 2012 for Bulgarian and Romanian workers
At the request of the Parliament, the Dutch government decided, on November 27, 2008, to keep the borders closed until 2012 for citizens from Bulgaria and Romania, two countries which joined the...
Poland: early retirement rules hang in balance
Since the Diet permanently adopted the law which limits access to early retirement to arduous work (see our dispatch No. 080728), Poland's key trade unions have stepped up their lobbying efforts...
Germany: agreement on the conditions to transfer Airbus’ employees to the Premium Aerotec firm
The management and the general works council of Airbus Deutschland, as well as the regional branch of the IG Metall, reached an agreement on Thursday, November 27, 2008, of the conditions to...
Italy: the government launches measures against the crisis
On Friday, November 28, 2008, the Council of Ministers approved the decree-law containing measures to face the crisis. Positively welcomed by the Confindustria employers' confederations and the...
Argentina: infrastructure and tax measures to revive employment
The Argentinean government presented a $21 billion investment plan to boost employment. These funds, aimed at developing infrastructures, should allow for the creation of 400.000 jobs in the...
EU: the education Ministers of the EU-27 set priorities for vocational education and training 2008-2010
On November 26, 2008, in Bordeaux, the twenty-seven European education Ministers signed a communiqué on enhanced cooperation in terms of vocational education and training (VET). The joint...
Germany: for the first time, a labor court condemns a firm for gender discrimination based on a statistic report
The regional labor court of Berlin-Brandenburg created a precedent which was largely discussed by the German media, and largely welcomed by those who defend gender equality at work: “Contrary to...
Poland: the Diet adopted the bill on family policy
Creation of a paternity leave. The bill plans the creation of a paternity leave, enforced gradually, which will last one week from 2010 and two weeks from 2011. The father can take it any time...
Spain: car manufacturers propose ten measures to help the sector
The national association of car and truck manufacturers (ANFAC) sent the head of the Spanish government, José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, a series of proposals - some of which concerning the...
Italy: the pharmaceutical sector comes up with solutions to face restructurings
An agreement to facilitate reskilling and reclassification of surplus employees in the pharmaceutical industry (which employs 72.000 people) and the creation of a "permanent table" for the...
Great Britain: I&C implementation within large and medium-sized companies, BERR Update
In October 2008, The UK Department of Business Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR) published the second of a three-wave study into the implementation of information and cConsultation (I&C) in...
United States: Windows Vista’s long start-up time would have led to class actions against several businesses
Several class actions against businesses in the insurance and telecommunication sectors are on their way. Indeed, the targeted businesses deduct the time computers take to start from working...
France: focus on the reform of the representativeness of union organizations
ocracy on August 20, 2008 completely disrupted the notion of union representativeness by ending the one automatically enjoyed the 5 main trade unions (CGT, CFDT, CFTC, CGT-FO and CFE-CGC –...
Spain: mobilization at the Ono cable operator against 1.300 job cuts
Since the announcement, on October 24, by the management of the telecommunications company – the main TV and phone cable operator in Spain – to reduce employment by 30%, cutting 1.300 jobs...
Netherlands: new limits to bosses’ bonuses
When the Finance Act 2009 was voted on November 26, 2008, the Dutch Parliament decided to set new limits to managers' remuneration. Bonuses related to the companies' results on the stock exchange...
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
Catherine Chavanier (CDC Habitat): “Social dialogue on AI facilitates its deployment”
In February, CDC Habitat (10,500 employees) signed a two-year framework agreement governing social dialogue on AI. Catherine Chavanier, HR Director of the subsidiary of CDC (Caisse des dépôts et...
2
France: La Poste to launch negotiations for an AI agreement
Following the lead of firms such as Axa, Syensqo globally, and more recently CDC Habitat, La Poste group management will open negotiations on an AI regulation agreement during the first half of...
3
France: Club Med includes “multiculturalism” in its professional equality agreement
In December 2025, Club Med and the CFTC, Unsa, and FO trade unions signed an agreement on professional equality and working conditions. It introduces measures addressing AI, pay transparency, and...
23 March 2026
4
Greece: hospitality sector signs first collective agreement aligned with National Social Pact
The hospitality sector (125,000 employees), one of Greece’s largest industries after retail, signed a new two-year collective agreement on 17 March. The text, effective from 1 April 2026...
5
France: bioMérieux’s new disability agreement pivots towards mental health
The news. On 6 January 2026, bioMérieux—an in vitro diagnostics specialist employing 4,400 people in France—signed a new four-year agreement “relating to the employment...
6
Germany: a wave of redundancy plans in the automotive sector
The latest financial results presented in early 2026 by major German car manufacturers show sharp declines. This collapse in profits has triggered the announcement or confirmation of massive job...
16 March 2026