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Netherlands: no more anonymous resumes at Manpower
The temp work agency Manpower draws a negative balance of a six-month pilot project started last June (see our article No. 070523), aiming at presenting anonymous applicants for vacant positions...
Ireland: the government wants to guarantee the respect of workers ‘rights
During the launching of an information campaign on workers' rights, the government announced, on January 10, a series of labour law reforms. The most important of them aims at strengthening the...
Denmark: the union confederation HK getting ready for big restructuring
The extraordinary congress of the union confederation HK, the second largest in Denmark in terms of members, elected chairman Kim Simonsen, leader of the unions' "local public administration...
Luxembourg: individual training leave enforced
The individual training leave provision, introduced by the October 24, 2007 law, came into effect on January 1, 2008. This defined as part of the agreement signed by Luxembourg's social partners...
Germany: train drivers get an 11% wage increase
Started last March, the longest rail conflict in German history is coming to an end. The train drivers' union, GDL, announced, on January 13, 2008, that he set with the Deutsche Bahn (DB) the day...
Netherlands: role of the anti-discrimination Commission
The anti-discrimination Commission (Commissie Gelijke Behandeling, CGB), set up in 1994, gives legal rulings that are non-binding but which help building up the caselaw. Its "decisions" are indeed...
Poland: equal treatment bill in progress
The bill, aiming at adapting Polish legislation to the Community law, establishes the rule of equal treatment in several matters, including access to work, social security and trade union...
France: social partners agree to modernize the labour market
Employers' and union organizations signed, on January 11, a draft agreement on the modernization of the labour market. Presented as a French enforcement of the EU's flexicurity system, this...
Italy: negotiations on the renewal of metalworkers’ national collective agreement resumed
Negotiations for the renewal of metalworkers' national collective agreement started again on January 9, with both parties openly willing to sign an agreement as soon as possible. For the first...
Great Britain: guidance promoting physical activity in the workplace
How to encourage employees to increase their physical activity ? Such is the topic of the guidance proposed by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. This guidance for...
Denmark: study on equal pay to attract skilled women and develop their loyalty
For the first time in the country, a study shows that companies' policies in favour of gender equality enable to attract and keep skilled women. This is a important advantage in a country marked...
EU : a study on European works councils
77 companies took part to the survey, representing 10 industrial sectors in 12 countries of the European Union. A third have a workforce of over 50,000, just under a third have less than 10,000...
Suez-Gaz de France: update of the information-consultation process for the merger
Suez's management declared, on January 8, that the unfavourable judgement rendered by its European dialogue body "end the procedure of consultation of staff representation bodies" and enables to...
Portugal: a white paper on labour law reform
Relationship between law, collective agreements and labour contract. Traditionally, the law established binding minima that could only be improved by the collective agreements and the labour...
Estonia: the unions oppose the bill on employment contracts
The bill of the Reformist Party in government seeks to facilitate severance by simplifying procedures and reducing the period of notice as well as the amount of severance pay. The unions reacted...
Italy: consultation between the government and unions on the “wage issue”
The "wage issue" was presented as the government's priority for 2008. It is also a priority for the Cgil, the Cisl and the Uil which, in their November 24 platform, asked for a reduction of the...
Most viewed articles of the month on mind HR
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1
Netherlands: new government seeks to “control” social costs
In his government policy statement to Parliament on 25 February, Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten announced several measures designed to "control" social costs. Notably, he proposed raising the...
2
Spain: a bill to regulate internships
On 3 March, the Council of Ministers approved the bill on the “Status for persons undergoing non-professional practical training in companies”. The text limits the number of interns a company can...
3
EU: co-legislators aim to pivot European Globalisation Adjustment Fund towards restructuring anticipation
On 25 February, the Council of the EU and the Parliament reached an agreement on the Commission’s proposed regulation to expand the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF). Under the...
4
Block to slash workforce by nearly half
The news. In his latest shareholder letter, Jack Dorsey, CEO of payment service provider Block (formerly Square), announced plans to slash the company’s workforce “by nearly half, from...