Germany: government scales back ambitions for corporate duty of vigilance bill
In an article published on Thursday 25 June, the business daily Handelsblatt lifts the lid on the broad outlines of a bill being prepared, which would introduce a duty for companies to be vigilant...
26 June 2020
McDonald’s: trade unions file sexual harassment complaint with the OECD
An international group of trade unions is tackling ‘systematic sexual harassment" at McDonald's by bringing a case to the OECD for mediation. The complaint also targets two of the fast food...
EU: EU Commission to propose a regulation by 2021 on human rights due diligence in global supply chains
On 29 April the European media reported that EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders had announced that next year, and as part of the EU Commission’s 2021 work plan and the European Green...
6 May 2020
Great Britain: investors increasingly more vociferous over the gender gap
The Investment Association, a trade body representing UK investment managers, has written to 63 companies listed on the FTSE 350 criticizing them for the lack of female participation on their...
5 March 2020
CSR: major brands reportedly linked to Uyghur forced labor in China
In the foreword to the Uyghurs for Sale report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI* here), published on 01 March 2020, ‘The Chinese government has facilitated the mass transfer of...
4 March 2020
EU: the European Commission withdraws part of trade tariff preferences granted to Cambodia due to human rights violations
On 12 February the European Commission announced it was withdrawing some trade tariff preferences accorded to Cambodia because of ‘serious and systematic violations of the human rights principles...
13 February 2020
UN: UN Human Rights Office lists 112 companies with activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
This controversial list (here) that was published on 12 February has been subject to intense lobbing not least by a variety of NGOs and trade union bodies that are calling for greater transparency...
13 February 2020
Canada: bill tabled to require companies to reveal whether they employ forced labour
Julie Miville-Dechêne, the independent Canadian senator, has tabled a bill against modern slavery. Under the text, which has the support of a committee formed by all parties, all companies...
7 February 2020
Canada: class action brought against Hershey’s for misleading claims made regarding child labor in their cocoa supply chains
On 20 January, a Canadian consumer filed a class action lawsuit in the British Columbia Supreme Court against Hershey Canada Inc. and its parent establishments denouncing the fact the...
5 February 2020
Germany: Employment Minister seeks to require company monitoring of environmental and social standards compliance along their supply chains
On 09 December, the German Employment and Social Affairs Employment Minister, Hubertus Heil (SPD), announced during an interview that he, along with his Economic Cooperation and Development...
10 December 2019
The World Players Association reminds Sports Governing bodies (SGBs) of their CSR obligations
The World Players Association (WPA), that represents players and athletes globally (85,000 sportspeople across more than 100 players associations and across more than 60 countries), and which acts...
26 November 2019
Great Britain: legal firm threatens damages against tobacco giant British American Tobacco
Leigh Day, the UK-based legal firm, specializing in human rights, has sent a pre-action letter to the London headquarters of the tobacco giant British American Tobacco (BAT) announcing its...
5 November 2019
UN : discussions over a treaty on the liability of transnational businesses for human rights violations to recommence
The UN inter-governmental working group on transnational businesses and human rights is to hold a fifth session of discussions over an international, legally binding instrument between 14 and 18...
11 October 2019
88 NGOs and trade unions launch an appeal for a European regulation making human rights and environmental due diligence mandatory
On 03 October 2019 a coalition of 88 NGOs and European trade union organizations (ETUC, Uni Europa, EFBWW, EPSU, EFFAT, ETF, and IndustriAll Europe) called for the adoption of a regulation that...
10 October 2019
Germany: new ‘Green Button’ label created for textiles produced in line with social and environmental standards
In Berlin on 09 September, German Economic and Development Minister Gerd Müller (CSU), officially launched his key project creating the ‘Grüner Knopf’ (Green Button). The Federal Economic and...
11 September 2019
France: Samsung indicted for misleading business practices violating labor rights
On 03 July 2019, two French activist groups — Sherpa and ActionAid France signaled that the he French subsidiary of the Korean electronics giant Samsung was indicted. According to their...
22 July 2019
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
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...
31 October 2025
2
Italy: European pay transparency directive, a major step forward for businesses
Italy’s labour market continues to suffer from limited pay transparency and a persistent gender pay gap. The forthcoming implementation of the EU pay transparency directive — still awaiting...
14 October 2025
3
Germany: EU pay transparency directive to force companies to ‘get tough’
Germany introduced a pay transparency law in 2017, meaning companies are already somewhat familiar with the issue. However, the broader scope and stricter requirements of the EU directive, the...
24 October 2025
4
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
5
EU: Omnibus Directive clears key milestone in European Parliament
On 13 October, the European Parliament’s position on the Omnibus Directive was approved by its Committee on Legal Affairs by 17 votes to six. Regarding due diligence rules, the report...
13 October 2025
6
France: government proposes suspending pension reform
French prime minister Sébastien Lecornu, reappointed on 10 October after resigning four days earlier, delivered his general policy speech to the National Assembly on 14 October. He announced the...
15 October 2025