National industrial relations
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Finland: shop opening hours liberalized
In a bid to boost the economy, Finland’s government has just fully liberalized shop trading hours that took effect from the start of 2016. Unions in the retail sector are however wary of a...
19 January 2016
France: President François Hollande launches his “urgent plan” to combat unemployment
On 18 January, France’s president unveiled a series of measures to leaders of both the unions and employer’ bodies aimed at stopping the country’s unemployment from accelerating. The measures...
18 January 2016
Norway: in the face of the oil crisis, unity is sacrosanct
Redundancy announcements in the oil sector continue and Statoil is no exception since a global cost cutting program it launched several years ago ahead of consequences from the expected oil crisis...
18 January 2016
Spain: a new framework agreement for ArcelorMittal restores some of the advantages workers had forgone at the height of the economic crisis
On 15 January, the CCOO, UGT, ELA, and LAB unions announced they had concluded an agreement in principle on ArcelorMittal’s fifth framework agreement. Following years of effort by the company’s...
18 January 2016
Italy: CGIL, Cisl, and Uil put forward a new industrial relations model
On 14 January 2015, the executives at the CGIL, Cisl, and Uil union confederations approved a project for a new industrial relations model called “A modern industrial relations system. Towards...
18 January 2016
INOVYN: signature of an agreement to establish a European Works Council
The Solvay–Ineos joint venture has only recently got off the ground yet the chlorovinyls enterprise has already set up a European Works Council (EWC). On 07 January 2016 the agreement, negotiated...
14 January 2016
Great Britain: ACAS sounds the warning bell over bullying and harassment at work
The conciliation and arbitration service ACAS is warning that workplace harassment is a growing phenomenon in the UK and is calling on companies to change how they tackle the problem.
14 January 2016
Germany: IG Metall and Verdi sign an agreement to share competences in the industrial services’ collective agreements
Putting an end to their rivalry in the industrial services sector (including logistics, maintenance, development), Germany’s two big unions, IG Metall (metals and electronics) and Verdi (services)...
12 January 2016
EWCs : two recent EWCs for Ferrero and Avril put online
Just before the end of 2015 both the Italian and French agri-food groups (Ferrero and Avril respectively) renewed their European works council (EWC) agreements. Both agreements were negotiated...
12 January 2016
Brazil: rising discord between the government and unions
Relations continue to break down between the government and the social actors during a time when the main central unions, currently opposing Dilma Rousseff’s government’s economic policy, are...
12 January 2016
Great Britain: North Sea oil workers accept changes to working time organization in the face of lower oil prices
The long running industrial dispute between unionised North Sea oil workers and their employers over changes to shift working has ended. In response to a down turn in the price of oil, the members...
11 January 2016
Denmark : the association of IT Professionals, PROSA, is making great strides
Contrary to the general situation in Denmark of youth disaffection for trade unions, PROSA, the IT Professional labor organization, has seen its membership rise by 30% in the past five years. This...
8 January 2016
Mexico: the Maquiladoras industry in Ciudad Juárez is undergoing a hiring crisis as workers mobilize against the low wages that characterize this free trade zone
At the start of 2016, factories in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico’s major jobs generator, still have 22,000 positions to fill. For the very first time the low pay on offer is discouraging people from...
7 January 2016
Happy New Year
The team at Planet Labor wishes you a happy and healthy 2016 and looks forward to sharing stimulating European and International social affairs information.
6 January 2016
Germany: a year after its introduction, the first assessments of the minimum wage are emerging
On the first anniversary of the introduction of Germany’s minimum wage, Andrea Nahles, SPD Minister for Social Affairs and Employment, trade unions, and research institutes have arrived at a...
6 January 2016
Belgium: agreement signed regarding night work in e-commerce
On December 21, trade unions and employers signed an agreement on night work in the e-commerce industry. The government had asked social partners to engage in negotiations on the issue, without...
23 December 2015
Our mind news
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...
5 March 2026
Crédit Agricole is to adopt stricter rules on remote work from mid-March onwards. The rules will be tightened for employees, but the maximum number of days working remotely will remain unchanged.
29 January 2026
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...
8 December 2025
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
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
France: Bayer puts female health and inclusive parenthood at the centre of its equality policy
In a new agreement on gender equality highlighted by mind RH, Bayer commits to strengthening its parenthood policy. Furthermore, the company is anticipating pay transparency and introducing...
25 September 2026
2
Germany: Volkswagen cancels almost all collective bargaining agreements signed with IG Metall
The Volkswagen brand announced on 30 September that it is terminating 10 of its 13 internal collective bargaining agreements, effective 31 December 2026. The announcement, which the carmaker...
1 October 2026
3
France: final document on the work of the Labour, Employment and Pensions Conference
After six months of discussions between French social partners, the guarantors of the Labour, Employment and Pensions Conference submitted the conclusions of the discussions to the Prime Minister...
17 September 2026
4
Germany: Employers’ representatives seek to limit the rights of works councils
The Employers' Federation of German Employers' Associations (Bundesvereinigung der Deutschen Arbeitgeberverbände - BDA) published a report at the end of September in which it proposes a...
8 October 2026
5
Germany: working time dispute between Mercedes and the IG Metall Union
The news. At the beginning of September, Mercedes-Benz asked employee representatives and the IG Metall union to agree to an increase in the weekly working time from 35 to 40 hours, without any...
16 September 2026
6
Germany: major day of union action in the automotive industry ahead of collective bargaining
A few weeks before the start of collective bargaining in the German metalworking sector, the IG Metall trade union mobilised nearly 175,000 workers across more than 200 industrial sites on 21...
22 September 2026