Brazil: Dilma Rousseff has launched a new jobs protection program to limit layoffs during crisis periods
In force since July 07, Brazil’s job protection program the PPE aims to support businesses in the industrial sector that are affected by the economic slowdown. The program will subsidize workers’...
Italy: separate agreement that renews a collective agreement for both Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and CNH Industrial
Following 9 months of negotiations, both FCA and CNH Industrial concluded a separate agreement to renew a collective agreement that runs from 2015 – 2018 and applies to 85,000 employees. It...
Great Britain: surprise announcement of an obligatory living wage
On Wednesday July 08 and before an incredulous Labour Party David Cameron’s government presented its first 100% Conservative party budget since the party was reelected to power and in it announced...
Germany: train drivers’ union GDL takes the law on single unions to the Federal Constitutional Court
On July 07, the day following Germany’s President, Joachim Gauck signed the controversial law on single trade unions the corporatist union GDL announced it would soon lodge a complaint against the...
Great Britain: new conciliation service resolves around half of tribunal claims before their actual court date
‘Early Conciliation’ was launched in Britain in April 2014 and requires those thinking of making an Employment Tribunal claim to notify the arbitration service Acas who then tries to resolve the...
Great Britain: Pressure increasing from shareholders and stakeholders for retailers to pay the living wage
Major retailers like supermarkets (Tesco, Morrisons, Marks and Spencer and Sainsbury’s) as well as clothes chain, Next, are experiencing a barrage of unwanted and critical attention from...
Société Générale: interview with Jean-François Climent, Director of Industrial Relations, on the global agreement on fundamental rights
On June 03, 2015, Société Générale and UNI Global Union signed a global agreement on fundamental rights  (c.f. article No. 9111). Jean-François Climent, Director of Industrial Relations explains...
Italy: trade unions and civil society present the Workers Act as an alternative to Prime Minister Renzi’s Jobs Act
Put forward as an alternative to the Jobs Act, the Workers Act was presented at the CGIL headquarters head office at Modena. The Sbilanciamoci! network, an array of 51 associations and Catholic...
Germany: Deutsche Post and Verdi bury the hatchet
The biggest dispute at Deutsche Post for twenty years finally came to a close in the evening of 05 July. At the end of almost four weeks of strike action plus a final 3-day negotiation marathon...
Italy: Whirlpool concludes a framework agreement with unions as a way to avoid layoffs
After months of mobilization, the metals sector unions secured changes to Whirlpool’s initial restructuring plans involving 2,060 layoffs and the closure of two sites following its purchase of...
Great Britain: construction union UCATT succeeds in banning the use of umbrella companies by two local authorities
The Construction union, the Union of Construction and Allied Technical Trades (UCATT), has secured its first two major victories in its campaign against the use of ‘umbrella companies’ used by...
Belgium: oil sector signs new collective agreement
On June 24, Belgium’s oil sector signed its collective agreement for the period 2015/2016. Unions secured the maximum in terms of pay rises as well as improved provisions for quality of life and...
Germany: longest strike in the history of rail comes to an end
Relief for Germany on the eve of the summer holidays: caught up in a year long apparently intractable dispute, the train drivers’ union GDL together with management at Deutsche Bahn announced on...
Denmark: government’s new programme banks on growth and jobs in the private sector
Yesterday, on 28 June, new Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen presented his cabinet and his government’s programme. As regards the labour market he is planning, amongst other things, to revise...
Germany: the strike at Deutsche Post DHL has started a legal free-for-all
Week three of the strike organized by the services union Verdi at Deutsche Post DHL (DP-DHL) comes to a close without the social partners moving one step closer to agreement. In fact it has been...
Italy: Poste Italiane Spa has come to an agreement with the unions over a new business and organizational model for its post-offices
The Italian post services group has reached an agreement with unions over a new business and organizational model to transform its post-offices across the country. The agreement significantly...
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
Oliver Dietrich (IG Metall): “The advent of AI can be a means of deepening social partnership within companies”
In Germany, trade unions want to influence how AI is deployed in companies. Oliver Dietrich is an AI project manager at the regional office of the IG Metall trade union in North Rhine-Westphalia...
2
EU: social partners split over competitiveness and action on job quality
The European Trade Union Confederation and BusinessEurope have published their response to the consultation document on the European Commission's upcoming EU quality jobs initiative. The two...
4 February 2026
3
Germany: collective bargaining negotiations begin in chemical industry
Collective bargaining talks in Germany’s chemical and pharmaceutical industries are due to open this week, covering nearly 580,000 employees across around 1,700 companies. With the sector facing...
3 February 2026
4
Italy: new generational renewal agreement penned at UniCredit
The agreement signed on 30 December by UniCredit, Italy’s second-largest banking group, with the Fabi, First-Cisl, Fisac-Cgil, Uilca and Unisin trade unions aims to continue generational...
5
France: social partner talks extend far beyond contractual terminations
After a false start on 3 December, French social partners resumed talks on 7 January 2026 on potential changes to the unemployment insurance agreement, including the rules governing compensation...
12 January 2026
6
EU: banking sector social partners commit to combating violence and harassment
On 15 January, the trade union federation UNI Europa Finance and three employers’ associations in the banking sector signed a joint statement on preventing violence and harassment in the...