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Japan: unions are demanding a minimum 2% rise in wages for 2015
Japan’s traditional annual pay negotiations (Shunto) started on January 29. The main union confederation, Rengo has demanded a minimum 2% rise in salaries for 2015. Against a backdrop of 20 years...
30 January 2015
Germany: IG Metall mobilises thousands of employees for initial warning strikes
IG Metall issued the first warning shot in the collective negotiations concerning the metal industry, which comprises 3.7 million employees. Just after midnight, when the social clause prohibiting...
29 January 2015
SCOR: signs a charter on professional equality with the EWC
On January 29, the reinsurance group together with the Common European Companies Committee (SCOR comprises three European Companies – Societas Europeae) signed a charter on professional equality. ...
29 January 2015
Germany: renewed discord within the grand coalition government over the minimum wage
Barely four weeks after Germany’s historic move to introduce a universal national minimum wage of 8.5 euros per hour, the parliamentary Christian-Democrat group, the CDU/CSU, unanimously adopted...
29 January 2015
Great Britain: the GMB and Unite unions intervene to save fracking
Although during the summer British unions had argued for the implementation of a united opposition to the controversial issue of shale gas activities, the country’s largest union Unite, together...
28 January 2015
Turkey: an all out metal workers strike is set to begin on January 29
Birleşik Metal-İş the Turkish metals union federation and affiliated with IndustriALL Global Union has announced strike action for the metals sector for January 29. Strikers will protest the...
28 January 2015
Italy: a majority of Telecom Italia workers have rejected a restructuring agreement for its Caring Services division that was seen as a potential means of remote monitoring
More than half of Telecom Italia’s workers who voted, have rejected an agreement between the company and the trade unions; SLC-CGIL, Fistel-Cisl, UIlcom-UIl, to restructure the Caring Services...
28 January 2015
China: dramatic rise in social movement in 2014
According to data from the Hong Kong based NGO, China Labour bulletin, there were 569 incidents of social protest in the fourth quarter of 2014; more than three times as many as the same period in...
26 January 2015
Ikea: union recognition for KOOP-IS within the Ikea franchise in Turkey thanks to international trade union action
Turkish Ministry of Labour has recognised the trade union KOOP-IS within Mapa, the Ikea franchise in Turkey, allowing it to negotiate and sign collective agreements. The union recognition is the...
23 January 2015
Total: Global CSR agreement signed with IndustriALL Global Union
With already three European agreements under its belt, the oil giant Total signed its first global agreement with the global union federation on 22 January in Davos (Switzerland). This is a...
22 January 2015
Famar: establishment of a European Works Council
On the 2nd of October 2014, the Greek company Famar established a European Works Council (EWC) subject to Luxembourg legislation. The company has more than 3000 employees in 5 European countries...
22 January 2015
Great Britain : boosting skills in the automobile industry
At a time where the British automobile industry in booming, mainly supported by international investments, the government and the manufacturers have announced they will spend 30 million Pounds on...
22 January 2015
Great Britain: are salaries really too low?
Whilst strike action demanding higher wages has become more frequent over the past few months all political bodies including the Prime Minister David Cameron are now calling for businesses to...
20 January 2015
Italy: experts examine the new ‘indefinite employment contracts with rising levels of social protection’
The first decree from the Jobs Act that was approved in December 2014 (c.f. article No. 8763) will replace most cases of employee re-instatement due to unfair dismissal (Article 18 of the Workers...
20 January 2015
Poland: the government and unions sign an agreement ending a wave of miners’ protests in Silesia
The agreement signed on Saturday January 18 ended significant social protest by miners in Silesia that has been ongoing since January 7 when a recovery plan for the largest mining company in...
20 January 2015
Germany: IG Metall puts co-determination and vocational training in preparation for the increasing digitalization of the industry at the center of its 2015 priorities
A few days after the metal industry regional negotiations on renewing collective agreements got off to a start on January 14, 2015 the president of IG Metall, Detlef Wetzel has given positive...
20 January 2015
Our mind news
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
Candice Guillot, group director of employee experience and HR performance at Talan (7,000 employees), outlines for mind RH her vision and strategy for introducing artificial intelligence at the...
20 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
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...
21 January 2026
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...
15 January 2026
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...
16 January 2026