Germany: Mercedes-Benz management at the Sindelfingen facility agree with the works council on flexible working conditions geared to attract software experts
With its transformation process towards mobility in the future in full swing, the management team at Mercedes-Benz, Sindelfingen, announced on 25 June that it had reached an agreement with its...
United Kingdom: Court of Appeal rules that Deliveroo riders are self-employed
The judgment from the UK Court of Appeal came after the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) demanded that collective wage negotiations be held for around a dozen Deliveroo riders in...
Germany: court rules that the Christian trade union DHV does not have the right to sign collective agreements
On 22 June and in what in principle puts an end to a more than eight-year legal battle, the Federal Labor Court (BAG), in the last instance, ruled that the ‘DHV, Der Berufsgewerkschaft trade...
Spain: Telefónica signs an agreement on telework and on the implementation of a four-day working week
Together, Telefónica management and the CCOO and UGT trade unions have reached an agreement in principle to extend the collective agreement covering the 18,400 employees of the company's major...
22 June 2021
France: insurance group La Mutuelle Générale promotes “open work” concept after unanimous agreement on remote work
An agreement on remote working has been signed at French insurance group La Mutuelle Générale, which has given itself three years to trial a new way of working. Signed unanimously on 11 May by...
18 June 2021
Switzerland: trade unions alliance calls for legislative regulations over teleworking
Adapting Switzerland’s labor legislation to accommodate the widespread use of teleworking arrangements is the stated goal of "platform"; the name of a trade union alliance* that in particular...
Belgium: cross-industry agreement struck after months of deadlock
Following discussions that have dragged on for several months, the cross-industry agreement for 2021 and 2022 in Belgium has finally been struck. The so-called ‘Group of 10’ –...
France: Renault strikes agreement on remote work ahead of a revamp of work organisation
The agreement signed by Renault and industrial workers’ federation Industriall Global Union in April on remote work, which took the form of an addendum to an existing global framework agreement...
11 June 2021
Safran signs a European framework agreement on skills development
On 08 June, the French defense and aerospace technology company together with IndustriAll Europe signed a new framework agreement on employment. It includes a training and jobs mobility program...
Generali: a joint European declaration to provide a sustainable framework for crisis situations
On 10 May, Italian insurance group Generali and its European Works Council signed a joint declaration with provisions to cover crisis situations beyond Covid-19. It guarantees the preservation of...
Germany: rubber industry pens first agreement on trade unions’ right to “virtual access” to employees
The social partners in Germany’s rubber industry have achieved a first in the country by signing a branch agreement that will authorise and regulate the right of trade unions to engage with...
Italy: collective agreement renewed for logistics, freight and parcel shipment sector
On 18 May the social partners in the logistics, freight and parcel-shipping sector signed an agreement to renew their national collective agreement (NCA), which covers almost 1 million workers...
Great Britain: UK becomes the first and currently only country where Uber allows workers to unionize
Uber has signed a landmark agreement with the GMB union that allows the union to represent its approximately 70,000 within the UK. This landmark deal marks a departure from the ride-hailing...
Italy: generational renewal programs pick up the pace at corporate giants TIM (ex Telecom Italia) and Enel
Telephony giant TIM, which has set up a major voluntary early retirement program (c.f. article No.12419), is now committed to making 750 new hires during 2021 and 2022. The bulk of the recruitment...
Germany: vote on Works Council modernization law is passed
On May 21 2021, Germany’s federal deputies voted the law on the modernization of works councils (Betriebsrätemodernisierungsgesetz). With this text (c.f. article No. 12448), the...
Germany: decline of collective agreements slows slightly in 2020
The Institute for Employment Research (IAB), which is part of Germany’s Federal Employment Agency, has just published figures on the scope of collective agreements in 2020. These figures are...
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: collective agreement for rubber and plastics sector focuses on new skills
A month ahead of schedule, the Federazione Gomma Plastica employers' organisation and the Filctem-Cgil, Femca-Cisl and Uiltec trade unions have renewed the collective agreement for the rubber and...
5 January 2026
5
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...
6
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