Spain: government and social partners in automobile and construction industries issue recommendations on workplace safety to govern the recommencement of work
After 14 days with all non-essential activity in Spain brought to a complete halt, the country’s industry and construction sectors have gradually recommenced activity following the Easter weekend...
15 April 2020
EU: social partners in Europe’s food industry agree on guidelines to safeguard the health of workers in the sector
On 9 April, the European Federation of Trade Unions in the Food, Agriculture and Tourism sectors (EFFAT) and the European employer organisation FoodDrinkEurope agreed on guidelines to protect the...
15 April 2020
Germany: agreement on health and safety conditions for resumption of production reached at Volkswagen
At Volkswagen, where the production of spare parts has partially resumed following the Easter weekend, management and the central works council at the German car manufacturer presented, on...
14 April 2020
Italy: Ferrari unveils innovative ‘Back on Track’ project ahead of activity recommencing
Drawn up in collaboration with a pool of virologists and experts, and with the support of the Emilia Romagna region, the ‘Back on Track’  project unveiled by Ferrari seeks to provide a safe...
14 April 2020
Italy: FCA and unions define health and safety conditions ahead of sites reopening
On Thursday 9 April the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles group (FCA) and all the Italian trade unions, including FIOM-Cgil, signed an agreement on guidelines to prevent the spread of coronavirus, which...
10 April 2020
Spain: government and social partners prepare for end of lockdown
Representatives of the CEOE and Cepyme employer organisations and of the CCOO and UGT trade unions have begun working with the government on an end to the period of lockdown, implemented to...
Great Britain: an agreement allowing Rolls-Royce to return to work
On 08 April amid the coronavirus crisis, the trade union Unite revealed that it had negotiated a series of measures with the engineering giant that manufactures aircraft engines in order to...
Belgium: various types of compensation for employees in the mass retail market
The mass retail sector has been under pressure since the very start of the health crisis. After an unsuccessful first round of sectoral negotiations that were undertaken at the end of March with...
EU: Carrefour, Auchan Retail and Uni Global Union to share best practices on preventive measures for workers and consumers regarding the Covid-19 pandemic
On 09 April, the international trade union federation UNI Global Union, together with Auchan Retail and the Carrefour Group signed a joint declaration on the implementation of good business...
France: Société Générale agreement on rest days and remuneration maintenance during the Covid-19 pandemic
An agreement signed on 2 April with the CFTC, CGT, and SNB (specific banking sector organisation) trade unions affirms the principle of maintaining remuneration for all staff during the health...
France: PSA agreement includes a solidarity-based 100% guarantee of salaries for employees on partial activity and a facility for adjusting summer holidays to facilitate business resumption
On 07 April an ‘agreement on social solidarity, and the protection and health of employees and the company’ was signed by the French auto manufacturer along with 4 of the 5 representative trade...
France: metallurgy sector agreement on emergency measures to deal with paid leave, rest days, and working hours
On 3 April the metallurgy sector’s employers’ body, the UIMM, along with the relevant trade union federations, the CFE-CGC, CFDT and FO (the CGT absent) signed an agreement on work organization...
Italy: UniCredit agree with trade unions on 5,200 early retirements to be partly made up by 3,500 hirings and the stabilization of precarious employment contracts
In less than two months, UniCredit banking group and the relevant trade unions have managed to conclude tense negotiations on 6,000 job cuts that are part of the bank’s 2023 strategic plan (c.f...
Solvay: global framework agreement on digital transformation signed
The global framework agreement on digital transformation at Belgian chemicals group Solvay was signed on 17 March after being “discussed and elaborated with the European Works Council (EWC) and...
EU: European trade union federations issue joint recommendations to EWCs on “anticipating and managing the impact in multinational companies” of Covid-19
This list of joint recommendations, which were issued at the end of March by all of Europe’s trade union federations (Uni Europa, IndustriAll Europe, EPSU, EFFAT, ETF and EFBW), is aimed at staff...
Spain: Inditex keeps Zaragoza logistics centre up and running thanks to volunteer staff who will work two days
Trade unions and management of the main logistics centre of Spanish clothing giant Inditex, which owns Zara, have struck an agreement on how the site’s operations will be curtailed during the...
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...