National industrial relations
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- Collective agreement
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Spain: plan launched to bring back those who emigrated during the crisis
On 22 March, the Spanish government presented an array of 50 measures to simplify the process of returning to the country, for those who have emigrated abroad. The measures seek, amongst other...
25 March 2019
Mexico: State of Coahuila signs ‘Pact for social dialogue and decent work’ with social partners
On 6 March, an agreement on social dialogue was reached by the governor of the Mexican state of Coahuila, the mayors of the 36 largest cities in the state, heads of companies and trade union...
25 March 2019
Solvay: agreement to maintain the UK within the scope of group’s EWC
The management at the Belgian chemicals group and members of its European Works Council have decided that “considering the importance of social dialogue in the company, the continuity should...
19 March 2019
Germany: 3.7% pay rise and ‘options model’ for a wage supplement in the steel sector
Social partners in Germany’s steel industry announced a new collective agreement for the 72,000 workers in the areas of North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Bremen, where the majority of the...
18 March 2019
Germany: “Today we need the best level of protection possible, a little less in terms of overall rules, and agreements that provide employees with more autonomy over decision making,” Jörg Hofmann, President of IG Metall
In an interview with Planet Labor, Jörg Hofmann, President of IG Metall (and of the international federation, IndustriALL Global Union) explained how the union is addressing employment problems...
14 March 2019
Unilever: agreement signed with EWC on the ‘Future of Work’ to support retraining of workers and the development of employment models that are more compatible with their expectations
On Wednesday 5 March, the management at consumer goods group Unilever signed an agreement on the ‘future of work’ with its European Works Council. The deal sets out jointly-devised measures, to be...
12 March 2019
Germany: according to the WSI, flexible working modes are tending to cement traditional gender roles
A study by the Hans-Böckler WSI institute, published on 05 March, has shown that the uptake of flexible working modes (teleworking, trust based working, mobile hours /Gleitzeit) is gender...
6 March 2019
Argentina: annual salary negotiations more fraught than ever
The backdrop for negotiations in Argentina this year consists of a recession, the pressure of inflation as well as uncertainty ahead of presidential elections in October 2019. While trade unions...
4 March 2019
Argentina: number of occupational illness and workplace accident disputes plummets
In Q3 2018, occupational illness and workplace accident disputes in Argentina plunged 42% compared with the same period in 2017 representing a record according to the study carried out by ART...
28 February 2019
Italy: an agreement to cover call centers
On 21 February, Italy’s employers’ body Asstel (Confindustria’s Telecom branch), together with the trade unions SLC-Cgil, Fistel-Cisl and Uilcom, signed a significant framework agreement that sets...
27 February 2019
Belgium: employers and unions agree upon a draft cross-industry agreement for period 2019-2020 (in brief)
Despite difficult negotiations that saw trade unions critical of the ‘too low’ 2019-2020 wage margin threshold calculated by the Central Economic Council at 0.8% (c.f. article No. 10968), twenty...
26 February 2019
Italy: time for money – the new trend in company agreements
At some Italian companies, agreements reached with trade unions include arrangements that ‘exchange’ time for money. For example, workers have been given the opportunity to convert part of their...
25 February 2019
Spain: Vodafone agreement over 1,000 job loss plan
Vodafone Spain is set to implement its plan to wield the redundancy axe. The relevant trade unions: CCOO, UGT, and STC, have agreed to a social plan that intends for the Vodafone Spain workforce...
25 February 2019
Italy: banking sector social partners commit to tackling sexual harassment and gender-based violence
During the week of February 11 2019, the banking sector social partners (the employers’ body the ABI -Associazione Bancaria Italiana and the trade union bodies, Fabi, First-Cisl, Fisac-Cgil...
21 February 2019
India: concept of minimum income now a discussion topic
Since January 2019 the small Himalayan State of Sikkim has become India’s first region to promise a universal minimum income. Congress Party president Rahul Gandhi also set the concept in motion...
21 February 2019
ENGIE: social forum held to renew focus on implementing European agreement to anticipate industry changes and safeguard employability
Back in 2016, the energy group ENGIE signed a European agreement with three union federations – IndustriALL Europe, EPSU (European Public Services Union) and the EFBW (European Federation of...
18 February 2019
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