National industrial relations
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United Kingdom: one year on from the launch of the government’s industrial strategy, employers call for new impetus
In November 2017, UK Prime Minister Theresa May turned the page on the Thatcher era by establishing an industrial strategy with companies, which would seek to boost the country’s economy and...
30 November 2018
Germany : with ‘Lex Ryanair’ as a backdrop, Sun Express agrees to set up a works council (in brief)
A draft amendment by the Labor Minister aimed at facilitating the setting up of a works council in the airline sector and commonly called ‘Lex Ryanair’ (c.f. article No. 10897) looks to be...
29 November 2018
Alcoa : a Dutch court holds that EWC information and consultation can take place at the same time as consultation at national level
On 27 November 2018, the Dutch court rejected the claim made by the Alcoa EWC that the company had to first conclude consultation procedures with the EWC before concluding consultations...
28 November 2018
Greece: the Alexis Tsipras government is moving gingerly towards post-austerity reforms
On 28 November the largest trade union in the private sector, the General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE), called for a 24-hour general strike under the banner ‘get back to the €751 minimum...
28 November 2018
News update as of November 26, 2018
Ireland/Fórsa trade union calls for four-day working week. Fórsa, the second-largest trade union in Ireland, last week called for the establishment of a four-day working week as the new standard...
26 November 2018
Telefónica recognises right of employees worldwide to digitally disconnect
On November 23, Telefónica's management signed a document of intent recognising the right of its employees to digitally disconnect. With the endorsement of the trade union organizations in Spain...
26 November 2018
Spain : Banco Santander commits to a non-disruptive merger with Banco Popular (in brief)
On 21 November Banco Santander together with the trade unions signed a 'Merger Protocol' document in which management wholly renounces all disruptive measures during the upcoming reorganization of...
23 November 2018
Germany: how trade unions and employers intend to bolster the eroding system of collective agreements
Anniversary dates are often an opportunity to take stock of a situation and lay bare any key differences. Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the signing of the first collective agreement in...
22 November 2018
India: the ILO, government, employers, and trade unions commit to promoting quality jobs
India’s latest Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) as set out by government, employers bodies representatives, workers representatives, and the ILO provides a framework so that the nation’s...
22 November 2018
Austria: huge strike avoided after collective agreement is reached in main branch of metal industry
Social partners in the main branch of Austria’s metal industry (machinery and tools) reached a collective agreement in the late hours on Sunday 18 November, meaning the sector narrowly avoided a...
19 November 2018
Germany: many metals workers are opting for more free time over extra money
In February 2018 the metal sector’s social partners signed a landmark collective agreement that allowed certain categories of worker (posted workers, workers with young families, workers taking...
13 November 2018
Great Britain: Lloyds Banking Group’s landmark digital social plan
Is new technology more of a threat to jobs than Brexit? Some in the UK are asking this question after private banking group Lloyds announced on 06 November a major shake-up in jobs as part of a...
8 November 2018
Spain: Carrefour bolsters its equality plan
On 30 October, Fetico, CCOO, UGT et Fasga unions signed a second equality plan for Carrefour Spain’s hypermarket/supermarket outlets that includes 120 new measures and implements positive...
6 November 2018
Great Britain: minimum wage to go up by almost 5% in 2019
On 29 October Chancellor P. Hammond delivered his final budget speech to the House of Commons before the UK formally leaves the EU and with it he hailed ‘The era of austerity is finally coming to...
30 October 2018
Japan: a shake up in the way young graduates are usually recruited
For the new president of Keidanren, (Japan’s Business Federation) there is no doubt whatsoever that Japan’s graduate recruitment system (the Shukatsu system), which has been operating since 1953...
30 October 2018
UPU: Universal Postal Union signs a cooperation agreement with Uni Global Union
UPU is an intergovernmental organization and specialized agency of the United Nations, comprising 192 member countries and is the principal cooperation forum for actors in the postal sector, that...
30 October 2018
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