United Kingdom: sizeable pay rise for Rolls Royce employees, as it looks to reduce pension spending
After five months of intense negotiations, engineering company Rolls Royce has reached an agreement with trade unions that will see its 22,000 UK employees get a pay rise of between 7% and 11.7%...
Germany: company works councils focus increasingly on employee psychological welfare
Two years after the Hans-Böckler Foundation survey of company works councils’ major foci relating to negotiated company agreements (c.f. article No. 9681), the Foundation has repeated the project...
Germany: Deustche Bahn’s ‘digital pact’ intends for employees to share in the digital transformation related productivity gains
At the end of March 2018 Deutsche Bahn’s social partners signed a framework agreement on digitalization for the German rail company and on the means for establishing a ‘sustainable transformation...
Finland: agreement in the construction sector concludes cycle of decentralised negotiations
The agreement that has been struck in Finland’s construction sector marks the end of a period of negotiations, in progress since the summer of 2017, over the main collective agreements covering...
In brief, agreement in principle reached in Luxembourg’s banking sector
On Friday 11 May, social partners in Luxembourg’s banking sector announced that they had reached an agreement in principle on a new collective agreement for banks, to run from 1 January 2018 to 31...
Italy: mixed picture for employment data amid political tensions
Companies under pressure, the burgeoning gig economy, more and more unpaid internships and a rising number of temporary employment contracts: all these elements combining at a time when Italy is...
Germany: Deutsche Bahn’s ITC subsidiary DB Systel is undergoing major digital change
Deutsche Bahn’s ITC specialist subsidiary DB Systel has launched a radical transformation in its work organization that will affect its 4,000 workers. Already underway, the process has impacted...
Norway: a 2.8% salary increase for the offshore sector
On 04 May 2018 an agreement that delivers benefits to workers on offshore oil platforms was concluded between Norsk Olje og Gas, the employers’ body that groups companies operating in the offshore...
Germany: Deutsche Post only signing permanent employment contracts with the healthy
At Deutsche Post good health is a criterion for temporary employees to transition to permanent employment contracts. Deutsche Post has confirmed the Sunday publication revelation that has spurred...
Argentina: 15% salary increase agreement for the banking sector
Following months of negotiations that were marked by strike action, an agreement to raise salaries by 15% has been struck between the banking sector unions, employers’ bodies, and the government...
United States: geeks foray into militancy
Little by little Silicon Valley’s geek community is discovering the joys of militancy. Although not engaged to the extent of being members of a well known trade union such as the UAW, SEIU, or...
Latvia: an historic collective agreement signed for the construction sector
Roughly ten years ago Latvia’s construction sector was under the spotlight with a high profile court case that pitted Latvian construction company Laval un Partneri Ltd against the Swedish...
Germany: both unions and manager are skeptical over the basic income
Controversy reigning over whether or not to retain Hartz IV* unemployment benefits, the economy’s move towards digitalization and robotization, and a potential overhaul to the working time...
United Kingdom: industrial strategy for artificial intelligence unveiled
The UK government has unveiled a new so-called ‘sector deal’ for the artificial intelligence industry. Announced on 26 April, it follows sector deals dedicated to the life sciences, construction...
27 April 2018
United Kingdom: labour reform promised by the government continues to lag
On 18 April, the UK government published its response to labour law reform proposals put forward by two parliamentary committees. While Theresa May and her team recognise that things need to...
23 April 2018
Delivery Hero: German food delivery group agrees to creation of a works council and to equal representation on its supervisory board
The German parent company of the food-delivery service Foodora announced on 16 April that it had signed an agreement on worker representation, as it prepares to transition from an AG (public...
20 April 2018
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...