Spain: a new collective agreement for call centers
The CCOO and UGT unions together with employers’ body, the ACE, have signed a new collective agreement for the call center sector, which guarantees the maintenance of purchasing power and...
Germany: launch of a ‘national dialogue’ on workplace stress
Germany’s authorities and social partners continue to focus on the direct and indirect effects of workplace stress. In spite of the many nationwide plans and laws on the issue and against a...
Great Britain: almost 500 companies are now committed to combatting mental health in the workplace
Ranging from airplane engine maker Rolls-Royce to the restaurant chain Pizza Hut, supermarket chains Tesco and Marks & Spencer, not forgetting the Virgin Money bank plus gas giant British Gas...
Germany: new initiative looks to encourage company agreements on digitalisation
An initiative launched in Germany, named ‘Arbeit 2020 in NRW’, has been looking at, among other things, how companies can adjust to the trend of digitalisation while avoiding a negative impact on...
Italy: new study on labour transformation in the financial sector
A new study led by the Fisac-Ggil union in Milan, in partnership with the consortium Aaster, has surveyed the opinions of 1,000 employees from banking and insurance companies on the impact of...
Germany: the German economy is adapting its professions to meet the digital age
In Germany, the digitalization of the economy has become a nationwide issue and is now sitting high up on the agendas of the social partners, the political parties and businesses alike. Following...
Sweden: an agreement for the temporary employment sector that is in line with the Swedish model
“Difficult negotiations” recognized LO (Landsorganisationen i Sverige/ The Swedish Trade Union Confederation) when it announced on 11 May 2017 that a new agreement for the temporary employment...
Italy: collective agreement in gas and water sector renewed
Following 16 months of tense negotiations, an agreement was reached on 18 May between trade unions and employer organisations to renew the collective agreement for the gas and water sector. The...
Japan: businesses responding to a continuing manpower shortage
In spite of moves to employ older workers and to rationalize human resources, Japan’s manpower shortage continues to worsen and is plunging the country’s labor market into a dilemma at a time when...
Schneider Electric: a European agreement on the anticipation and development of competencies and employment with respect to its business strategy
On 18 May the world leader in energy management and automation solutions together with the European union federation, IndustriAll Europe, signed an agreement with that ‘sets out the minimum shared...
Great Britain: Conservative party election manifesto addresses ‘Soft’ Brexit, controlled immigration, and new rights for workers
On 18 May Tory Prime Minister Theresa May presented her party’s election manifesto ahead of the 08 June polls. Should the Tories win, and the polls are overwhelmingly pointing to this outcome...
Briefly: chemical sector agreement in Belgium
Planet Labor, 18 May 2017, nº10214 - www.planetlabor.com
Great Britain: real wages fall for the first time since 2014
Average weekly income (excl. bonuses) rose 2.1% in March in the UK, which is just below the current inflation rate of 2.3%. This is the first fall in real wages in three years. Unions are worried...
Germany: metals workers seek more independence over deciding their working time
On 16 May and ahead of the metal sector collective negotiations that are scheduled to start this autumn, IG Metall president Jörg Hoffmann presented the results of the second part of the ‘giant’...
Spain: those in precarious occupations mobilize to defend their rights
Independent freelancers, workers on very short-term contracts, and ad hoc workers operating in sectors that are well under the trade unions radars are turning to social networks to mobilize...
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...