Sweden: an agreement in principle on flexible retirement in the service sector
Both the Unionen (private sector union) and Sveriges Ingenjörer (Swedish engineers) unions welcomed securing an agreement in principle on 11 November with the employers’ organization, Almega, and...
22 November 2016
Germany: Volkswagen plans to cut 23,000 jobs in Germany but hopes to create 9,000 new positions in the areas of e-mobility and digitalisation
On 18 November, after months of tense negotiations, the world’s largest car manufacturer and its general works council signed a ‘pact for the future’ which will kick-start the most comprehensive...
21 November 2016
Bulgaria: campaign launched to improve working conditions for suppliers and subcontractors for multinational companies
On 4 October, after more than six months of planning, Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CITUB) – Bulgaria’s largest trade union – launched a national campaign in partnership with two...
21 November 2016
Italy: national tourism sector collective agreement is signed
On 14 November, following more than three years of negotiations, the employers’ bodies, Federturismo Confindustria and Confindustria Alberghi, together with the trade union bodies, Filcams-Cgil...
16 November 2016
Qatar 2022: union experts to inspect World Cup football project sites
On 15 November the organization responsible for delivering the infrastructure required for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC), signed a Memorandum...
16 November 2016
United States: services union SEIU ordered to pay a company for damage to its reputation as a result of its unionization campaign
In September, a civil court jury ordered the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) to pay $7.8 million to the Professional Janitorial Service of Houston (PJS), ruling the union was too...
15 November 2016
Verallia: agreement to put an EWC in place
On 23 September 2016, Verallia, a world leader in glass packaging and former Saint Gobain subsidiary (sold in 2015), concluded an agreement (subject to French law) that institutes a European Works...
15 November 2016
Germany: the DGB’s 2016 quality of work index shows digitalization is weighing heavily on workers
On Thursday 10 November the Confederation of German Trade Unions (Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund, DGB) presented its annual ‘Gute Arbeit’ (Good Work) index, which pilloried the problems arising from...
14 November 2016
Spain: UGT and CCOO differ in approach to salary negotiations
The UGT and CCOO, the two trade union bodies, face the employers’ organisations side by side and united in their objective, to create jobs and improve working conditions and salaries. However...
14 November 2016
Italy: Finance Law intends to support 25,000 banking sector job losses
Italy’s 2017 Finance law, which has started out on its parliamentary process, sets aside €648 million over the next five years to assist the 25,000 banking sector employees forecasted to be laid...
11 November 2016
United Kingdom: Scotland comes to the rescue for trade unions facing the Trade Union Act
As fiercely independent as ever and never one to miss an opportunity to demarcate Scotland’s separateness, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has allocated trade unions £250,000 (€284,200) in...
11 November 2016
United States: Republican program intends to “to challenge the anachronistic labor laws”
Although difficult to define clearly, it is likely that the US President elect, Donald Trump’s, future labor relations orientation will be characterized by weaker and criticized trade unions.
9 November 2016
Great Britain: as with Uber, a trade union is putting pressure on Deliveroo
A UK trade union has officially asked management at Deliveroo (a British online food delivery company) for recognition to bargain on behalf of the couriers. Following the recent employment...
9 November 2016
Italy: dispute between Foodora management and bike couriers
Social tension reigns at the Italian subsidiary of German-based online restaurant-prepared food delivery company Foodora. A group of bicycle couriers has undertaken a series of protests against...
9 November 2016
Austria: 1.68% wage increase in metal sector
Facets of the agreement. On Friday 4 November, the Association of Austrian Machinery and Metalware (FMMI), a grouping of employers, and the unions representing industry workers (PRO-GE) and...
4 November 2016
China: a rule legalizing Uber-type taxi services comes into force
Legal clarity dawns. From 01 November 2016, Uber-type taxi services are to be legalized and thus supervised. Every town and city will be able to issue relevant conditions. The text is flexible in...
4 November 2016
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
France: Bayer puts female health and inclusive parenthood at the centre of its equality policy
In a new agreement on gender equality highlighted by mind RH, Bayer commits to strengthening its parenthood policy. Furthermore, the company is anticipating pay transparency and introducing...
25 September 2026
2
Germany: Volkswagen cancels almost all collective bargaining agreements signed with IG Metall
The Volkswagen brand announced on 30 September that it is terminating 10 of its 13 internal collective bargaining agreements, effective 31 December 2026. The announcement, which the carmaker...
1 October 2026
3
France: final document on the work of the Labour, Employment and Pensions Conference
After six months of discussions between French social partners, the guarantors of the Labour, Employment and Pensions Conference submitted the conclusions of the discussions to the Prime Minister...
17 September 2026
4
Germany: Employers’ representatives seek to limit the rights of works councils
The Employers' Federation of German Employers' Associations (Bundesvereinigung der Deutschen Arbeitgeberverbände - BDA) published a report at the end of September in which it proposes a...
5
Germany: working time dispute between Mercedes and the IG Metall Union
The news. At the beginning of September, Mercedes-Benz asked employee representatives and the IG Metall union to agree to an increase in the weekly working time from 35 to 40 hours, without any...
16 September 2026
6
Germany: major day of union action in the automotive industry ahead of collective bargaining
A few weeks before the start of collective bargaining in the German metalworking sector, the IG Metall trade union mobilised nearly 175,000 workers across more than 200 industrial sites on 21...
22 September 2026