Labour relations

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

Consequences of a ‘hard Brexit’ for EWCs

In her speech at the Conservative Party conference the UK prime minister, Theresa May, seemed to clearly indicate that the UK was heading for a “hard Brexit. This would mean that EU law no longer...

3 November 2016

United Kingdom: UCATT and Unite agree to merge and create super construction union

The British construction workers’ union UCATT is to merge with the country’s largest trade union, Unite. The merger, which will be effective as of 1 January 2017, will create a dominant union in...

3 November 2016

Switzerland: Unia uses its Congress meeting to combat what it sees as social deconstruction

Switzerland’s largest trade union, Unia, gathered in Geneva from 27-29 October for its four-yearly congress meeting. The trade union body with some 200,000 members from various professions...

2 November 2016

Man and Scania secure an agreement safeguarding jobs at global level until 2026

How does one have two companies in the same business sector and in the same business group collaborate together whilst still securing jobs for both and quieting workers concerns? Volkswagen Truck...

2 November 2016

United States: New York creates framework for freelancers

On 27 October, elected representatives in New York City approved a new law entitled “Freelance Isn’t Free” which introduces the first basic rights for freelance workers, governing their...

31 October 2016

Spain: Rajoy proposes social pacts to opposition parties

On the inauguration of his second term in office, Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy proposed a series of social pacts to other political groups. In particular, the pacts involve strengthening...

31 October 2016

Hungary : a law aimed at reducing the presence of foreign-owned supermarkets brings down a Hungarian company

In Hungary it is apparently better to work for a multinational company than a domestic firm. In the retail sector, foreign companies will have a union presence more often than homegrown companies...

31 October 2016

Brazil: in the forthcoming 2017 wage negotiations the Sao Paolo IT sector union will call for a drop in weekly working hours from 40 to 30

On 19 October, Sindpd, the major IT sector trade union body representing IT workers in Brazil’s high tech region of Sao Paulo, announced it would be calling for a drop in weekly working hours from...

27 October 2016

Italy: Confindustria president puts an ‘Industry Pact’ forward to trade unions

On 22 October, Vincenzo Boccia, president of Italy’s employers’ body, Confindustria put a proposal to unions to launch discussions on the potential for an ‘Industry Pact between factory...

26 October 2016

Sweden: a united union front reflecting lessons learnt during the 2016 negotiations

2017 will be a busy year with some 500 collective agreements open for negotiation. This time round however the 2016 dispersed individual approach will be shunned by the LO union confederation...

25 October 2016

Great Britain: companies to be ‘ranked’ according to a social mobility index

From 2017, the UK government will publish an index ranking companies in terms of their ability to employ talent from all backgrounds. Inclusion in this landmark index system will be entirely...

25 October 2016

Italy: collective negotiations deadlocked in several key sectors of Italian industry

In a number of sectors – clothing, leather and shoes, ceramics, energy and oil, insurance – employer groups and trade unions in Italy find themselves deadlocked in their attempts to reach national...

24 October 2016

HP: the US company is transferring its European representation management from the UK to Ireland as a means of avoiding any legal uncertainties over the legislation applying to its EWC

Planet Labor understands HP has informed the SNB, which is negotiating the agreement implementing the EWC (following the members' own denunciation of the previous agreement), of the transfer of...

20 October 2016

Australia: after a union report highlights low pay levels, the Airtasker outsourcing platform recommends pay rates in excess of the minimum wage

This popular web-based community marketplace for people and businesses to outsource tasks was singled out in a report by Unions NSW, which indicates that workers are receiving pay below the legal...

20 October 2016

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Following the lead of firms such as Axa, Syensqo globally, and more recently CDC Habitat, La Poste group management will open negotiations on an AI regulation agreement during the first half of...

5 March 2026

France: Crédit Agricole to tighten remote work rules

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

France: Orange submits gender equality agreement – including AI provisions – for union approval

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

mind RH analysis – Initial findings from CSRD social indicators

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

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France: Bayer puts female health and inclusive parenthood at the centre of its equality policy

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25 September 2026

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

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

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...

8 October 2026

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

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