Colombia: Carrefour and the brand new UTCC union sign their first wage agreement
Result of an international framework agreement.  UNI Global, the international federation, said this agreement was “historic.”  “We hope this marks the start of a new era for trade union freedom...
United States: highest low-wage jobs rate, OECD says
A recent report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) on “Low-wage Lessons” reminds that “about one-fourth of U.S. workers [are] in low-wage jobs, defined as earning less than...
Brazil: 7,000 workers still on strike at the Belo Monte dam project even though court ruled it illegal
“Abusing the right to strike.”  The Heavy Construction Workers’ Union of Para (Sindicato dos Trabalhadores nas Industrias da Construçao Pesada e Afins do Estado do Pará, SINTRAPAV) refused to obey...
Netherlands: FNV and Allies sues Albert Heijn supermarkets to reduce “flexible” staffing
Nearly 50 percent of the 3,000 of staff at the Albert Heijn retail centers are still precarious, according to the FNV and Allies.  These six centers supply the country’s 800 Albert Heijn...
26 April 2012
Spain: unions, associations and NGOs join forces to defend the Spanish social model
Civil society mobilizing.  Until now, the two big Spanish unions, UGT and Workers’ Commissions, organized street opposition to the plans of the Mariano Rajoy administration.  They called for...
Germany: CDU adds universal minimum wage to its program
The conservatives are converting.  The theme of the introduction of minimum wage has been the sea snake haunting Angela Merkel’s two terms.  After rejecting outright the idea of minimum wage –...
Ireland: social partners call for adjustments to the pension reform
Retirement age defined in the labor contract.  “The simple reality is that neither employers nor employees are prepared for the situation now facing them from 2014” Brendan McGinty, IBEC...
26 April 2012
Italy: it seems that the majority of unions have accepted the layoff reform
The interpretation of new Article 18 of the Statute of Workers is not unanimous.  The management of the CGIL, gathered on April 19 and the management of the Cisl, gathered the day before...
Germany: eurozone crisis causes Ford to appeal to short-time working
Short-time working for Ford.  The warning signs of another crisis in the automotive industry or simple, passing weakness?  Ford appealing to short-time working shows that Germany too is starting...
26 April 2012
Great Britain: conflict could be avoided thanks to negotiations between Unite and fuel tankers
The parties in the fuel tanker drivers’ dispute have continued to search for an agreement to resolve the dispute, putting off the onset of strike action on three occasions. After the announcement...
Austria: the biggest metal employers’ organization wants to secede for collective negotiations
The biggest sectoral federation wants to negotiate individually.  The fall collective bargaining session in the metal industry wasn’t supposed to start in the spring.  However, it is pretty much...
Germany: Sany, the Chinese group, grants employees at Putzmeister, German manufacturer of concrete pumps, job security until 2020
Concern in Germany.  It was in the media that, at the end of January, Putzmeister staff heard that their company was sold by its founder, Karl Schlecht, to Chinese billionaire Liang Wengen...
Netherlands: impact of the Mark Rutte administration’s fall
From employers’ point of view, the Mark Rutte administration is falling at the worst possible time.  The country is in the middle of recession, with unemployment growing (5.9 percent in March) and...
Germany: unions disagree on employers’ high salaries
Debate over employers’ high salaries.  In 2001, most German multinationals made a lot of profit.  And record profit means record pay.  Let’s give three examples only: Martin Winterkorn, CEO of...
24 April 2012
Italy: new Confindustria leader presents new team and new program
With 102 votes in favor, 21 against and 22 abstentions, Confindustria’s Giunta approved, on April 19, the program and team set up by Giorgio Squinzi, the organization’s new leader (see our...
United States: three American Airlines unions back US Airways’ offer
The lawyers of American Airlines (AMR) have an exclusive right until the end of September to present the Court with their project and try to secure the termination of the current labor contracts. ...
24 April 2012
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