Germany: Porsche site in Leipzig to adopt 35-hour week from 2025
As part of a so-called “collective agreement for the future”, the management of sports car manufacturer Porsche and the IG Metall trade union have reached an agreement that will see...
France: MGEN strengthens its ambitions for professional equality with a new agreement
On 29 September MGEN (Mutuelle Générale de l'Education Nationale), France's leading mutual health insurance company and healthcare services provider with almost 10,000 employees, announced it had...
8 October 2021
Ireland: 4-day working week to be tested by companies
Starting in February 2022, Irish employers will introduce a four-day working week on a trial basis for a period of six months. The pilot programme was devised by the lobby group Four Day Week...
8 October 2021
Italy: workplace safety, employability and hybrid working at heart of renewed social dialogue
The post-pandemic recovery has prompted Mario Draghi’s government, Italian businesses and trade unions to commence discussions over a variety of matters. The most urgent of all is workplace...
7 October 2021
US: PwC offers full-time remote work to almost all of its US workforce
On 01 October the UK consulting giant announced it would be allowing all its 40,000 US client-facing staff to work 100% remotely, and from anywhere within continental USA. Prior to this launch the...
6 October 2021
Germany: pharmaceutical company Roche launches a pilot project promoting equal opportunities for parents
In order to help employees with young children reconcile work and family life, the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche has set up a new programme in Germany called ‘Das Elternplus’ (The Parents’...
5 October 2021
Italy: agreement at the Stellantis motor group focuses on generational renewal across the ‘white collar’ workforce
On 22 September Stellantis, together with the Ministry of Labor, and the Fiom-Cgil, Fim-Cisl, Uilm, Fismic, UGLM and Associazione Quadri trade unions signed the ‘contratto di...
5 October 2021
China: the end of independent trade unionism in Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) has disbanded, a move that comes shortly after the Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union (HKPTU), which was the largest trade union in Hong...
4 October 2021
Ireland: four leading employers form alliance to promote remote working
Unveiled on 27 September, the Remote Alliance is aiming to develop a new model for the way people work in Ireland. The four companies that make up the alliance – telecommunications giant Vodafone...
4 October 2021
Ireland: four major employers set up a remote working alliance
Unveiled on 27 September, Grow Remote’s initiative Remote Alliance, comprising telecoms company Vodafone, online marketplace eBay, electricity group ESB, and insurer Liberty Insurance, aims to...
30 September 2021
Mexico: employees at the Aguascalientes Nissan vehicle plant vote to terminate their relationship with the CTM union replacing it with CATEM
CATEM (Confederación Autónoma de Trabajadores y Empleados de México) has defeated the powerful CTM (Confederación de los Trabajadores de México) in order to represent the employees at the Nissan...
29 September 2021
Spain: leading banks adopt hybrid working at scale amid pandemic
Spain’s largest banking groups have organised a gradual return to the office for staff working in core services but are maintaining remote work to a significant extent. Asked by Planet Labor about...
27 September 2021
France: a telework agreement secured in the pharmaceutical sector
On 09 September the pharmaceutical sector employers’ federation, Les Entreprises du Médicament (LEEM), and five representative trade unions (FO, CFE-CGC, CFDT, CFTC, and UNSA) signed an agreement...
22 September 2021
Germany: Deutsche Bahn and train drivers’ union GDL reach compromise on trade union representation
German rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) and the GDL train drivers' union have announced the signing of a new collective agreement, marking the end of a dispute that gave rise to repeated strike...
17 September 2021
China: government moves to regulate Wild West digital economy
Efforts on the part of the Chinese government to better regulate working conditions in the platform economy are ongoing. As previously reported (see article n°12665), the law on workplace safety –...
17 September 2021
Italy: ‘Historic’ agreement at Amazon establishing a labour relations system
On 15 September, and under the aegis of Italy’s Labour Minister, Amazon Logistica Srl together with the Filt-Cgil, Fit-Cisl and Uiltrasporti unions have signed what the labour bodies have...
16 September 2021
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
Pascale Rauline (Axa EWC): “European charter formalises ongoing and accelerated social dialogue on AI”
On 27 November, Axa and its European works council (EWC) signed a charter setting out principles governing the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) and guaranteeing social dialogue on the...
2
Germany: crisis-hit industries cast shadow over 2026 bargaining cycle
In 2026, collective wage agreements for nearly 10 million employees in Germany are set to expire. With upcoming negotiations in crisis-hit 'pilot' sectors such as chemicals and metalworking, the...
2 December 2025
3
Bulgaria: government approves bill to encourage sector-level collective bargaining
On 26 November, the Bulgarian government approved amendments to the labour code designed to reinforce the legal framework for sector-level collective bargaining. The reform aims to stimulate...
2 December 2025
4
EU: social partners in telecoms sign joint statement on AI
On 16 December, the social partners in Europe's telecommunications sector unveiled a joint statement on artificial intelligence. They propose an action plan for skills and commit to raising...
18 December 2025
5
Inditex European works council mobilises on value sharing
In a joint statement, 10 trade unions comprising the European works council of the Inditex clothing group are calling for rallies in Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal, France, Italy and Germany...
6
Germany: Erwin Hymer Group’s innovative and award-winning AI agreement
Fed up with negotiating separate agreements for each new artificial intelligence (AI) tool, the social partners at Erwin Hymer Group (8,900 employees) have instead secured a broad, overarching...
12 December 2025