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
Great Britain: Morrisons supermarkets cutting sick pay for unvaccinated employees who need to self-isolate
‘From 1 October, following UK government confirmation that all adults have had the opportunity to get double vaccinated, we will no longer be paying full sick pay for pinged colleagues who...
16 September 2021
Spain: BBVA backing hybrid and flex office working
Since 01 September, Spanish bank BBVA has been organizing the gradual return of its employees to its central services premises, via a mix of physical in-office and remote working. Employees are...
15 September 2021
Spain: Telefónica organizes a gradual return to on-site working ahead of the implementation of its new hybrid work arrangements
Management at Telefónica together with the CCOO and UGT trade unions have agreed on terms for employees to start gradually returning to the office as of 27 September. The agreement provides that...
14 September 2021
Italy: and the trade unions sign an innovative agreement geared to the group’s revival and the recovery of the fashion sector
On 09 September management at the Benetton clothing company signed an agreement with the Filctem-Cgil, Femca-Cisl and Uiltec trade unions that focuses on agile work and the right to disconnect...
13 September 2021
Spain: Desigual plans to adopt four-day working week with a corresponding reduction in salary
Spain’s fashion brand Desigual is offering staff a reduction working hours by one day in exchange for a 6.5% cut in salary. The working hours offer applies to the 502 employees of the head office...
13 September 2021
Great Britain: be it via yoga classes or free meals, businesses are trying to encourage a return to the office
In order to convince their employees to come back to on site work following 18 months of mandatory full-time teleworking, UK employers such as PwC, Goldman Sachs, and the BP oil & gas group...
8 September 2021
China: unions set up at two large tech companies
In what is a first for China’s tech sector, ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing and the country’s second-largest e-commerce platform JD.com have decided to encourage the establishment of...
3 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
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: 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
5
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
6
UK: duty for employers to inform workers of their right to join a trade union postponed to 1 January 2027
The news. On 25 September, the British government published its response to a consultation launched on 23 October on the duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union. The...