France: agreement on activity management and job preservation at Danone
The group has ruled out, at least until 31 May 2020, resorting to short-time working measures. The majority agreement signed on 6 April by the SNI2A CFE-CGC and CFDT* trade unions seeks to manage...
15 April 2020
Spain: government and social partners in automobile and construction industries issue recommendations on workplace safety to govern the recommencement of work
After 14 days with all non-essential activity in Spain brought to a complete halt, the country’s industry and construction sectors have gradually recommenced activity following the Easter weekend...
15 April 2020
EU: social partners in Europe’s food industry agree on guidelines to safeguard the health of workers in the sector
On 9 April, the European Federation of Trade Unions in the Food, Agriculture and Tourism sectors (EFFAT) and the European employer organisation FoodDrinkEurope agreed on guidelines to protect the...
15 April 2020
Germany: agreement on health and safety conditions for resumption of production reached at Volkswagen
At Volkswagen, where the production of spare parts has partially resumed following the Easter weekend, management and the central works council at the German car manufacturer presented, on...
14 April 2020
Italy: Ferrari unveils innovative ‘Back on Track’ project ahead of activity recommencing
Drawn up in collaboration with a pool of virologists and experts, and with the support of the Emilia Romagna region, the ‘Back on Track’  project unveiled by Ferrari seeks to provide a safe...
14 April 2020
Italy: FCA and unions define health and safety conditions ahead of sites reopening
On Thursday 9 April the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles group (FCA) and all the Italian trade unions, including FIOM-Cgil, signed an agreement on guidelines to prevent the spread of coronavirus, which...
10 April 2020
Spain: government and social partners prepare for end of lockdown
Representatives of the CEOE and Cepyme employer organisations and of the CCOO and UGT trade unions have begun working with the government on an end to the period of lockdown, implemented to...
10 April 2020
Great Britain: an agreement allowing Rolls-Royce to return to work
On 08 April amid the coronavirus crisis, the trade union Unite revealed that it had negotiated a series of measures with the engineering giant that manufactures aircraft engines in order to...
9 April 2020
Belgium: various types of compensation for employees in the mass retail market
The mass retail sector has been under pressure since the very start of the health crisis. After an unsuccessful first round of sectoral negotiations that were undertaken at the end of March with...
9 April 2020
EU: Carrefour, Auchan Retail and Uni Global Union to share best practices on preventive measures for workers and consumers regarding the Covid-19 pandemic
On 09 April, the international trade union federation UNI Global Union, together with Auchan Retail and the Carrefour Group signed a joint declaration on the implementation of good business...
9 April 2020
France: Société Générale agreement on rest days and remuneration maintenance during the Covid-19 pandemic
An agreement signed on 2 April with the CFTC, CGT, and SNB (specific banking sector organisation) trade unions affirms the principle of maintaining remuneration for all staff during the health...
8 April 2020
France: PSA agreement includes a solidarity-based 100% guarantee of salaries for employees on partial activity and a facility for adjusting summer holidays to facilitate business resumption
On 07 April an ‘agreement on social solidarity, and the protection and health of employees and the company’ was signed by the French auto manufacturer along with 4 of the 5 representative trade...
8 April 2020
France: metallurgy sector agreement on emergency measures to deal with paid leave, rest days, and working hours
On 3 April the metallurgy sector’s employers’ body, the UIMM, along with the relevant trade union federations, the CFE-CGC, CFDT and FO (the CGT absent) signed an agreement on work organization...
7 April 2020
Italy: UniCredit agree with trade unions on 5,200 early retirements to be partly made up by 3,500 hirings and the stabilization of precarious employment contracts
In less than two months, UniCredit banking group and the relevant trade unions have managed to conclude tense negotiations on 6,000 job cuts that are part of the bank’s 2023 strategic plan (c.f...
7 April 2020
Solvay: global framework agreement on digital transformation signed
The global framework agreement on digital transformation at Belgian chemicals group Solvay was signed on 17 March after being “discussed and elaborated with the European Works Council (EWC) and...
6 April 2020
EU: European trade union federations issue joint recommendations to EWCs on “anticipating and managing the impact in multinational companies” of Covid-19
This list of joint recommendations, which were issued at the end of March by all of Europe’s trade union federations (Uni Europa, IndustriAll Europe, EPSU, EFFAT, ETF and EFBW), is aimed at staff...
3 April 2020
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
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
4
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
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