Labour relations

Although still in process, negotiations for finance sector collective convention have made no serious progress. The sector’s trade unions have announced fresh strike action for the weeks ahead.

20 March 2018

Germany: metal sector social partners adapting professions and work-linked training to fit the digital age

With Industry 4.0 in full swing across Germany, on 15 March the country’s employers’ federation Gesamtmetall, the machine-tool federation VDMA, the central electrical-electronic union ZVEI, and...

20 March 2018

Estonia: historic agreement on collective agreements extension

Are Estonia’s industrial relations coming to maturity? Trade unions have traditionally been viewed as extensions of the country’s communist era and as such have struggled to secure legitimacy...

20 March 2018

Latest Brexit update: transitional period to last 21 months

After weeks of intense negotiations, Europe and the United Kingdom announced on Monday that they had reached an agreement over the post-Brexit transitional period. The period will begin on 29...

19 March 2018

United Kingdom: large gender pay gaps revealed in banking sector

Under new legislation, companies in the UK with 250 employees or more will have to publish their gender pay gap by 4 April, or run the risk of a penalty (see articles n°9966 and n°9502). The...

19 March 2018

Germany: Deutsche Post unions fear creating a single distribution subsidiary will result in downgrading working conditions for postal delivery workers

An article in the daily publication Die Welt from 12 March reports that Deutsche Post (DP) was preparing a significant restructuring. The article indicated the German postal giant was in the...

13 March 2018

Germany: the extreme-right makes advances during Daimler’s WC elections

Eagerly awaited, the results from WC membership elections in Daimler’s facilities are now available and unambiguous with an overwhelming win for the IG Metall union. At Daimler’s Untertükheum...

9 March 2018

Spain: women to down tools on 08 March

On March 8 the women of Spain will take part in the first national strike to combat wage inequality and gender violence. In 2017 feminist associations called for a symbolic 30 minute work...

7 March 2018

Brazil: IT sector trade unions facing challenges in attracting younger members

Over recent years Brazil’s information and technology sectors have grown rapidly and are now number 7 in the world. Brazil’s population is ‘internet connected’ and attracted to good pay and growth...

7 March 2018

Argentina: a slight upturn in employment as well as an increase in the number and proportion of self-employed

Argentina’s Labor Ministry published its employment data for 2017, which revealed a slight upturn by way of a 2.2% annual increase in the number of employed as well as a dramatic increase in the...

7 March 2018

Alstom-Siemens Mobility merger: unions are calling for measures to safeguard the future of jobs in Europe’s rail industry

In the wake of a union coordination meeting that was organized in Brussels by industriAll Europe in Brussels on 14 February at the close of a, trade unions from Germany, Austria, Belgium, the UK...

5 March 2018

Germany: attempts from extreme-right union to infiltrate factories provokes concern

For several months, the German press has been raising the alarm as extreme right-wing trade union Zentrum Automobil (ZA) has attempted to gain a foothold in the country’s automobile sector...

2 March 2018

Brexit: Theresa May expresses desire for a labour mobility framework (in brief)

On Friday 2 March, the UK prime minister presented her vision for the UK’s future partnership with the European Union after Brexit. For the first time, Theresa May clearly stated her desire to...

2 March 2018

Italy : industry social partners conclude an agreement for collective bargaining reform

Following 18 months of discussions, Confindustria president, Vincenzo Boccia and the secretaries general of the Cgil, Cisl, and Uil unions came to agreement on 28 February over a text that is set...

1 March 2018

General Electric puts a EWC structure in place comprising a central committee and business committees to fit GE’s multiple business operations companies structure

These EWC negotiations had a number of goals, not least to learn from the GE acquisition of Alstom’s energy business and provide representation for all European employees within the group’s...

28 February 2018

The Global Deal à la Française emphasizes international social dialogue

Launched in September 2016 by Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, the Global Deal initiative seeks to use social dialogue as the vector to restate and rebalance the economic and social dimension...

27 February 2018

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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

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31 October 2025

Most viewed articles of the month on mind HR

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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

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