France: Manpower seeks to raise climate awareness among all its temporary workers Corporate practices Faced with ever more questions about its practices, especially from its own employees, as the Amazon Employees for Climate Justice group demonstrated, the tech giant decided on 10 October to publish a statement “to provide customers, investors, policymakers, employees, and others our views on certain issues”, underlining in the introduction that “there is much room for healthy debate and differing opinions”. Amazon, which employs 630,000 people across the globe, has taken a stance on various issues – such as on the minimum wage, climate change, the importance of inclusion and diversity, and the tax regime – and encourages public and private actors to follow suit.
Major companies form coalition on global social protection baselines Corporate practices Alongside a dozen other major companies, L'Oréal announced on 10 June the launch of the Engage & Care coalition around global social protection baselines. Beyond their commitment to providing their nearly two million employees with rights relating to parenting, caregiving, income and mental health, they intend to share their best practices and engage beyond their own boundaries to take action on these issues.
Sweden: insurer Folksam offloads Tesla shares due to its anti-union stance Corporate practices On 2 May, the Swedish insurer Folksam (3,524 employees) announced that it was selling all of its shares in Tesla. It cites issues at the American car manufacturer owned by Elon Musk with regard to workers' rights in Sweden. The company has been in conflict with the Swedish trade union IF Metall for over a year due to its refusal to negotiate a collective agreement on salaries.
United Kingdom: ethnic diversity slowly increasing on boards of directors Corporate practices The Parker Review of ethnic diversity on the boards of directors of major UK companies, published on 11 March, highlights a significant improvement at those listed on the FTSE 250 in 2024. However, not all the groups concerned have yet appointed a director from a minority group to their board, contrary to the objective that had been set.
China: gig economy delivery workers forced to take a rest Corporate practices Two Chinese online sales platforms, Ele.me and Meituan, have just adopted draconian measures that alert or forcibly disconnect couriers who work excessively long hours, with the aim of preventing the most serious forms of exhaustion.
Exclusif Living wage becomes a corporate responsibility Corporate practices With Michelin's announcements in April, the living wage has come under the spotlight. The issue is about to become a matter of compliance, with the entry into force of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) starting from 2025, which lists pay among the data to be provided annually by companies, concerning both staff and the value chain. Although a number of companies have adopted the living wage, it is still far from being widespread, due to the lack of a common definition and the effort required to put it in place.
Lego links employee bonuses to carbon emission reductions Corporate practices In a bid to reduce the environmental impact of its factories, offices, shops and supply chain, Danish toy giant Lego has decided to link part of its employees’…
United Kingdom: more and more companies break the menopause taboo in the workplace Corporate practices An increasing number of companies in the UK are taking menopause-related symptoms into account in the workplace, with measures such as flexible work, manager training, consultation with experts and office design. The UK authorities, via the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), have just published a new practical guide and are pioneering the way.
Sanofi takes programme dedicated to employees with cancer to global scale Corporate practices The pharmaceutical group, which has been offering social and financial support to employees with cancer or close to patients in France since 2017, has decided to extend this programme worldwide with 100% salary continuation. The move follows positive feedback on the scheme, Florence Cauvet, HR director for France at Sanofi, tells mind RH.
Bangladesh: pay rise after unprecedented strike by garment workers Corporate practices Textile workers win a 56% pay rise after a week of unprecedented strike action. Ten years on from the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory, the finger is once again being pointed at multinational brands.
