News brief

Germany: Bosch Solar Energy signs first company agreement in solar power
h Solar Energy AG, Bosch Solar Wafers GmbH and Bosch Solar Thin Film, Bosch’s subsidiaries in Thuringia, signed the first true collective company agreement in a sector that is promising but...
Brazil: authorities investigate the use of slavery in Zara’s workshops
bor and the San Paulo administration charged the Spanish clothing giant, Zara, with 52 infringements to labor standards after discovering, in mid-August, three clothing workshops belonging to the...
1 September 2011
United States: National Relations Board to be paralyzed soon
Board (NLRB), which arbitrates conflicts between unions and businesses, could be paralyzed soon. The chair of the NLRB’s board, Wilma Liebman, just left. Another colleague should leave the...
Germany: employees’ good ideas helped businesses save EUR 1.37 billion in 2010
of August by the German Institute for Business Management (Deutsche Institut für Betriebswirtschaft, DIB) reports on the management of ideas in German businesses in 2010. In the 176 companies...
Sweden: first step towards the possible evolution of the criteria for layoff order
Workers, key union in the country) took the initiative, last fall, and invited the key employers’ organization, Svenskt Näringsliv, to take part in a working group to jointly discuss...
United States: United Auto Workers (UAW) wants higher wages for new employees
ed Auto Workers (UAW), wants the $14 an hour wage which most entry-levels workers receive to be increased. The UAW is currently bargaining for pay with the “Big 3” (General Motors...
Belgium: retailing negotiations fail
in the trade industry launched a campaign calling for the resumption of talks on working conditions in the sector. Unable to overcome their disagreements, the social partners terminated the...
France: administration clarifies conditions to apply “dividends bonus” to French and foreign groups
rmanently adopted the “profit-sharing bonus” to be paid to employees who paid dividends that were higher than the average of the two previous financial years. In a circular letter...
31 August 2011
Italy: government’s new austerity program tackles labor law
ulative assault against Italy earlier this month has driven the Council of Minister to approve an emergency decree anticipating and toughening some provisions of the austerity program announced...
Poland: report on working and employment conditions in businesses
the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Dublin) published, on August 24th, a report on work and employment conditions in Polish enterprises. It shows that, since 2005, while working...
Spain: new training and apprenticeship contracts for people under 30 and suspension of some anti-precariousness measures
government approved new measures encouraging employment and training. Initiatives included in the royal decree include the creation of a new training and apprenticeship contract for people under...
Great Britain: report by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, ACAS, on its intervention for industrial disputes
, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, has seen a significant increase in demand for its help resolving large-scale industrial disputes in the past year. Releasing its annual report in July, ACAS...
Slovakia: commentary of the Labor Code amendment coming into force on September 1, 2011
Slovakian Parliament, the amendment to the Labor Code which brings many changes to nearly one third of labor law regulations was adopted on July 13th by a very small majority. On July 27th, the...
Portugal: in-house vocational internships to be paid
ion of in-house internships of more than three months will come into force on September 1st. It aims to encourage the integration of young people on the labor market. (Ref. 110495) New act. The...
Netherlands: Abvakabo union joins FNV and Allies in the struggle against the pension reform
000 members, joined the FNV and Allies in protesting the pension reform. This bill was subject to extensive negotiations in 2008 and 2009 but unions disagree on two major points:the financial risk...
United States: Supreme Court puts an end to massive class actions
the discrimination claims lodged by 1.6 million women against Wal-Mart could not be given the class action status because they were not based on “common facts.” Consequently, there...
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
Germany: government seeks to facilitate immigration of skilled Indian workers
During a visit to India earlier this week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz addressed the strategic importance of attracting Indian workers to Germany, signing a series of cooperation agreements...
2
France: 2026 budget expected to maintain employer contribution relief
On 19 January 2026, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu decided to invoke Article 49.3 of the Constitution to pass France's 2026 budget without a vote in the National Assembly. Three days...
3
EU: Cyprus unveils its six-month presidency programme
Cyprus has set out its priorities for its six-month presidency of the Council of the EU. On the social front, the centre-right government will focus on the Union of Skills, which aims to boost...
4
Informal economy and slow wage growth hamper decent work, ILO says
The International Labour Organisation published its Employment ans Social Trends 2026 on 14 January. It anticipates unemployment stabilising in 2026 and employment growth of 1%, driven by...
5
France: social partners’ conference on work, employment, and retirement sets out roadmap
Until the summer, French social partners from both the private and public sectors will hold talks on labour, employment and pensions, with the aim of developing shared positions to inform public...