News brief

Netherlands: new amendment to the bill on pensions
n made a concession to the left-wing party in order to push the pension reform through: the lowest paid will still be able to retire at 65, instead of 67 after 2025, with no loss of earnings...
EU: working conditions and collective bargaining in 2010
hed on November 17, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Dublin), analyzes the evolution of working conditions and industrial relations in Europe in 2010...
EU: premises of European social dialogue in ICT SMEs
social partners – Uni Europa for employees and PIN-SME for SMEs – have been meeting. They are hoping to lay down the foundation for European social dialogue in the future, in a field...
Romania: employers and unions sign social agreement to engage in social dialogue irrespective of the public powers
organization, and the five trade union confederations lay down the foundation for social dialogue since they couldn’t be heard by the government. Thus, at the end of October, they signed a...
United States: retail employees denounce sacrificing Thanksgiving for Black Friday
employees have had to get up in the middle of the night between Thanksgiving and ‘Black Friday’ to open stores before dawn for the most important shopping day of the year, opening the...
24 November 2011
Great Britain: government releases draft Labor Law reform
ng more flexible layoffs in SMEs with 10 employees and less; reducing the consultation period for mass layoffs; introducing “protected conversations” between employees and employers;...
Companies: six telecom multinationals launch human rights initiative
g in telephony met to work together on Human Rights and Corporate Social Responsibility. These businesses are Teliasonera, Telenor, Vodafone, Telefonica, Nokia Siemens and Alcatel. Ewa...
23 November 2011
EU: modifying its previous case law, the ECJ limits the possibility for employees to accumulate entitlements to paid annual leave during absence for illness
to contain the impact of one of its case laws, the mostly vividly criticized by employers. In a ruling rendered in early 2009, the European judges laid down the principle that the national...
International: according to KPMG, CSR reporting has become the de facto law for business
cabinet has been doing an international survey on reporting in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The 2011 edition shows a general increase in the phenomenon, and mostly that large...
22 November 2011
Italy: measures affecting the labor world in the Monti administration’s program
he Italian Parliament, with a record approval rate. Based on three pillars – “budget austerity, growth and equity” – his program aims to brave the pension reform, to reform...
Corporate practices: how the Rudus construction materials manufacturer managed to significantly cut the number of industrial accidents on its production sites
uction company which employs about 1,300 people. It produces concrete, coated macadam and asphalt and operates in Finland, the Baltic countries and Russia. Bought, in 1999, by Irish multinational...
21 November 2011
Netherlands: Philips wants to spread efficiency premiums
lips, wants to bring variable pay from 7 up to 12% of annual earnings for the group’s 14,000 employees in the Netherlands. Unions and the works council are currently discussing the new...
21 November 2011
Great Britain: new government measures for apprenticeship and vocational training
nment announced a GBP 1,500 (EUR 1,755) subsidy for businesses recruiting apprentices aged 16-24 and the creation of a GBP 250 million (EUR 292 million) fund to help businesses develop vocational...
EU: home stretch for the creation of the first European Sector Skills Councils
textile social partners will officially launch the first European Sector Skills Council. Trade should follow, and many other sectors (automotive, chemistry, steel, construction…) also want...
EU: European Commission Work Program 2012
e European Commission adopted its Work Program 2012, devoted to “European renewal.” The Commission announces a Green Paper on Restructuring and Economic Adjustment, the comet tale of...
EU: European social partners to open talks with a view to reviewing the working time directive
federation (ETUC) and several employers’ organizations (BusinessEurope, the European Center of Enterprises with Public Participation – CEEP, and the UEAPME – SMEs) informed...
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: Medef puts forward proposals to improve management quality
On 31 August, Medef, French main employers' organisation, published a practical guide to managerial skills, which it considers to be a driver of economic performance for businesses. Concerned by...
2
AI: uneven integration but a global challenge for the world of work
The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in business is profoundly transforming the world of work, and some occupations are now under threat. However, the full extent of its effects remains...
3
France: Ministry of Labour unveils plan to accelerate the rollout of AI
On 22 September, the French Ministry of Labour presented a plan named Impulsion IA 2027 aimed at accelerating the adoption of AI by companies and employees. It contains 12 measures applicable from...
4
Germany: AfD victory in Saxony-Anhalt raises concerns over labour supply and workplace cohesion
The rise of Germany’s far-right AfD, which could soon gain influence over migration policy in Saxony-Anhalt and, following elections on September 20, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania as well, is...
5
Netherlands: towards a ban on housing cost deductions from migrant workers’ wages
The news. On September 10, Dutch Minister of Social Affairs and Employment Hans Vijlbrief (centre-left) sent a letter to the House of Representatives, stating that he intends to prohibit employers...
6
UE: Commission proposes measures to facilitate “fair” worker mobility across the Union
The info. On 15 September, the European Commission adopted a series of measures aimed at encouraging “fair” worker mobility within the EU. It wants to remove the administrative...