News brief

EU: Commission to revise its draft after MEPs reject its proposed revision of the directive on working time for truck drivers
cted, on May 5, the proposition made by the European Commission to revise the directive on working time in road transport. Since the proposition didn’t include independent workers, the...
Austria: trial of strength between the social partners on wage cut
blocked in seven branches with employers demanding more company agreements and a year with no or hardly any wage increases. At the same time certain firms, led by the Austro-Canadian car parts...
Belgium: end of fierce negotiations in metallurgy
s of intense negotiations, the memorandum of understanding of the metallic manufacturing sector will be applied throughout Belgium, in spite of the opposition of the FGTB’s regional union...
Club Med: agreement on fundamental rights and transnational mobility
erranee and the IUF and EFFAT unions should soon sign an agreement on fundamental rights at work and transnational mobility in the Euro-Africa zone, thus organizing the mobility of migrant workers...
EU: conciliation on the revision of the working time directive failed
ill not be revised. At least not for now, or in six months. The 27 EU Member States and the European Parliament failed to reach a compromise last night during the last conciliation meeting...
Italy: Cassa Integrazione becomes more flexible
al Welfare Institute (INPS) – with the consent of the Ministry of Labor – broadcasted new rules for the calculation of partial unemployment. The Cassa Integrazione Ordinaria (CIGO, see...
Ukraine: foreign employees have a hard time getting a labor permit
hrough a very serious social crisis as a consequence of the global financial and economic crisis. This situation led the government and the lawmaker to limit access to the local market for foreign...
Poland: uncertain future for LOT airlines
at the end of 2008, the national airline needs an emergency large-scale restructuring plan. Job cuts are inevitable: around 1,000 should be cut throughout the group. (Ref. 090462) The financial...
Germany: employers seek another reform of partial unemployment
cies foresee a 6% drop in GDP this year, the two main employers’ federations, BDA and BDI, exhort the government to rapidly take further measures to halt the rise in unemployment. Employers...
Germany: partial wage agreement for 250,000 in the banking sector
l 22, 2009 shows the impact of the crisis on collective bargaining: the social partners in the banking sector negotiated for almost a year before agreeing on a 2.5% wage increase. The agreement is...
Spain: employers write a draft “crisis contract”
ation is surveying through political parties with a draft “crisis contract” in hand (less protective of employees, cheaper for employers) and is looking for Parliamentary support to...
Mexico: General Motors plans eight weeks of technical unemployment and forced holidays for 4,600 workers
Silao, activity keeps being suspended: the third began last week and will last for two months as of mid-May. Employees who haven’t been put on technical unemployment are forced to go on...
EU: home stretch for conciliation on the revision of the working time directive
e of April 23rd, negotiations between the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers on the revision of the working time directive resumed on the basis of a proposition from the European...
Italy: criticism over a provision of the decree-law amending the Testo Unico on health and safety
nst the provision of the decree-law amending the Testo Unico which, in case of a serious accident, removes the employers’ criminal liability if other employees are recognized liable...
Germany: Federal Labor Court supports employees on a parental leave
al Labor Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht – BAG) rendered a ruling (BAG, 9 AZR 391/08) which improves the position of employees on their parental leave (“Elternzeit”). In the future...
EU : permanent adoption of the revision of the EWC directive
Agriculture, which met today, April 23rd, adopted the draft revision of the EWC directive. The UK abstained. The directive will enter into force 20 days after publication in the Official Journal...
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: Yves Rocher convicted of breach of duty of vigilance for infringement of freedom of association
The specialised chamber of the Paris Judicial Court convicted Yves Rocher on 12 March for breaching its duty of vigilance. The group was sued by Turkish employees dismissed in 2018 by a subsidiary...
12 March 2026
2
Spain: business support package to tackle the economic impact of the Middle East conflict
The Spanish government approved a series of measures on 20 March to support companies facing rising energy prices. In return, these businesses are prohibited from making redundancies for economic...
23 March 2026
3
EU: Council adopts position on simplifying AI rules
The Council of the EU approved its position on 13 March regarding the “omnibus regulation” proposal, published last November by the Commission to simplify the AI Act. Confirming the...
20 March 2026
4
Germany: a corporate group supports local political engagement via its “Democracy Charter”
Large corporations in the Hesse region, surrounding Frankfurt, are defending local democracy by enabling employees to volunteer in local public life through an initiative dubbed the "Democracy...
11 March 2026
5
United States: Coca-Cola subsidiary sued by the administration over women-only event
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced on 18 February that it is launching federal proceedings against Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast for “sex-based...
6 March 2026