News brief

Netherlands: ING’s CEO won’t be paid in 2009
he ING bank, decided to do without remuneration for 2009. A decision will be made for his 2009 salary in 2010, when the policy on bank managers’ pay, currently discussed, is established...
25 February 2009
EU: BusinessEurope opposed to binding measures against environmental tobacco smoke
ion launched by the European Commission at the end of 2008 (see our dispatch No. 090028), BusinessEurope announced that it wasn’t in favor of measures forbidding smoking at work. The...
EU: Parliament demands better application of the directive on the information and consultation of workers
Ps adopted the report of French MEP Jean-Louis Cottigny (PES, FR) on the application of Directive 2002/14/EC on the information and consultation of workers. The European Parliament deplores Member...
Denmark: the 3F building union presented wage propositions for posted workers
hed its wage propositions in preparation for a collective agreement on workers posted in Denmark. However, negotiations with employers are at a standstill. (Ref. 090208) 171.40 crowns (€23)...
EU: MEPs want to extend social liability to the production line
of the European Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs adopted an own-initiative report inviting the European Commission to propose a legal tool establishing joint and...
Colombia: unions legally object to the government decree on minimum wage increase
State Council an application for annulment of the decree providing for a 7% minimum wage increase for 2009. Staff representatives want to show that the negotiation process provided for by the law...
Italy: latest quarterly report of the metallurgy employers’ federation sounds the alarm on the economic situation
ca employers’ federation has been carrying out a quarterly study among a panel of member businesses. The results of the 109th study for the last quarter of 2008 were published on February...
Spain: employers want freedom to lay off
nsist upon the idea that the only way to curb the rise in unemployment (from 8.5% to 14.5% in one year) is to make dismissals more flexible. They want lower compensation scales and removed...
Luxembourg: monthly minimum social wage brought up to 1.682,76 euro
the highest in the European Union – will be increased on March 1, 2009 and reach, for unskilled employees aged 18+, 1.682,76 euro a month. (Ref. 090198) Minimum social wage applied to all...
Belgium: age limits for the right to parental leave raised
uncil of Ministers adopted a royal draft decree allowing workers to take their parental leave until their child is 12. This amendment to the conditions for allowing parental leave was decided...
Germany: 800.000 employees regularly take drugs to improve their performances at work
study presented in early February 2009 by the Deutsche Angestellte Krankenkasse (DAK), one of the biggest health insurance funds in Germany – mostly focuses on the issue of...
Poland: the social partners seek solutions to the crisis
nts (see our dispatch No. 090103), the social partners are determined to curb the negative impact of the economic crisis: many bilateral (unions-employers) and trilateral...
Belgium: Flanders opposed to simpler employment subsidies to protect seniors
tly voted a conflict of interest motion which suspends the federal legal procedure and opens a long consultation phase against the simplification of employment subsidies. This simplification...
Portugal: new labor code enforced
e and Parliamentary debates, the new Portuguese Labor Code, reforming the 2003 version, came into force on February 17, 2009. However, union and ideological opposition is still strong. (Ref...
Denmark: the social partners demand a flexible partial unemployment system to face the crisis
nt has soared since the crisis began. However, unions and employers think that the system is still too strict. They asked the Minister of Labor to make it more flexible, but he doesn’t seem...
France: key employment measures announced at the social summit
h gathered the social partners at the Elysée on Wednesday, February 18, Nicolas Sarkozy presented a series of measures to protect employees from the crisis and support the most humble...
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
Italy: decree-law adopted to increase workplace safety
On 28 October, the Italian cabinet adopted a decree-law on health and safety at work, aimed at preventing and reducing accidents. The text addresses both the powers and actions of supervisory...
4 November 2025
2
Romania: parents of children with disabilities granted up to eight days of remote work per month
On 9 October, the Romanian parliament adopted a bill aiming to bolster support for parents of children with disabilities up to the age of 18. The legislation, which came into force on 12 October...
3
mind RH analysis – Initial findings from CSRD social indicators
In 2025, for the first time, the universal registration documents of major European companies contain the sustainability reporting required by the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive...
31 October 2025
4
Italy: European pay transparency directive, a major step forward for businesses
Italy’s labour market continues to suffer from limited pay transparency and a persistent gender pay gap. The forthcoming implementation of the EU pay transparency directive — still awaiting...
14 October 2025
5
Netherlands: ING cites AI as it plans to cut around 950 jobs
Dutch bank ING has informed the employment agency UWV that it may cut around 950 jobs by 31 December 2026. In its notification on 20 October, the lender said the planned reductions stem partly...
30 October 2025
6
AI-driven job cuts on the rise in tech sector
As leading tech companies ramp up investment in artificial intelligence (AI) and roll out transformation plans to boost its development, layoffs across the sector are increasing. But are the job...
7 October 2025