News brief

Austria: government announces measures to support employment and businesses
Arbeitsmarktpaket II), presented to the European Parliament on June 18, 2009, removes businesses’ contributions after the 7th month of partial unemployment. The maximum limit of this system...
Great Britain: British Airways asks staff to work for free for up to a month
d over 30,000 employees to take unpaid leave or work for free for one week up to one month to help the company survive, after it lost 401 million pounds (471 million euros) in one year. (Ref...
Netherlands: pension funds in the red zone
of the Netherlands announced that about twenty pension funds will have no other choice but to reduce their members’ payments next year. The government already left businesses free to leave...
Portugal: employees at Volkswagen Autoeuropa’s Palmela factory reject the flexibility agreement
europa’s Palmela factory, near Lisbon, rejected – with 51.6% of the votes – the new company agreement introducing more flexible working time. This brings back the spectrum of...
Axa: impending agreement renewing the insurer’s EWC
, French union organizations and the Uni European trade union – mandated by organizations from other countries – should sing an agreement renewing the agreement establishing...
France: four new recruitment premiums to boost youth employment
er the President announced an “Emergency Youth Employment Plan” of over one billion euros, four decrees, passed on June 15, 2009, temporarily introduce financial incentives for...
Germany: Verdi union says 9,000 jobs are in jeopardy at E.ON
ram announced in February by the largest energy group in Germany, E.ON, could cost almost one in ten jobs, the Verdi services union called E.ON’s employees for a giant demonstration...
Argentina: government forces the metal social partners to find a wage agreement
ounced by metalworkers, the Argentinean government adopted, on June 16, 2009, a directive forcing staff representatives and employers to conclude a wage agreement. On the absence of an agreement...
EU: the European social partners sign a new agreement on parental leave
– BusinessEurope, CEEP and UEAPME for employers and the ETUC for unions – signed, today June 18, 2009, the interprofessional agreement revising the 1995 agreement on parental leave...
Austria: the bill on the postal market stuck at the coalition
tal market should have been adopted by the Council of Ministers on June 9, 2009. However, disagreements appeared within the ruling coalition, notably about the definition of wage levels for...
Denmark: public employment service reform gives town councils more responsibility
adoption of the reform of public employment services, the LO trade union (whose members manage unemployment insurance funds) and the municipalities’ organization (Kommunernes Landsforening)...
Germany: Deutsche Post in turn hit by a scandal of illegal gathering of employees’ private data
inesses accused of violating the law on the protection of data keeps getting longer. On June 14, 2009, the Deutsche Post recognized that it illegally stored data on employees’ health status...
Areva: EWC opposed to the transfer of the T&D branch
il is worried about the risks of dismantlement of the group. Staff representatives multiply lobbying actions to the French public authorities but are having a hard time knowing more. The...
Italy: CGIL proposes popular initiative bill on the right to continuous education
‘s key trade union, the CGIL, presented a popular initiative bill on the right to continuous training. The text is aimed at catching up Italy’s structural delay in terms of continuous...
Portugal: new social security code
was permanently adopted on Friday, June 12. The text introduces higher employers’ social contributions for fixed-term contracts and subjects employers who appeal to “green...
Great Britain: Equality Bill to come into force in the fall 2010
bout giving employers six more months to prepare for the changes induced by the Equality Bill. Still under discussion, the bill should be adopted in early 2010. However, it isn’t unlikely...
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: Cabinet adopts pay transparency bill
After several months of delay beyond the European deadline of 7 June 2026, French Labour Minister Jean-Pierre Farandou finally presented the bill transposing the Pay Transparency Directive to the...
10 September 2026
2
Germany: IG Metall demands 5% pay rise amid severe pressure
Despite the crisis hitting the automotive industry, the leadership of the German trade union IG Metall announced on Wednesday 23 September that it would be asking for a 5% pay increase as well as...
23 September 2026
3
Italy: Crédit Agricole introduces a handbook on managerial behaviour
The document adopted in mid-July by Crédit Agricole Italia and the main banking trade unions goes beyond the proper use of meetings and emails. This six-point handbook aims to foster constructive...
3 September 2026
4
Slovakia: 6% increase in the minimum wage from 1 January 2027
The news. As Slovakia’s social partners failed to reach an agreement during tripartite negotiations, Labour Minister Erik Tomas has decided to increase the minimum wage by 6% from 1 January...
1 September 2026
5
Spain: government revisits its draft decree on salary transparency
The Spanish Ministry of Labour has opened a consultation on the transposition of the European directive on salary transparency and the reduction of the gender pay gap. This decision follows a...
8 September 2026
6
EU: Commission proposes a list of worker-related criteria for public procurement
The news. On 9 September, the European Commission published a proposal for a regulation aimed at unifying European public procurement law, which accounts for 15% of European GDP. It is notably set...
17 September 2026