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
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