News brief

Great Britain: code of practice on remuneration policies in banks
he bonuses awarded in banks with high losses, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) proposes a code of practice on remuneration policies for employees. This code is currently subject to...
EU: national courts need to check if rules allowing automatic retirement answer to social policy considerations
rch 5, 2009, the Court of Justice of the European Communities (EJC) on the compatibility of British law, which permits employers to send to automatic retirement workers of 65 or over, with...
France: paid leave that isn’t taken because of a sick leave have to be transferred after work resumes
f the Court of Justice of the European Communities on January 20, 2009 (see our dispatch No. 090074) – which declared that national provisions ordering the loss of the right to paid leave...
EU: the European social partners are about to reach an agreement on the revision of the parental leave directive
(UEAPME, BusinessEurope, CEEP for employers and the ETUC for unions) are about to reach an agreement on the revision of their agreement on parental leave, included in directive 96/34. In the draft...
General Motors Europe: towards 3.500 job cuts at Opel
rmaker, GM, Opel’s employees are going to have to make major sacrifices to save their firm. Carl-Peter Forster, CEO of GM Europe – GM’s European subsidiary and Opel’s...
Brazil: new wage cut agreements in the metal and mining sectors
soared in January – from 6.8 to 8.2% – Brazilian unions accepted new agreements to cut wages and working time to avoid redundancies. (Ref. 090242) Vale Rio. Negotiations between the...
Spain: emergency measures against unemployment
nisters will adopt seven emergency measures to maintain employment, without waiting for an agreement with the social partners, who stay on their ground. Unions refuse to decrease contributions and...
EU: ETUC wants a directive on passive smoking on the workplace
federation (ETUC) published its reply to the consultation launched by the European Commission in October on passive smoking on the workplace. Unlike BusinessEurope (the employers’...
Belgium: mailmen fight for decent wages and labor
en on strike for three days, until today, March 4, to ask for an increase of their status and express concern over the evolution of their job and the way the company is preparing for the...
Great Britain: agency workers targeted by government aid for vulnerable workers
ent Board, gathering the government, employers and unions, is meeting once again to fight against “abusive” employers. Agency workers, at the center of their concern, are targeted by...
Germany: SAP management and staff representatives reach a compromise on a new structure for the works council
ries into the parent company, in April 2008, led to a legal battle between the company’s management and staff representatives on the structure of SAP’s WCs. After several conflicting...
Great Britain: Unite rescues jobs in the automotive sector
y union, Unite, launched a national campaign to safeguard jobs in the automotive industry, in a context of redundancies and bankruptcies. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT)...
Germany: Deutsche Telekom and Ver.di call on a mediator to clear up their payroll differences
the fourth round of wage negotiations, the Deutsche Telekom phone company, and the Ver.di services union decided, on February 28, 2009, to launch a conciliation procedure and asked Henning...
Germany: Volkswagen to end all contracts with agency workers
-offs for others: Martin Winterkorn, chief executive of the German carmaker VW, announced in an interview with the magazine Der Spiegel (02.03) that the group is going to cut this year all the...
Italy: the Council of Ministers approves the bill on the reform of the right to strike
0% of union members must vote for it. Failing this, if the strike call is voted by at least 20%, it will be necessary for them to obtain approval by 30% through a “prior compulsory...
General Motors Europe: European mobilization to save Opel and Saab
s of the American firm mobilized throughout Europe to protest against the announced restructuring. Opel/Vauxhall and Saab’s employees are the main targets, while GM is planning drastic cuts...
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
Greece fifth country to finalise transposition of the Pay Transparency Directive
The info. On 6 July, Greece finalised the transposition of the EU Pay Transparency Directive with the enactment of the law and its publication in the Official Gazette. Most of its provisions...
2
EU: the Commission launches the second phase of consultation on quality jobs
Eight months after the first phase, the European Commission finally launched the second stage of consultation with social partners on 20 July for an initiative on quality jobs expected by the end...
21 July 2026
3
Belgium: Government Proposes Annualised Working Time
The news. On 18 July, the Belgian Council of Ministers approved a preliminary draft bill introducing annualised working time, allowing hours to be averaged over a full year rather than on a weekly...
4
France : PwC strengthens its diversity policy despite the shadow of Trump
The info. Questioned by mind HR on the HR strategy of the audit and advisory firm PwC regarding AI (7,000 employees), the HR Director of its France and Maghreb subsidiary Sophie Mouhieddine also...
5
Poland: decree sets maximum workplace temperatures
The news. On 9 July, Poland’s Minister of Labour, Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, signed a decree introducing new obligations for employers during heatwaves. The regulation establishes...
6
Belgium: toward an additional five days of leave following the birth of a child
The news. On 18 July, the Belgian federal government approved a draft bill introducing an additional five days of leave following the birth of a child. This entitlement would be added to existing...