News brief

United States: new regulations to facilitate recruitment of highly skilled foreign workers come into force
The new regulations on visas for highly skilled foreign workers (H-1B), announced by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on 17 December, came into force on 17 January. The aim is to enable...
United States: Meta and Amazon join Walmart in row back on inclusion
Meta and Amazon are backtracking in their fight against discrimination. After abolishing fact-checking in the US – the verification of information on its social networks – Meta...
20 January 2025
Mercadona hikes wages for all staff by 8.5%
From 2025, Spanish retail leader Mercadona (turnover 2023: €35.53 billion, up 15% year on year. 1,681 stores) is increasing the salaries of its 104,000 employees in order to increase their...
Canada: labour migration to be curbed in 2025
The measures announced by the government on 18 September to reduce labour immigration are coming into force. As of 1 January 2025, the spouses of foreign workers can only obtain a work permit if...
EU: Poland presents social programme for Council Presidency
Poland has set out the programme for its Presidency of the Council of the EU, which runs from 1 January to 30 June 2025. On the social front, the centrist government has announced legislative...
Luxembourg: an extra day’s holiday for employees in construction and civil engineering sector
After tough negotiations, the OGBL and LCGB trade unions and the employers’ organisations in Luxembourg’s construction and civil engineering sector finally reached an agreement on 20...
10 January 2025
France: trade unions push for social dialogue to promote proper use of AI
Convinced that employee representatives have a major role to play in the introduction of an artificial intelligence project within a company, so as to “establish and guarantee trust“...
9 January 2025
Netherlands: 6% pay rise in the food retail sector
At the end of December, the social partners in the retail sector signed a new collective agreement valid retroactively from 1 July 2024 to 1 April 2026, i.e. for a period of 21 months. The...
8 January 2025
Netherlands: minimum wage rises by 2.7% on 1 January 2025
The gross statutory minimum wage in the Netherlands has been increased by 2.73% with effect from 1 January. The wage level rises from €13.68 to €14.06 an hour for full-time employees...
7 January 2025
Argentina: minimum wage to rise gradually in 2025
In the absence of agreement within the National Council for Employment, Productivity, and the Adjustable Minimum Living Wage – a body comprising representatives of employers, trade unions...
6 January 2025
France: social agreement struck at Renault amid crisis in automotive sector
On 19 December, carmaker Renault and the CFDT and CFE-CGC trade unions signed a new social agreement for the period 2025-2027. It covers skills, work organisation, social protection and non-wage...
Romania: first-ever sectoral agreement for bank employees
The first sectoral agreement signed in Romania since 2011 came into force on 27 November 2024 with its publication in the official gazette. Signed in May, it was extended by the government in...
18 December 2024
EU: trade unions speak out against “deregulation”
In a joint statement, 12 European employee federations, led by the European Trade Union Confederation, are attempting to counterbalance lobbying against the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence...
17 December 2024
United States: Senate report condemns working conditions in Amazon warehouses
After 18 months’ work, 135 interviews and 1,400 documents collected, a US Senate committee led by Bernie Sanders has published a report on working conditions in Amazon warehouses. It found...
17 December 2024
Axa France launches social dialogue on artificial intelligence
In a statement of conclusions adopted jointly on 19 November 2024, the management of the insurance company Axa France IARD (34,000 employees for the group in France) and the social partners have...
13 December 2024
Italy: public fund worth €731 million to train employees for ecological and digital transitions
The decree issued by the Ministry of Labour on 5 December launched the third edition of the ‘new skills’ fund, which has been allocated over €730 million to fund in-company...
13 December 2024
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
United Kingdom: government urged to legislate against forced labour
After consulting victims, businesses and NGOs, the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner (IASC) has published a report showing that the UK is lagging behind in the fight against forced labour. The...
13 January 2026
2
EU: European Parliament calls for a directive on just transition
On 20 January, MEPs approved, with 420 votes in favour, an own-initiative report calling for a just transition directive. The text calls for the protection of workers to be guaranteed in the...
20 January 2026