News brief

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...
Germany: in western Germany, the textile industry threatens with warning strikes
at the 3rd negotiation round of February 26, 2009 was “intolerable”, the IG Metall union (metalworkers), which demands a 5.5% wage increase for employees in the textile and clothing...
Austria: unions accept to reduce the time partially unemployed workers are protected against dismissal
strian Parliament voted an amendment to the law on partial unemployment, which legally brings it from 6 to 18 months maximum. Meanwhile, the social partners signed an agreement which enables...
Sweden: the economic situation jeopardizes unemployment insurance funds
omic crisis in Sweden, the number of jobseekers reached a record level in January 2009 – 7.3% of the active population – a level it didn’t reach since the 1970s. With dismissal...
Brazil: legal battle on dismissals within the Embraer aircraft company
for one week the 4.270 dismissals announced by the third aircraft manufacturer in the world, Embraer, until the conciliation meeting with unions. They ask the government to nationalize the...
Belgium: Volvo extends partial unemployment until summer
k, based in Gent, northwestern Belgium, announced the extension of partial unemployment measures until the end of June, at least. In February, Volvo introduced a system with two or three idle days...
Poland: the social partners keep talking about the crisis at their social summit
h No. 090194), a social summit held on February 25, at the request of President Lech Kaczynski, gathering unions, employers’ organizations, representatives from the government, local...
Finland: government unilaterally raises normal retirement age from 63 to 65
, on February 24, 2009, that the government decided to progressively raise retirement age from 63 to 65. It will be put into place by a measure destined to finance retirement in the context of the...
Austria: Telekom Austria’s Director of Personnel creates an outrage by explaining his “mobbing” techniques on YouTube
ube video sharing website shows Gernot Schieszler, Director of Personnel of the largest telephone company in Austria, explain to investors how to lobby hundreds of employees with the status of...
Italy: court confirms legitimacy of emails at work for union communication
ily) condemned the S.T. Microelectronics company for antiunion behavior for it sanctioned a Fiom representative for sending union emails to the professional emails of his colleagues. By doing...
China: entrepreneurs promise not to lay off
a handful of Chinese entrepreneurs promised not to lay off or reduce wages. The idea is simple: the Chinese economy has to move away from exports and produce for its internal market if it wants to...
26 February 2009
Bolivia: businesses threaten with thousands of dismissals after the minimum wage increase
against the presidential decree which commands a 12% minimum wage increase in 2009. A general wage increase in the private sector will depend on the results of the negotiation between the social...
Finland: Nokia imposes a law allowing employers to monitor their employees’ email
Parliament adopted an amendment to the law on the protection of data, which its opponents called “Lex Nokia”, allowing employers to monitor their employees’ email. The text was...
Slovakia: “flexi-accounts” to avoid layoffs
pted a law introducing a system of “flexi-accounts” allowing employers to temporarily reduce activity without dismissing. It allows them to send employees away while maintaining their...
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: following the post-Covid boom, large companies scale back on remote working
In the post-pandemic context, large French groups multiplied generous remote working agreements before reversing the trend from 2024 onwards. What is the extent of this phenomenon? mind RH...
2
France: Iliad structures its skills management around AI
The news. On 9 April, Iliad (11,600 employees in France), the parent company of telecoms operator Free, concluded an agreement on jobs and career path management with its representative trade...
3
France: how CDC Habitat aims to better promote the expertise of its employees
The housing division of the French public group Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, CDC Habitat (10,800 employees), established new measures on skills in July. They are set out in two agreements...
4
France: La Poste strengthens regional management of jobs and skills
La Poste’s 2026-2028 agreement on the management of jobs, professional pathways and gender diversity in occupations puts the emphasis on supporting mobility and career changes, relying on a...
5
Germany: a negotiation timetable and the prospect of industrial action at Volkswagen
The news. On 23 October, the German carmaker Volkswagen and the trade union IG Metall announced the opening of negotiations on wages, the new cost-cutting programme and job cuts. They will take...
6
Germany: Schaeffler cuts 3,460 jobs and requests temporary wage “solidarity contribution”
The news. On 3 November 2026, German automotive supplier Schaeffler announced a new “earnings improvement programme”, entailing the net reduction of 3,460 jobs in Europe by 2028 (2,660...