News brief

Italy: Parliament permanently adopted the “thousand extensions” decree
Chamber of Deputies, the “Milleproroghe” decree contains, among the many extensions postponing the enforcement of many texts, one on the new obligations in terms of health and safety...
Germany: focus on the partial unemployment system
vercome the crisis without collapsing, the federal government is placing all its hopes into partial unemployment (Kurzarbeit). Confirmed on February 20, 2009 by the Bundesrat, the chamber of...
Spain: the merger between the metal and textile-chemistry federations of the Workers’ Commissions won’t happen
et closer, the CCOO’s two largest federation failed to unite. The leaders of the textile-chemistry and affiliate federation (Fiteqa) decided to end the process. They argue that methods and...
EU: the College of Commissioners consults the social partners on solutions to the crisis
pean social partners (ETUC for unions, BusinessEurope, CEEP and UEAPME for employers) were invited to express themselves at the College of Commissioners on February 25. Talks on possible solutions...
Netherlands: negotiations on measures to adopt against the crisis
ein Donner, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, called for a total freeze of wages and pensions. This is one of the solutions to be proposed and discussed by the social partners. The Minister...
International: ILO sectoral meeting on the impact of the crisis on bank employees
nization (ILO) dedicated its tripartite meeting on the financial sector to the impact of the crisis on banking jobs and possible solutions to downplay this impact. The February 24-25 meeting was...
Netherlands: veil squad against discrimination
Muslim women, member of the Ibnou Khaldoun Islamic foundation, launched a “veil squad of the polders’ Muslims”. These women want to defend their right to wear the veil at work...
Austria: government prepares for the creation of a “labor foundation” for agency workers
loyment (January 2009) in the sector, Austrian agency workers are the first victims of the crisis. Supported by the social partners, Rudolf Hundstorfer, Minister of Social Affairs and Employment...
Germany: Schaeffler brings joint management home and breaks a taboo
fects. After objecting to it for several years, the Schaeffler family group announced, on February 23, 2009 in a joint press release with the IG Metall union, that it accepted to extend joint...
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...
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
Ireland: minimum wage increase of 5,6% from 1 January 2027
The info. The Irish government has included a minimum wage increase of 79 cents in its Budget 2027, in line with recommendations from the Low Pay Commission. The rate will rise from €14.15...
2
Portugal: parental leave of up to six months paid at 100% from 2027 
The news. On 19 October, the Portuguese Parliament adopted a bill extending the duration of parental leave and the period for which benefits are paid. From 1 January 2027, leave will increase from...
3
China: draft bill to strengthen platform workers’ rights
On 8 October, the Chinese government published a draft bill open for consultation aimed at providing minimum guarantees to non-employee platform workers in terms of pay and working conditions. The...
23 October 2026
4
Is a global wage freeze at Volkswagen possible?
The existence of an option to implement a global wage freeze until 2030 has been confirmed by the management of the German group Volkswagen, which nevertheless provides no details and refers to...
20 October 2026
5
Spain: metal industry employers cut sick pay top-ups
To curb absenteeism, Spanish social partners in the metal sector are introducing new clauses into regional collective agreements to reduce the top-up payments made by employers during sick leave...
2 November 2026
6
Croatia: 7.6% minimum wage increase from 1 January 2027
The news. On 29 October, the Croatian Council of Ministers adopted a decree setting the minimum wage for 2027. This will rise from €1,050 to €1,130 gross per month from 1 January next...