News brief

Germany: investment bankers at the Dresdner Kleinwort to press charges to get their bonus
essed a around €1 billion in their unit in 2008 – the managers of the Dresdner Kleinwort investment bank – a subsidiary of Dresdner Bank, bought by the Commerzbank in January...
12 February 2009
Ecuador: paternity leave introduced
vernment of Ecuador approved the introduction of a ten-day paternity leave. However, only workers in the public and private sector affiliated with the social security will be entitled to it, i.e...
Spain: controversy over employers’ proposal to create anti-crisis labor contracts
labor contract” with lower layoff pay was launched by the employers’ confederation of the Madrid region and used by Gerardo Diaz Ferran, leader of the CEOE employers’...
Netherlands: De Unie abandons the agreement negotiated by its internet branch for Polish agency workers
executives’ union, announced that it abandoned the collective agreement negotiated during the week end of February 1 by the Internetvakbond, its internet branch, together with the...
France: Brussels worried about the condition to maintain production in the country to give aid to the sector
10, Nelly Kroes, Commissioner for Competition, asked the French government to explain the plan to support the car industry presented to the press this week. She is worried about the guarantee to...
Areva: evaluation of the European project on the development of social dialogue via the framework agreement on equal opportunities
e ODEO (“Open dialogue through equal opportunities”) project, which includes Areva’s EWC bureau and management representatives, presented its final report to the European...
Spain: large businesses unwilling to negotiate equality plans in spite of the legal obligation
nforcement of the law on gender equality, the labor market is still resisting and very few businesses have developed equality plans or significantly increased the number of women within their...
EU: calls for proposals to support social dialogue published
ished three calls for proposal aimed at supporting social dialogue with the co-funding of actions launched by the social partners. The call for proposals on information, consultation and the...
Italy: bill reforming the right to strike in essential public services presented to unions
eshold for unions calling for a strike, prior declaration of individual participation to the strike, sanctions for those violating standards and a possible obligation to carry out a...
Germany: conflict in the metal sector after a wage increase was postponed because of the crisis
r and sales in the automotive industry, the Gesamtmetall, the employers’ organization of the metallurgy sector, announced that the sector’s companies want a major delay of the second...
Germany: rail unions sign the Deutsche Bahn’s new collective agreement
hree rail unions – Transnet, GDBA and GDL – validated, on February 5, the collective agreement negotiated with the Deutsche Bahn’s management on January 30, 2009. It provides...
Latin America: some 20.000 miners lost their job since the beginning of the crisis
nd for metal, leading to continuous production cuts, thousands of miners are unemployed in Chile, Peru, Brazil and Mexico. The governments are starting to express concern, while the different...
EU: coming adoption of three directives materializing joint immigration policies
e European Parliament gave an agreement in principle for a proposal for a directive providing for sanctions against employers of illegally staying third-country nationals. The MEPs will formally...
Italy: Fiat increases partial employment because of the worsening crisis
white collars in Turin would be placed in Cassa Integrazione (see our dispatch No. 080932) in March. The unrest caused by the extension of partial unemployment led to a first conflict in the...
Slovakia: the social partners agree to limit wage increases in 2009
he key trade unions have committed to wage demand pragmatism for 2009, in an effort to preserve the Slovak labor market in a country which highly depends upon exports. They committed not to ask...
Great Britain: Total’s employees at the Lindsey refinery go back to work after obtaining 102 positions for local workers
refinery, owned by Total, ended last week. Faced with the wildcat strike of British employees against the employment of Italian and Portuguese workers posted by a subcontractor employed to extend...
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...