News brief

Slovenia: employers and union organizations criticize the lack of social dialogue
or employers’ and union organizations sent an open letter to the president of the Slovene government where they expressed concern about recent developments in social dialogue. They think...
France: the 4-year term of the representative of a EWC established without an agreement cannot be questioned with subsequent elections
ourt rendered a ruling within the framework of a dispute related to the appointment of the French representative at Dell’s EWC, established in a legal way. It overrides the ruling of the...
Italy: ThyssenKrupp Ast signs an agreement with unions on the management of partial unemployment
the management of ThyssenKrupp Acciai Speciali of Terni (Umbria) and unions provides for a “fair management” of the activity suspension which will affect the 2.200 employees (permanent...
United States: new act against wage discrimination
or, George Bush, President Obama chose to act from the very beginning of his term. On January 28, the President passed his first act, the “Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act” named after...
Finland: the new Code of Governance consolidates transparency and enforces equal gender representation within boards
rnance Code came into force on January 1, 2009, reinforcing transparency of companies quoted on the stock exchange and pressing firms to ensure representation of both genders of corporate boards...
9 February 2009
Finland: the social partners reform unemployment benefits and pensions
izations – SAK for blue collars, STTK for white collars, AKAVA for university-level trades – and the confederation of Finnish industries (EK) reached an agreement on a major social...
EU: the European Commission focus its compromise efforts on working time directive on on-call time
their stand in preparation for the conciliation phase between the European Parliament and the Council of EU Ministers on the working time directive, last phase of the legal process. Whereas...
Netherlands: outcry after the announcement of double bonuses for ABN Amro managers
mplained after a double bonus was awarded to about 500 managers for the second year in a row. It is suspicious as to the fairness of this bonus, awarded to the highest levels of the hierarchy...
Spain: unions and employers’ organizations fight about the inflation rate to take into account for wage increases
nion confederations, defined the threshold for wage increases to 2%, while the CEOE employers’ confederation draws the line at 1%. After seven years of consensus on the prices defined in the...
Italy: the CGIL mobilizes against the separate agreement on the reform of the conventional system
he largest union confederation in Italy unanimously approved a strategy to object to the January 22 separate agreement on the reform of the conventional system (see our dispatch No. 090080) signed...
Slovakia: government proposes measures to support labor market
agged up a labor market support plan which introduces three new benefits for Slovak maintaining employment despite production cuts. These benefits could be available from March 2009, under certain...
Belgium: the Minister of Labor proposes to open talks on extending partial unemployment to employees
the Minister of Employment, Joelle Micquet, questioned on February 5, 2009 about the need to extend partial unemployment – currently reserved to employees with the status of blue-collar...
Brazil: several metalworkers’ and mining unions accept wage reductions to save jobs
jobs, more and more unions sign agreements with businesses to reduce wages. The phenomenon, coming at a time when the government announced a 12% minimum wage increase, particularly concerns the...
EU: the 27 open timid discussions on maternity leave
U27 opened, on Tuesday, February 3, discussions for the revision of the directive on the protection of pregnant women, the main measure being to extend the maternity leave from 14 to 18 weeks...
France: the social partners unanimously sign the national interprofessional agreement on vocational training
anizations involved in the negotiation process since September 2008 (CFTC, CFDT, CFE-CGC, CGT-FO, CGT) as well as the Medef, CGPME and UPA for employers committed to sign the interprofessional...
Netherlands: working time reduction hardly extended
cial Affairs rejected half of the 90 requests for the extension of working time (Werktijdverkorting – WTV) sent by businesses after the first six weeks to which they were entitled. (Ref...
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...