News brief

France: Decathlon introduces a ‘duty to respect others’ right to disconnect’
A right-to-disconnect agreement was signed in late September for the French arm of the Decathlon sports retail group. It sets out a "duty to respect others’ right to disconnect" and provides...
14 November 2025
Bulgaria: government proposes 12.6% minimum wage rise for 2026
On 30 October, the Bulgarian government proposed a 12.6% increase in the minimum wage to take effect from 1 January 2026. This increase was determined according to the usual mechanism, as Bulgaria...
14 November 2025
EU: right and far right join forces in parliament to dismantle sustainability due diligence
On 13 November, the European Parliament approved the report by EPP MEP Jörgen Warborn on the proposed omnibus directive, clearing the way for trilogue negotiations. Backed by the far right, the...
13 November 2025
France: TotalEnergies steps up commitment on disability
On 9 October, French energy group TotalEnergies and all representative trade unions signed a new four-year agreement on disability inclusion. Taking effect on 1 January 2026, the deal aims to help...
Italy: new collective agreement for managers in tertiary sector
On 5 November, the ManagerItalia union and the employers’ association Confcommercio renewed the collective agreement for managers in Italy’s tertiary, distribution and services...
12 November 2025
EU: Court of Justice largely upholds directive on adequate minimum wages
On 11 November, the Court of Justice of the European Union upheld most of the directive on adequate minimum wages, rejecting Denmark’s claim that it infringed on national sovereignty over wage...
12 November 2025
Seven major companies offer training to raise awareness of domestic and sexual violence
L’Oréal, Engie, LVMH, Publicis, Accor and Orange are encouraging their staff to take part in the Safe Spaces training programme on domestic and sexual violence, developed by insurance...
10 November 2025
Romania: collective agreement extended to entire insurance sector
On 3 November, Romania’s National Tripartite Council for Social Dialogue approved the extension of the collective labour agreement signed on 23 May by the Confederation of Employers in the...
10 November 2025
United Kingdom largely retained within scope of EWCs despite Brexit, study shows
A study published this month by the Institute for Economic and Social Research, the French trade union research organisation, examined how the involvement of British representatives in European...
7 November 2025
Spain: government approves creation of ‘intern status’
The Spanish government has paved the way for the creation of a new status for "persons undergoing non-professional practical training in companies, institutions or public or private organisations...
Luxembourg: two pension reform bills submitted to parliament
After lengthy negotiations with the social partners, in mid-October the Luxembourg government submitted two bills to parliament aimed at reforming the pension system to ensure its long-term...
Germany: pensioners in work already common practice, study shows
As the German government steps up measures to encourage people to stay in work beyond the legal retirement age, a new study by the Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI) – an independent...
France: social conference on labour and pensions to proceed without main employers’ group
The preparatory meeting ahead of the social conference on labour and pensions, which is set to decide on the pension system model and the funding thereof, was held on 4 November at France's labour...
Italy: decree-law adopted to increase workplace safety
On 28 October, the Italian cabinet adopted a decree-law on health and safety at work, aimed at preventing and reducing accidents. The text addresses both the powers and actions of supervisory...
4 November 2025
Romania: parents of children with disabilities granted up to eight days of remote work per month
On 9 October, the Romanian parliament adopted a bill aiming to bolster support for parents of children with disabilities up to the age of 18. The legislation, which came into force on 12 October...
4 November 2025
Carrefour and UNI Global Union renew global agreement on promoting social dialogue and diversity
On 17 October, Carrefour, one of the world’s largest retailers, with nearly 500,000 employees worldwide, and global union federation UNI Global Union renewed their global agreement on...
3 November 2025
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
Oliver Dietrich (IG Metall): “The advent of AI can be a means of deepening social partnership within companies”
In Germany, trade unions want to influence how AI is deployed in companies. Oliver Dietrich is an AI project manager at the regional office of the IG Metall trade union in North Rhine-Westphalia...
2
EU: social partners split over competitiveness and action on job quality
The European Trade Union Confederation and BusinessEurope have published their response to the consultation document on the European Commission's upcoming EU quality jobs initiative. The two...
4 February 2026
3
Germany: collective bargaining negotiations begin in chemical industry
Collective bargaining talks in Germany’s chemical and pharmaceutical industries are due to open this week, covering nearly 580,000 employees across around 1,700 companies. With the sector facing...
3 February 2026
4
Italy: new generational renewal agreement penned at UniCredit
The agreement signed on 30 December by UniCredit, Italy’s second-largest banking group, with the Fabi, First-Cisl, Fisac-Cgil, Uilca and Unisin trade unions aims to continue generational...
5
France: social partner talks extend far beyond contractual terminations
After a false start on 3 December, French social partners resumed talks on 7 January 2026 on potential changes to the unemployment insurance agreement, including the rules governing compensation...
12 January 2026
6
EU: banking sector social partners commit to combating violence and harassment
On 15 January, the trade union federation UNI Europa Finance and three employers’ associations in the banking sector signed a joint statement on preventing violence and harassment in the...