News

Italy: collective negotiations are starting to introduce the right to disconnect from work
In Italy there is a longstanding tradition of overlooking the right to disconnect from work and the right does not feature in overall labor regulation. It does however feature in the law that...
23 May 2019
Switzerland: is the nationwide women’s strike set for 14 June actually within the law?
At the end of March 2019 a multitude of women’s’ networks launched a call to strike action: ‘Frauen Streik’ setting the symbolic date of 14 June as the day for the strike. The movement comprising...
23 May 2019
Poland: final adoption of several Labor Code modifications addressing discrimination and moral harassment
On 17 May 2019, Poland’s Senate adopted a series of amendments to the Labor Code, presented to parliament by the President of the Republic. The new employee-friendly provisions address definitions...
21 May 2019
Great Britain: trade union applying pressure on Amazon UK shareholders
Against a backdrop of repeated criticism of Amazon UK’s working conditions, in May 2019 trade unions had a first-time meeting with a number of the online giant’s shareholders, the goal of which...
21 May 2019
Italy: major parties adopt anti-austerity stance ahead of European elections
Despite significant divergence in their respective views on Europe, the main parties in Italy appear to agree on one thing: enough of austerity. In a country that is yet to return to its GDP...
21 May 2019
China: DingDing, the collaborative platform that manages workers
Few workers in China will be unaware of the existence of DingDing, the application used for organisation and communication within companies. Launched in 2014, the application has grown to become...
17 May 2019
Germany: at SAP job sharing is possible at all hierarchical levels from basic employee right up to senior executive
Since the start of 2018 all senior managerial positions at Germany’s multinational software corporation SAP have in principle been available for job sharing and flexible working opportunities...
17 May 2019
France: debate over the CGT’s international strategy during its 52nd Congress questions the ‘hyper-institutional’ approach of both the ITUC and ETUC and takes a first step towards the WFTU
The WFTU has had a chequered past. Established in 1945, it was primarily made up of unions affiliated with or sympathetic to communist parties. In 1995 the CGT took the decision to exit the...
16 May 2019
Germany: CJEU ruling on mandatory working time records puts government under pressure to reform domestic legislation
The ruling handed down on 14 May 2019 by the CJEU on the requirement to record daily working times (c.f. article No. 11127) has sparked a backlash in Germany for which there are several reasons...
16 May 2019
France: Main French EU election list’s social platforms
Following on from out focus reports on Germany (c.f. article No. 11105), Poland (c.f. article No. 11199), and Sweden (c.f. article No. 11128), we continue our tour around pre-election Europe with...
16 May 2019
Germany: government introduces first ever minimum salary for apprentices
In a first for the nation, on 15 May in Berlin, Germany's grand coalition of conservatives and center-left Social Democrats (SPD) adopted draft legislation that reforms the Law on Occupational...
15 May 2019
Mexico: unprecedented legislative headway made in support of females
On 01 May reforms to Mexico’s Federal Labor law included some major advances towards gender equality and in tackling workplace discrimination, notably by requiring companies to implement...
15 May 2019
Sweden: political parties social platforms in run up to European elections
Political life in Sweden is shaped by the aftermath of its 2018 legislative elections, which, following several months of deadlock and a hung parliament, concluded in a second minority government...
15 May 2019
Unilever: joint commitment signed with IndustriALL Global Union and the IUF to guarantee rights of temporary workers and promote sustainable employment
IndustriALL Global Union, the IUF (International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations), and Unilever have signed an agreement to limit...
13 May 2019
Germany: ThyssenKrupp pledges to avoid economic layoffs as far as possible, following collapse of planned merger with Tata
After a plan to merge its steel business with that of Indian group Tata Steel collapsed, German industrial conglomerate ThyssenKrupp announced on 10 May that some 6,000 jobs would be cut by 2022...
13 May 2019
European elections: what impact could the results have on social policies in Europe?
From 23 to 26 May, European citizens will directly elect the members of the next European Parliament. Once the MEPs have been elected, they will form political groups, each of which must have no...
13 May 2019
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
Italy: Enel signs agreement to manage the effects of AI on work
An agreement signed at the end of July by the electricity company Enel (31,000 employees) and the unions Filctem-Cgil, Flaei-Cisl, and Uiltec is pioneering in the Italian energy sector. It aims to...
7 September 2026
2
France: Bayer puts female health and inclusive parenthood at the centre of its equality policy
In a new agreement on gender equality highlighted by mind RH, Bayer commits to strengthening its parenthood policy. Furthermore, the company is anticipating pay transparency and introducing...
25 September 2026
3
France: final document on the work of the Labour, Employment and Pensions Conference
After six months of discussions between French social partners, the guarantors of the Labour, Employment and Pensions Conference submitted the conclusions of the discussions to the Prime Minister...
17 September 2026
4
Germany: Volkswagen cancels almost all collective bargaining agreements signed with IG Metall
The Volkswagen brand announced on 30 September that it is terminating 10 of its 13 internal collective bargaining agreements, effective 31 December 2026. The announcement, which the carmaker...
1 October 2026
5
Germany: working time dispute between Mercedes and the IG Metall Union
The news. At the beginning of September, Mercedes-Benz asked employee representatives and the IG Metall union to agree to an increase in the weekly working time from 35 to 40 hours, without any...
16 September 2026
6
Germany: major day of union action in the automotive industry ahead of collective bargaining
A few weeks before the start of collective bargaining in the German metalworking sector, the IG Metall trade union mobilised nearly 175,000 workers across more than 200 industrial sites on 21...
22 September 2026