News

Germany: ahead of the upcoming legislative elections the main political parties put forward their views on co-determination, part-time work, and the minimum wage
If the polls are to be believed then Angela Merkel is set to return for a fourth consecutive mandate as German Chancellor following the elections on 24 September and in this vein talk is rife over...
19 September 2017
China is taking steps to attract foreign talents
China, already among the top-ranking countries for research and development, is dramatically lacking top level talents. The Chinese authorities have recently announced measures aimed at attracting...
19 September 2017
EU: a fresh set of measures to renew Europe’s industry
In his annual state of the union address, the President of the European Commission announced a new strategy for Europe that would enable industry to ‘stay or become the world leader in innovation...
18 September 2017
Austria: positive backdrop for annual negotiations in metal sector
Autumn-time negotiations are set to commence in the Austrian metals sector on Tuesday 20 September. The talks concern some 186,000 employees across six sub-sectors, each of which will negotiate...
18 September 2017
United Kingdom: Court of Appeal ruling on IBM case affords employers greater power to alter their company pension schemes
While the country’s High Court said in a flagship ruling in 2014 that the IT giant IBM had undermined the trust of its employees by making changes to its pension fund, the Court of Appeal...
18 September 2017
Germany: agreement signed to create an internal job portal at Volkswagen group
After the blow dealt by the ‘dieselgate’ scandal as well as the movement towards electric cars, the German automobile giant launched an extensive restructuring programme, which aims to reduce...
15 September 2017
EU: pregnant women may be granted special protection in the case of collective redundancies
On 14 September, in an opinion given on a Spanish case, Advocate General Sharpston invited the Court of Justice of the European Union to rule that a collective redundancy does not always...
15 September 2017
In brief, Italian government to put in place tax incentives to encourage measures to aid work-life balance
A decree signed on 13 September by Giuliano Poletti, the Italian minister for labour and social policies, and Pier Carlo Padoan, the country’s economy and finance minister, has unlocked 110...
15 September 2017
Portugal: tensions rising between unions at the Volkswagen Palmela facility (Autoeuropa)
30 km south of Portugal’s capital Lisbon social conflict continues at the Volkswagen Palmela facility. The main CGTP affiliated union the SITE-SUL is challenging the mandatory Saturday working...
14 September 2017
Brazil: Mercedes-Benz before the courts over unfair dismissals
At the start of September Brazil’s Labor Ministry, the MPT ,brought an action to the courts against automaker Mercedes-Benz that has a facility in São Bernardo do Campo, in the São Paulo area...
14 September 2017
EU: where airline crews are “home based” is significant in determining the jurisdiction where they habitually carry out their work (CJEU Ryanair Case)
Ryanair cabin crew members looking to bring a case against their employer do not have to turn to the Irish labor Tribunal just because the company’s aircraft are registered in Ireland. They can...
14 September 2017
EU: The EU Commission presents its short and medium term priorities
On 13 September 2017, the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, delivered his annual and penultimate speech on the State of the European Union at the European Parliament. In...
13 September 2017
Germany: a key ruling by the Federal Labor Court for interim employees working in metal sector services provision
Germany’s metal union IG Metall estimates that tens of thousands of interim workers are set to receive extra income thanks to a ruling dating back to 22 February 2017 that was only recently...
13 September 2017
Great Britain: Brexit threatening 1.5 million jobs says new report by the TUC union confederation
How are we doing? The impact of Brexit at industry level. Thus the title of a new report presented on 10 September by the TUC union confederation during its annual conference in Brighton. In it...
13 September 2017
France : the Paris Court of Appeal has ordered UPS SCS to reinstate 85 employees on the grounds of a fraudulent transfer of undertaking
This resolution, although not new, is only infrequently used and this is why we have reported this ruling rendered on 07 September. The company in question had transfered its repairs and...
12 September 2017
ENGIE: latest EWC agreement put online
ENGIE's EWC agreement has undergone its second amendment since it was initially put in place following the Gaz de France | Suez merger (for more on the agreement itself c.f. article No. 090489). ...
12 September 2017
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