News

China: reforming holidays is hard
Since 2000, Chinese workers have fixed national holidays, mostly during what is known as the “golden weeks.”  Initially adopted to boost consumption after the Asian bubble burst, this system is...
30 October 2013
Italy: for its 2nd year, the “Corporate Security” award evaluates Italian firms’ commitment to security
Organized by the Confindustria employers’ organization and by the Inail (industrial accidents insurance) to promote the development of the security culture and best practices in this area, the...
30 October 2013
United States: Boeing hesitates between the south with no unions and Washington State to build the 777x
To assemble the new version of its 777, the American manufacturer is hesitating between several sites: Everett, near Seattle, its historical, unionized plant, or Charleston, the new non-unionized...
30 October 2013
Canada: Unifor, a new type of union that represents active workers and the unemployed
On August 31, 2013, at a Founding Convention in Toronto, Canada, Unifor became the largest union organization in the private sector.  It is the result of a merger between Canadian Auto Workers...
29 October 2013
Great Britain: employers at the center of the apprenticeship reform revealed by Cameron
The government presented its apprenticeship reform, which should come into force by the end of 2014.  This review plans to put employers at the center of this path, which will now last at least a...
29 October 2013
Austria: 2.85 percent pay deal for the biggest metal employers’ organization
The open strike supposed to start today, October 29, was canceled.  Indeed, last night, the metal social partners reached an agreement on wages, with an increase between 2.6 and 3.2 percent...
29 October 2013
Great Britain: employers in the food industry join forces to fight illegal labor
Major retail groups joined together within an information campaign aimed to eradicate forced labor of immigrants in the food industry.  This problem is booming and the number of reports increased...
29 October 2013
Denmark: HK convention wants to change the union to better meet its members’ needs and be more attractive
With the slogan, “Members at the Center,” HK organized its 31st convention in Copenhagen on October 24-26.  With 280,000 members – 75 percent of whom are women – it is the second largest union in...
28 October 2013
China: interview of Hubert Bazin, lawyer in Beijing, about the changes to the Chinese labor market
“For a long time, China was considered as a country with low labor costs and very flexible labor law, with flexible recruitment and layoff options, but it isn’t true anymore.”  Hubert Bazin, in...
28 October 2013
Great Britain: Ineos wins battle with Unite the union at its petro-chemical plant at Grangemouth
After the threatened closure of the petro-chemical plant at Grangemouth by owner, Ineos, the Unite union has now agreed not only to all the concessions the company was initially looking for but...
28 October 2013
Brazil: collective agreement signed in the banking industry after 23 days of strike
On Friday, October 18, the National Confederation of Financial Workers (Contraf-CUT, affiliated with the largest union confederation) signed the sector’s 22nd collective agreement for 2013-14 with...
25 October 2013
Great Britain: unions want employees to have a voice in companies’ boards
The Trades Union Confederation (TUC) hit hard, launching a first campaign asking for employee representatives to sit on boards.  Currently, there is no law containing the obligation for British...
25 October 2013
Spain: pregnant women no longer protected against the termination of the labor contract during the trial period
By saying that “pregnancy, even when the company is not aware of it, will be grounds for nullity in case of layoffs only, not for the termination of the contract during the trial period,” the...
25 October 2013
Austria: metal unions announce open strike starting on Tuesday, October 29
After the 4th bargaining round failed on October 22, affecting 120,000 of the sector’s 180,000 employees, Pro-Ge and DPA-djp, the metalworkers’ unions, decided to take a harder line and...
24 October 2013
Interview of Denis Pennel, the author of, “Working for yourself: what future for labor at the time of the individualist revolution?”
Individuals’ yearning for fulfilling work matching their life choices implies that the social partners and politicians rethink the social contract, explains Denis Pennel, who wrote a book called...
EU: European social partners want to be involved in European economic governance
In a joint declaration revealed at the tripartite social summit organized today, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) for unions and BusinessEurope, the CEEP and the UEAPME for employers...
24 October 2013
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
France: Cabinet adopts pay transparency bill
After several months of delay beyond the European deadline of 7 June 2026, French Labour Minister Jean-Pierre Farandou finally presented the bill transposing the Pay Transparency Directive to the...
10 September 2026
2
Germany: IG Metall demands 5% pay rise amid severe pressure
Despite the crisis hitting the automotive industry, the leadership of the German trade union IG Metall announced on Wednesday 23 September that it would be asking for a 5% pay increase as well as...
23 September 2026
3
Spain: government revisits its draft decree on salary transparency
The Spanish Ministry of Labour has opened a consultation on the transposition of the European directive on salary transparency and the reduction of the gender pay gap. This decision follows a...
8 September 2026
4
EU: Commission proposes a list of worker-related criteria for public procurement
The news. On 9 September, the European Commission published a proposal for a regulation aimed at unifying European public procurement law, which accounts for 15% of European GDP. It is notably set...
17 September 2026
5
Spain: approval of decree on employees’ right to clear information on working conditions
The Spanish government validated, on September 8 in the Council of Ministers, the decree transposing the European directive on transparent and predictable working conditions. This text requires...
9 September 2026
6
France: bioMérieux strengthens its end-of-career support measures
The news. In vitro diagnostic specialist bioMérieux (4,400 employees in France) and unions CFDT, CFE-CGC, and CGT signed a new agreement on June 18, 2026, dedicated to end-of-career...
10 September 2026