News

Italy: final adoption of labor dispute reform
On October 19th, the Chamber of Deputies approved Act 1441 Quater (former 1167-B) which, among other provisions, reforms labor disputes.  On March 31st, the President of the Republic sent the law...
EU: telecom social partners publish good practices guidelines on mental health at work
Inventory.  According to the European social partners in the telecommunications sector, 50 to 60% of absences from work are related to stress in the company.  It seems that mental health is also...
Great Britain: government won’t amend Agency Workers Regulations
Comply with the consensus.  The British regulations that transpose the European directive on agency workers will come into force in October 2011.  In a communiqué released on October 19th...
Spain: close union relation at the Ministry of Labor
Unions were relieved by the announcement that Valeriano Gomez was the new Minister of Labor.  He is succeeding Celestino Corbacho, who left after seeing through the controversial labor market...
EU: MEPs vote for the extension of maternity leave to 20 weeks minimum
Vote. Up to the last minute, uncertainty hung over this key vote for the Parliament’s fall social agenda.  British lobbies have been trying anything over the past few days to make sure the MEPs...
Italy: UniCredit signs unitary agreement with unions on its restructuring program 2010-2013
After six days of non-stop bargaining, UniCredit’s union delegations – Fabi, Fiba-Cisl, Fisac-CGIL, Silcea, Sinfub, UGL Crédito, Uilca-Uil – signed, on Monday, October 18th, at dawn, a unitary...
20 October 2010
Denmark: 360° study on the situation of union representatives in the 21st century
The Faos’ researchers surveyed nearly 11,000 representatives (including over 3,000 safety representatives), 1,475 “colleagues” (including 1,169 LO members, 164 members of “yellow unions” and 142...
20 October 2010
Portugal: supermarkets to open on Sunday as of October 24th
Opening hours.  The text passed in July (see our dispatch No. 100589) lifts the ban on very large supermarkets (over 2,000 m2) to enjoy existing opening hours.  As of October 24th, they will be...
Brazil: unions actively involved in Dilma Rousseff’s presidential campaign and give him the “Working Class Agenda”
Union meeting.  On Friday, October 15th, in Sao Paulo, during an electoral meeting, the six key Brazilian union federations gathered around Dilma Rousseff and President Lula da Silva to bring...
Great Britain: employers maintain tight control over labour costs even with more pay disputes
After a dispute beginning in August and involving two one-day strikes and then a deal brokered by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), the company agreed to pay a 2.5% rise...
International: aerospace unions prepare the ground for a global alliance
American, European, Asian, Latin American and Australian representatives met in Seattle, the capital of the American giant, Boeing, to talk about the employment situation in the sector.  While...
Austria: government and social partners agree on the creation of a “red-white-red” card for highly-skilled migrant workers
The removal of the rigid quota system is acclaimed.  It took the Austrian government two years to keep the promise it made in 2008 when it was established, to modernize the system for the...
EU: electricity social partners keep working together on skills
Environmental transition.  This summer, the Syndex accounting firm did simulations and interviews with unions and businesses to bring out good practices.  On October 5th though, the social...
Italy: the success of the Fiom’s demonstration increases the divide with the Cisl
The union didn’t want to give any numbers.  From the “80,000 participants” according to the police to the half a million or more according to the press, there was, in any case, an “extraordinary...
Netherlands: FNV wants “labor policy” and an “update to the Finnish level”
On Friday, October 15th, the FNV responded to the announcement of the new government which, at the request of right-wing populist Geert Wilders, is going to launch a new special police unit, with...
Germany: employers are afraid the immigration controversy is going to affect the recruitment of skilled foreign workers
Base immigration on the labor market’s needs. “The German economy needs skilled workers” reminded, once again, the head of the employers’ confederation, Dieter Hundt, this week end, protesting...
18 October 2010
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
Netherlands: new government seeks to “control” social costs
In his government policy statement to Parliament on 25 February, Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten announced several measures designed to "control" social costs. Notably, he proposed raising the...
2
Germany: launch of the “WE-Fair” alliance for binational training of skilled foreign workers
Germany continues to expand and diversify its initiatives to attract skilled foreign labour from outside the EU. In mid-March 2026, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development...
3
Spain: a bill to regulate internships
On 3 March, the Council of Ministers approved the bill on the “Status for persons undergoing non-professional practical training in companies”. The text limits the number of interns a company can...
4
Block to slash workforce by nearly half
The news. In his latest shareholder letter, Jack Dorsey, CEO of payment service provider Block (formerly Square), announced plans to slash the company’s workforce “by nearly half, from...