News

Great Britain: new act clarifies the disability-related provisions of the Equality Act
The new Equality Act (see our dispatch No. 100592), which replaces all discrimination laws, has enlarged the definition of disability: it is no longer required for the employees’ deficiencies to...
Italy: groundbreaking company agreements bank on consensus
Flexibility and top social respect.  The chemical industry is still the leader in terms of long “collaborative” industrial relations.  Federchimica leader Giorgio Squinzi (performing his sixth...
Luxembourg: social tension around severity measures
The OGBL, Luxembourg’s independent union confederation, the LCGB, the federation of Luxembourg’s Christian unions, the ALEBA, the union of banking employees, the FNCTTFEL, representing public...
Portugal: unions open talks on 2011 wage increases after a “frozen” year because of the crisis
Calculated claims.  The General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP, close to the communist party, PCP), proposed a 3.5% wage increase in 2011, with a €25 monthly increase for the lowest...
7 September 2010
Italy: Poste Italiane could be the first company to try employee profit-sharing
Board participation remains the most controversial part for the introduction of an Italian profit-sharing system (see our dispatches No. 091144 and 100557), with an employers’ organization...
Great Britain: fewer employers support pension auto-enrolment
Context.  The “Pensions Act 2008” introduced measures to boost private savings, notably via a reform of corporate pension funds.  As of 2012, employers will systematically have to enroll eligible...
6 September 2010
Romania: tough minimum wage negotiations
No consensus on minimum wage.  Despite a new meeting earlier this week, the trade unions and representatives from the Romanian Finance Ministry haven’t reached an agreements on the minimum wage...
PPR: group takes European commitment on the quality of life at work and the prevention of work-related stress
Philippe Decressac, HR senior vice-president of the group, “is happy with this endorsement” and pointed out that “more than psycho-social risks, the point was the quality of life at work and the...
Brazil: alcoholism is no longer a valid ground for dismissal
Coming to work after consuming excessive amounts of alcohol is no longer a valid ground for dismissal in Brazil.  This is the amendment made by the Brazilian Senate to the Labor Code.  The Chamber...
United States: Human Rights Watch bashes European firms’ anti-union behavior in the US
Most corporations Human Rights Watch is pointing the finger at have endorsed the industrial relations guidelines of the OECD.  They endorse the core labor standards of the ILO and the United...
3 September 2010
Italy: Confindustria and Federmeccanica are willing to amend the metal CCN so Fiat will remain in the employers’ organization
Suspense in the Italian industry before Federmeccanica’s management meets on September 7th and announces what the metal employers’ organization chose to keep Fiat from leaving and allow for the...
United States: American unions gather to prepare the November elections
A new partnership.  For the AFL CIO and SEIU, these political actions aren’t new.  The two organizations have the support of the Center for Responsive Politics, specialized in lobbying, and the...
Germany: controversy about the bill on the protection of employees’ private data
No hidden cameras.  Taking account of the criticism introduced, in June, by the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB, see our dispatch No. 100506), the Department for Home Affairs presented a...
Austria: unions demand drastic overtime limit
Talks on flexible working time and the management of overtime in Austria have been going on for over a year (see our dispatches No. 091007 and 100291) and have already greatly tainted the social...
Great Britain: government questions employees’ right to request time to train
Short consultation.  Within the framework of this new policy (see our dispatch No. 100044), the training requested by the employee should be good for the company and the employee.  When they...
Netherlands: still no coalition three months after the general election
Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party (PPV) is now setting the political rules in the Netherlands: it seems impossible to govern without it, because of its election results, but equally hard to govern with...
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...