News

Italy:government presents plans for labor market reform
This plan follows the line of the “White book on the future of the social system,” approved by the Council of Ministers on May 6, 2009 (see our dispatch No. 090541).
Great Britain: fixed retirement age to be scrapped on October 1, 2011
What is it?  The Employment Equality (Age) Regulation, enforced in October 2006, allows employers to part with their employees when they are 65, regardless of the circumstances.  The Regulation...
International: metal unions seek to improve strategy in Latin America
The meeting held on August 18 and 19 brought together representatives from the ASMIRA and UOM (Argentina), CNTM-FS and CMN-CUT (Brazil), and SITIMM (Mexico).  Manuel Campos, the IG-Metall...
Germany: IG-Metall demands 6% wage increase in the steel industry
Union says it’s a problem of equity.  Oliver Buckhard, leader of the IG-Metall in North-Rhine Westphalia, explained his union’s requirements by reminding that steel employees gave a lot during the...
Suspending the information thread until September 1st
The information thread will be suspended from the evening of July 30th to September 1st. You can still access the database over that period. The entire team wishes you a very good summer.
30 July 2010
Germany: the conditions for a sectoral agreement on minimum wage in regional rail transport are taking shape
After the second bargaining round for collective agreements at the Deutsche Bahn and in the rail industry, it is still impossible to say foretell the amount of wage increases for the 165,000...
Portugal: the Portuguese post office is on the list of businesses that can become private
A long procedure.  In 1992, the CCT, nationalized in 1969, became an anonymous company with 100% of the capital owned by the Portuguese State.  Meanwhile, the telecommunications department became...
Great Britain: Vestas and Linamar, two long conflicts, two different outcomes
In mid-July 2009, Vestas announced the closure of its two plants in the Isle of Wight, employing some 600 workers and citing the restrictive nature of planning laws in Britain as having choked off...
EU: European Commission points to working conditions in retail trade
A sector with a horizontal nature.  “Retail services act as a link between a multitude of upstream and downstream markets, making it a key player in the European economy” points out the document...
EU: guidelines to tackle third-party violence and harassment in education, private security and local authorities
Varied violence. Such type of violence and harassment can take different forms, according to the social partners: physical, psychological, verbal or sexual, originate from an individual or a...
Italy: tension is rising after Fiat announced the relocation of production in Serbia
Right and left wing protest from political and union forces followed the declarations, last week, of Fiat’s managing director, Sergio Marchionne, to the La Repubblica daily. Presenting his...
Great Britain: key novelties of the Equality Act in terms of labor law
Protected people. The act prohibits discrimination at work in terms of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex...
EU: the ETUC publishes its guide on the new EWC directive
This guide was developed by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) to help employees' representatives "make the most of the new provisions in" Community Directive No. 2009/38 on EWCs. This...
Great Britain: employers have to remove health questionnaires from recruitment procedures
A widespread practice. A survey carried out by the Pannone law firm among over 100 human resources managers and senior managers found that 50% of them ask applicants to fill in a health...
France: three in four unions signed the recovery agreement at GM Strasbourg
Except the CGT, all unions signed, today, Friday, July 23, the recovery agreement approved by the employees last Monday within the framework of an internal referendum. Put up for sale by General...
Portugal: government allows large supermarkets to open on Sunday, putting an end to an exception to trade regulations
Opening. The Council of Portuguese Ministers decided to terminate the exception for opening hours of large supermarkets (200m2). The establishments concerned may open from 6am to midnight, like...
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...