News

EU: staff representatives to be involved with the new European financial monitoring
Authorities.  This is a victory for Uni Finance, the union representing banking and finance employees, which has been fighting since the beginning of the economic crisis to increase employee’s...
Germany: interim is hot this fall
Union offensive on temporary work.  “It’s time we sent a clear sign against unbalance in our country and for more social justice.  We already announced it in May (…).  Unfortunately, we can see...
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...
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
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
4
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
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