News

Great Britain: bill to prevent technicalities from stopping industrial action
It seeks to stop employers from having the latitude to use minor issues to halt lawful industrial action through recourse to the courts in the form of being granted an injunction. The Bill seeks...
EU: ECJ distinguishes bonuses for temporarily reclassified pregnant workers
Directive 92/85 on the protection of pregnant women and young mothers imposes that employers reclassify to another position pregnant workers exposed to some risks that could be dangerous in their...
Netherlands: FNV members vote yes to retirement at 67
The FNV’s 1.4 million members were called to vote on the controversial agreement signed on June 4th between the FNV (Federation of Netherlands Unions), CNV (Federation of Christian Unions) and...
Germany: the economic recovery revives the “hunt” for skills workers
Production and working time are going back up. Randstadt, interim leader in Germany, is setting the tone. The company just launched a big advertising campaign. It is looking for about 6,000...
Austria: employment restarting stirs up the debate on flexible working time
New recruitments, less work. In 2008 and 2009, the Austrian economy cut nearly 45,000 jobs. However, with the recovery, statisticians from the Employment Agency (Arbeitsmarktservice – AMS) think...
Great Britain: unions are not really harvesting the fruit of ten years of “union organising”
The most sophisticated and sustained strategy has been that of ‘union organising’ which has its origins in the renewal strategies developed by unions in Australia and the United States. It began...
Romania: self-employed workers to pay social contributions
16.5%. As of July 1, 2010, people with income from independent activities will by contributions to social insurances, in the amount of 16.5% of their income, like every other employee. This...
EU: social agenda of the Belgian Presidency
Within the Council, Belgium is traditionally with the interventionist States on the social sphere. Thus, the Presidency’s program has a very comprehensive social agenda, which doesn’t neglect a...
Netherlands: regional mobility centers are a success
Over the first four months of the year, the mobility centers (mobiliteitcentra) have seen an additional 44,000 jobseekers and helped 4,200 of them find a job within three months after layoff. This...
Italy: SMEs social partners in the Vicenza province signed the first protocol on regional bargaining
This is the first agreement of this kind in Italy. Apindustria Vicenza for employers and CGIL, Cisl and Uil for unions signed, on June 11th, a protocol encouraging and supervising local collective...
Germany: the decline in the workforce reserve by 2025 can only be absorbed with training (IAB)
Women, older workers and migrants don’t compensate demographic ageing. In the study it presented on Thursday, June 24th, the IAB points to a major decline in “underemployment” in the long run...
Great Britain: government limits the number of non-European immigrant workers
New immigration policy. Home Secretary Theresa May announced this temporary immigration limit on June 28th. The limit was created to avoid increased applications before the permanent limit in...
Corporate practices: Nordea Finans, the first bank to get the Swedish health label
Give workplaces health certifications. The idea of giving businesses health certifications dates back to 2003 and came from the leader of SEKO (sectoral union in services and communication), Janne...
29 June 2010
Germany: nearly one in ten businesses doesn’t apply mandatory sectoral minimum wage
One in ten businesses cheats. “If we agree on a rule, it has to be applied” declared Ursula von der Leyen when commenting the evaluation presented by the monitoring unit of the German customs...
Great Britain: increasing victimization of union activists, especially in public services
The significance of each victimisation is not just the individual activist concerned and their job and livelihood. Rather, it also the impact of undermining collective protection for the union...
Romania: since it can’t cut pensions, the government is increasing VAT from 19 to 24%
No pension cuts. No pension cuts, just a VAT increase. This is the latest development of the difficult anticrisis measures the Romanian government has to take. On Friday, June 25th, the...
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
Catherine Chavanier (CDC Habitat): “Social dialogue on AI facilitates its deployment”
In February, CDC Habitat (10,500 employees) signed a two-year framework agreement governing social dialogue on AI. Catherine Chavanier, HR Director of the subsidiary of CDC (Caisse des dépôts et...
2
Greece: hospitality sector signs first collective agreement aligned with National Social Pact
The hospitality sector (125,000 employees), one of Greece’s largest industries after retail, signed a new two-year collective agreement on 17 March. The text, effective from 1 April 2026...
3
France: La Poste to launch negotiations for an AI agreement
Following the lead of firms such as Axa, Syensqo globally, and more recently CDC Habitat, La Poste group management will open negotiations on an AI regulation agreement during the first half of...
4
France: Club Med includes “multiculturalism” in its professional equality agreement
In December 2025, Club Med and the CFTC, Unsa, and FO trade unions signed an agreement on professional equality and working conditions. It introduces measures addressing AI, pay transparency, and...
23 March 2026
5
Germany: crisis and transformation wage agreement in the chemical sector
Following a two-day marathon negotiation in Bad Breisig (Western Germany), the social partners of the German chemical and pharmaceutical industries—the IG BCE trade union and the BAVC employers'...
27 March 2026
6
France: bioMérieux’s new disability agreement pivots towards mental health
The news. On 6 January 2026, bioMérieux—an in vitro diagnostics specialist employing 4,400 people in France—signed a new four-year agreement “relating to the employment...