News

Chile: collective bargaining reform postponed to 2010
Employment and economic recovery override labor law reform. After disagreements within the government coalition (composed of four parties), Chilean President Michelle Bachelet decided to suspend...
Great Britain: consultation on employees’ auto-enrolment to their company’s professional pension fund
Auto-enrolment. What is it? Angela Eagle, Minister for Pensions and the Ageing Society, explained: “These landmark reforms, on a scale unprecedented anywhere in the world, will ensure millions of...
Italy: Filcem-CGIL launches collective bargaining for over 500,000 employers in four sectors
Waiting for a “universal collective bargaining system.” After presenting a separate platform in electricity (see our dispatch No. 090705), the Filcem-CGIL is now presenting four new claim...
Germany: Federal Labor Court extends the right to strike to “flashmobs”
Flash mob to block a supermarket. The judgment rendered by the Federal Labor Court came from charges pressed by the Regional Federation of Retail Trade of Berlin-Brandenburg (case 1 AZR 972/08)...
Sweden: two collective agreements in technology and design give priority to local wage negotiations
Unionen gives individual wage negotiations up. The sector’s employers’ organization, Almega STD, represents around 740 businesses in the construction and manufacturing sectors, i.e. 2/3 of...
Germany: IG-Metall threatens with warning strikes at Volkswagen if collective bargaining fails again
“In the middle of a crisis, Volkswagen is gaining market shares in Germany and western Europe. This is due to the amazing development of our products and to the equally amazing effort of...
Saint-Gobain: new amendment strengthening the EWC’s information and consultation rights
Effective and practical social dialog. Amendment No. 5 of May 2008 (see our dispatch No. 080713) included the commitment to negotiate, as soon as the second 2008 quarter, the practical modalities...
Opel: European trade unions mobilized against the shutdown of the Antwerp site
Number fight. On September 23, whereas the EMF was expecting 3,000-5,000 workers from throughout Europe in Antwerp, out of solidarity for the site’s workers, Fritz Henderson, Opel’s CEO, told...
Hungary: temporary introduction of more flexible working time measures
New working time regulations. In response to the challenges the labor market is facing in the wake of the economic crisis, the Hungarian Parliament adopted a set of amendments to the Labor Code to...
Netherlands: bankers still as well paid
Despite a few signs of good will, Dutch bankers still receive tremendous premiums. Those whose wages exceeded €1.5 million received bonuses amounting to 311% of their remuneration for 2008 (as...
Denmark: 54th Dansk Metal Congress confronts the crisis
Maintain benefits and increase the number of members. The 54th Dansk Metal Congress, held in Aalborg on September 12-18, focused on how to face the union’s future challenges. The 486...
Peru: four-day paternity leave for all workers
The paternity leave system recently adopted in Peru provides for four days of paid leave when the mother is at the hospital. The “Act which grants the right to paternity leave to workers in the...
Sweden: government presents a ‘return-to-work’ program for people on long-term sick leave
Ambitious return-to-work program. The Swedish government wants to learn the lessons from the crisis of the 1990s and spare no effort to slow down an unemployment boom. With this program, the...
Great Britain: paternity leave extended in 2011
Agreed effort towards fathers. Initially, the government had planned to extend maternity leave from 39 to 52 weeks at the same time as increasing paternity rights, which will allow parents to...
Great Britain: CWU threatens with national strike
Wildcat strikes throughout the country. Since June 19, 2009, there have been 34 days of strike, from southern England to northern Scotland, in over 235 Royal Mail establishments. The last...
EU: the social agenda presented by Jose Manuel Barroso, reelected as the head of the European Commission
Social dumping. Mentioned in his political trends, the notion of basic social rights of workers took, within the last ten days before his investiture, a new dimension in the candidate’s words. “We...
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
France: Yves Rocher convicted of breach of duty of vigilance for infringement of freedom of association
The specialised chamber of the Paris Judicial Court convicted Yves Rocher on 12 March for breaching its duty of vigilance. The group was sued by Turkish employees dismissed in 2018 by a subsidiary...
12 March 2026
2
Spain: business support package to tackle the economic impact of the Middle East conflict
The Spanish government approved a series of measures on 20 March to support companies facing rising energy prices. In return, these businesses are prohibited from making redundancies for economic...
23 March 2026
3
EU: Council adopts position on simplifying AI rules
The Council of the EU approved its position on 13 March regarding the “omnibus regulation” proposal, published last November by the Commission to simplify the AI Act. Confirming the...
20 March 2026
4
Germany: a corporate group supports local political engagement via its “Democracy Charter”
Large corporations in the Hesse region, surrounding Frankfurt, are defending local democracy by enabling employees to volunteer in local public life through an initiative dubbed the "Democracy...
11 March 2026
5
United States: Coca-Cola subsidiary sued by the administration over women-only event
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced on 18 February that it is launching federal proceedings against Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast for “sex-based...
6 March 2026