News

United States: American unionism undergoing radical transformation
More union members in services. “Unions fought and objected as much as they could” explained Gibb Surette, legal delegate for the powerful United Auto Workers (UAW), adding that “many sectors...
Germany: overtime to be included in short-time working benefits for truck drivers
The agreement reached with the representatives of the Federal Ministry for Employment and Social Affairs in mid-June was welcomed by the social partners who negotiated, i.e. the three largest...
ArcelorMittal: final European framework agreement on anticipating change
Save jobs and ArcelorMittal’s future. The agreement starts with a commitment linked to the current worries of the company’s employees. “ArcelorMittal intends to preserve all the tools and plants...
Germany: Deutsche Bank spying scandal takes on another dimension
After acknowledging, on May 25, that its security service spied on some employees in the past, the Deutsche Bank promised an “uncompromised explanation” of this case and commissioned the Cleary...
Belgium: employers stir up heated debate on pension reform
Base pensions on life expectancy. Inversely, life expectancy has been increasing since the 1970s. “In 1975, people lived, in average, until 75; now they live until 85” explained Klaas Soens...
Netherlands: partial unemployment benefits extended
Partial unemployment is the only special concrete measure taken by The Hague regarding employment to fight the impact of the crisis. No tax or other aids have been given to businesses. This system...
Austria: 2.2 % wage increase for railroaders
Planet Labor, June 26, 2009, No. 090677 – www.planetlabor.com 
Czech Republic: new antidiscrimination act approved
The Czech Parliament overrode the President's veto (see our dispatch No. 081015) and adopted, on June 17, 2009, the new Antidiscrimination Act. This text, which transposes Directive 2000/78 on...
EU: the social partners commit to continue working on accident prevention in the postal sector
In the introduction, they point to the intensification of labor in this “highly industrial” sector and remind their cooperation to promote prevention plans. In late 2004, this commitment...
Poland: bill amends law on industrial unions
The law of may 23, 1991 on industrial unions provides, in article 35, a series of penal provisions notably in case of an offense to the constitution and union action, or even in case of union...
Great Britain: minimum wage for apprentices?
Combat exploitation. This was a recommendation made by the Low Pay Commission in its 2009 report. Currently, apprentices under the age of 19 and those over 19 but during their first year as...
Hungary: Commissioner in charge of the protection of personal data increases the respect of employees’ private life
“Indispensable” data for performing a job. In this opinion, the Commissioner confirmed in writing the current practice that employers must not handle employee data, unless such data is...
Italy: from theoretical to practical application of the reform of the conventional system
New provisional index. The new reference index to define wages – the central element of the separate agreement on the reform of the conventional system rejected by the CGIL (see our dispatch No...
EU: 3rd ETF congress defends sustainable transport
Sustainable transport. The European Transport Workers’ Federation, ETF, supports “the promotion of sustainable transport” as indicated in one of the resolutions adopted in late may, indicating...
Great Britain: businesses close defined benefit pension schemes
Employers’ warning. The CBI employers’ organization sounded the alarm last month: if the government doesn’t do anything in favor of businesses which offer pension funds, they will have to shut...
Spain: mobilization spreads after negotiations for the renewal of metalworkers’ collective agreement failed again in Galicia
After over 30 hours of uninterrupted talks, employers and unions from the Pontevedra region (Galicia) declared, on Thursday, June 11, that negotiations on the new collective agreement in the metal...
Most viewed articles of the month on mind HR
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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
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...
3
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...
4
EU: co-legislators aim to pivot European Globalisation Adjustment Fund towards restructuring anticipation
On 25 February, the Council of the EU and the Parliament reached an agreement on the Commission’s proposed regulation to expand the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF). Under the...
5
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...