News

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...
EU: ECJ rules that employees whose sick leave overlaps with annual leave set early can take the latter some other time
Facts. In the case brought before the Court, the claimant asked his employer for a new period of paid leave because he was on sick leave due to an industrial accident which took place shortly...
Germany: Minister for Employment and Social Affairs presents a bill to reduce the gender pay gap
The social-democrat Minister Olaf Scholz introduced a bill on "wage equality" to "protect women against wage discrimination." The bill provides for an extension of WCs' intervention and...
Germany: E.ON suspends economic layoffs until 2012
No economic layoffs until December 31, 2012. Staffing cuts needed for the savings program will be “subtle,” i.e. via gradual early retirement (Altersteilzeit), early retirement, non-renewal of...
Italy: controversial “mini-pension reform” adopted
Gradual increase of retirement age for women in the public service. While they could, until now, choose to retire at 60 instead of 65 (which the European Commission views as a violation of the...
Netherlands: unions disagree on retirement at 67
Present an alternative. The Social and Economic Council (SER) has until October 1 to present a unanimous alternative to the increase of retirement age from 65 to 67 (see our dispatch No. 090631)...
Suspension of the information stream between August 3 and August 28
Planet Labor's editorial staff is going to take advantage of the information slowdown to go on vacation. The information stream will be suspended between August 3 and August 28. The archives will...
31 July 2009
EU: the European Commission adopts the draft directive on parental leave
Improved parental leave. The text to be adopted grants parental leave of at least four months – instead of three – until the child is eight. The current directive provides that this right is...
Brazil: recordings may be used as evidence in labor disputes
Brazilian labor courts will now have to consider audio or video recordings, pictures, phone calls and emails as legal evidence presented by the parties of a conflict, for instance in case of...
Italy: the agreement on Fiat’s 2008 result bonus splits unions up again
€600 isn’t unanimous. Since the proposition to give €500 for the 2008 result bonus (as opposed to €1,096 last year) launched strikes, the management of the car manufacturer improved its offer on...
Austria: unions call forth referendum on the reform of the postal sector
Defend public service missions. A few days to the referendum he initiated, Manfred Wiedner, leader of the group of Christian unions within the GPF, is confident: “We receive 38,000 support...
Mexico: enforcement of the law on the responsibility of the contractor in terms of social charges
The reform of the Social Security Act was created to give the Mexican government more legal tools to regulate outsourcing, especially to control and punish subcontracting businesses trying to...
Great Britain: insufficient resources for the Health and Safety Executive
Limited power. Rita Donaghy, former head of the ACAS conciliation service, conducted the study in progress since the beginning of 2009, commissioned by the government. At the heart of the report...
Spain: government to reward companies’equal policies when granting public contracts
Businesses can be evaluated by the government to get a certification of the extent of equality criteria in their recruitment policy. If validated, the company will receive a label it can then use...
17 July 2009
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
Import bans on forced labor products are multiplying
Under pressure from new US tariffs, many countries have presented texts in recent weeks to ban the import of products made with forced labor. A real breakthrough for workers' rights or a mere...
9 September 2026
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France: EDF served formal notice for failure to comply with its sustainability due diligence obligations
The news. On 23 September, Greenpeace France announced that it had served EDF with a formal notice for failure to comply with its sustainability due diligence obligations due to the risks of harm...
24 September 2026
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Slovakia: a bill to “clarify” personal data protection measures
The news. The Slovak government approved a bill on personal data protection on August 26, 2026. This text aims to clarify existing regulations regarding employees’ rights and...
7 September 2026