News

Spain : interview of Ramon Jauregui, member of parliament (MP) and promoter of the national council for corporate social responsibility
Ramon Jauregui is the initiator and has been the leader over the last seven years of the debate on the issue of social responsibility and particularly with the creation of a parliamentary...
3 February 2009
Great Britain: unions decry British worker discrimination
Union statements. Unions argue that this issue goes beyond standard application of the EU’s free movement of labor accords, which guarantees workers from the European Union member states access to...
China: government gives priority to employment against the crisis
Help young graduates find a job. The number of graduates has reached a new record with over 6 million graduates in June 2009. But they are increasingly faced with problems in finding a job. In...
2 February 2009
Dexia: EWC given priority in the information-consultation process of the announced restructuring
Job cuts. The recovery plan also comes with a global staffing cut plan, presented on January 31, to the EWC first and then to the group’s national works councils. Thus, the group decided to give...
HP-EDS: employees still mobilized to try and bring the two EWCs closer
Transnational mobilization. Udo Verzagt, part of EDS’ EWC, reminded the stakes of this mobilization: “We really have the feeling that they only give us workforce reduction figures, coming from the...
EU: interview of Martin Warren, Head of Employment Law, Eversheds LLP UK, about the EWC recast Directive
It is supposed to benefit employees and businesses by increasing dialogue without delaying vital decisions, but there must be serious concerns about whether this rushed legislation is fit for...
Italy: the separate agreement on the reform of the collective bargaining procedure might lead to a further outbreak of conflicts
“A reform in negotiating procedure has never been supported without prior approval of one of the key social partners”, declared Guglielmo Epifani, CGIL leader, proposing to submit to a referendum...
Portugal: Tyco Electronics’ unions request a training program instead of partial unemployment
Launch of a training plan. Tyco Electronics management (Evora, south Portugal), subsidiary of the American group, has opted for a partial unemployment system for 346 employees (see our dispatch...
Denmark: unemployment insurance funds fear not being able to cope with increasing unemployment
According to estimates made by the employers’ association Dansk Industri (DI), presented at the start of the year, growth is set to fall by 2% in 2009, resulting in increased unemployment which...
Netherlands: announcement without prior notice of massive lay-offs by ING and Philips
ING announced 7,000 redundancies out of a total workforce of 130,000 worldwide without “wanting or being able” to provide information on the subsidiaries and the countries concerned, underscored...
28 January 2009
Great Britain: unsuccessful job applicants may demand selection criteria details
Planet Labor, January 28, 2009, No. 090094 – www.planetlabor.com
Slovenia: partial subsidy for the reduction of working time to face the crisis enforced
The said subvention shall be granted to the employer provided that in the period of receiving it:
Belgium: amendment of legislation applicable to restructurings
Planet Labor, January 27, 2009, No. 090091 – www.planetlabor.com
EU: the Twenty-Seven talk about mobility and working time
Open labor markets to eastern European workers. This is one of the EU Presidency’s priorities for this semester: remove obstacles to workers’ mobility within the Union. This first concerns...
Sweden: a commission delivers proposals to the government to safeguard the specific role of trade unions with regard to EU requirements
Proposals made by the Swedish commission. The commission first acknowledged that the trade unions had gone too far in the Laval case, as their action was motivated not by Laval’s refusal to adhere...
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
Pascale Rauline (Axa EWC): “European charter formalises ongoing and accelerated social dialogue on AI”
On 27 November, Axa and its European works council (EWC) signed a charter setting out principles governing the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) and guaranteeing social dialogue on the...
2
Germany: crisis-hit industries cast shadow over 2026 bargaining cycle
In 2026, collective wage agreements for nearly 10 million employees in Germany are set to expire. With upcoming negotiations in crisis-hit 'pilot' sectors such as chemicals and metalworking, the...
2 December 2025
3
Bulgaria: government approves bill to encourage sector-level collective bargaining
On 26 November, the Bulgarian government approved amendments to the labour code designed to reinforce the legal framework for sector-level collective bargaining. The reform aims to stimulate...
2 December 2025
4
EU: social partners in telecoms sign joint statement on AI
On 16 December, the social partners in Europe's telecommunications sector unveiled a joint statement on artificial intelligence. They propose an action plan for skills and commit to raising...
18 December 2025
5
Germany: Erwin Hymer Group’s innovative and award-winning AI agreement
Fed up with negotiating separate agreements for each new artificial intelligence (AI) tool, the social partners at Erwin Hymer Group (8,900 employees) have instead secured a broad, overarching...
12 December 2025
6
France: Orange submits gender equality agreement – including AI provisions – for union approval
The three representative trade unions at Orange France have until 10 December to validate an agreement on gender equality, work–life balance and anti-discrimination measures. While the text...