News

EU: the ETUC and BusinessEurope reached a joint advice on the revision of the EWC directive
At the request of Xavier Bertrand, French Minister of Labor and current President of the EU Employment and Social Affairs Council of Ministers, BusinessEurope and the ETUC resumed talks concerning...
Thomson: the EWC wants to be consulted on a transnational restructuring
The European Works Council of the French group Thomson, world leader in video solutions (22.000 employees at the end of 2007), asked the management to organize an extraordinary council meeting to...
Corporate Practices : Boehringer Ingelheim Italia’s project to support return to work after a parental leave
The pilot-project carried out by Boehringer Ingelheim Italia to support the return to work, by means of a welcoming course for employees coming back from a parental leave and of the support of...
22 August 2008
Spain: the unjustified dismissal of a pregnant employee is null even if the employer ignored the pregnancy
In a ruling rendered on July 21, 2008, the Spanish Constitutional Court decided that the unjustified dismissal of a pregnant woman was null, even though the employer didn't know that his employee...
Chile: new bill extends unemployment insurance coverage
The unemployment insurance reform will grant larger access and better compensation for the jobless, even when they resign. Currently, 3.5 million Chileans contribute to the solidarity fund but...
European social agenda from August 25 to December 31, 2008
We offer an agenda of the main events concerning social Europe and institutional meetings. You can send your scheduled events to the following address: planetlabor@planetlabor.com (Ref. 080631)
Ireland: presentation of the 2007 annual report of the Labor Relations Commission
On July 30, 2008, the Irish Minister of Labor Affairs, Billy Kelleher, presented the 2007 annual report of the LCR - Labour Relations Commission - which evaluates the services it provides to...
Argentina: 27 percent increase in minimum wage to compensate the loss in purchasing power
By the end of the year, Argentinean workers' minimum wage will amount to almost €270, the highest in Latin America. This increase was negotiated between unions, industry leaders and the government...
Netherlands: a ruling showns inflection in the rules on religious discrimination
A ruling rendered on August 20 gave Rotterdam city the right not to employ in its social services a Muslim applicant who refused to shake women's hand. This ruling is a turning point for the rules...
Spain: unions obtain the creation of a workgroup on the universal postal service in rural areas
The Spanish Ministry for regional development accepted the proposition made by the CCOO and UGT trade union organizations to create a workgroup in charge of analyzing the universal postal service...
Uruguay: general strike for a wage increase and tax cut
The Uruguyan union, pressured by its communist wing, called for a full paralysis of the country on Wednesday, August 20. This is the first general strike Tabaré Vazquez's government, in power...
Portugal: the fight against job insecurity in the reform of the labor code shows recent awareness on this issue
Portugal is the leading country in terms of job insecurity, with an index 10 percent higher than the EU 27 average. Abuses to an ill-conceived flexibility weaken the country's economy and worsen...
Siemens: the IG Metall pointedly supports Czech employees’ strike at Siemens Rail Vehicles
The German metalworkers' union IG Metall openly supports the strike which took place on August 20 in the Praguish factory of the subsidiary which produces rail vehicles for Siemens, SKV (see our...
Spain: the government and the social partners agreed on a joint work program to come out of the economic crisis
On July 29, the head of the Spanish government, José Luis Zapatero, the general secretaries of the trade union federations UGT and CCOO and of the employers' organizations CEOE and CEPYME signed a...
Great Britain: governmental campaign to facilitate businesses’ staff management
The objective is to cut businesses' administrative burden by £365 million by May 2010. Instead of appealing to consultancy firms, very expensive, the companies can now get free advice on staff...
Luxembourg: countdown for the social elections, officially on November 12
An August 11 decree officially sets the social elections to November 12, 2008. They will lead to the nomination of new staff representatives with remit in terms of information and consultation...
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
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
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...
4
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...
5
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...