News

International: creation of a transatlantic union as an answer to global capitalism
Workers Uniting; this will be the name of the trade union born from the merger between the British union Unite and the American union United Steelworkers (USW). The new trans-Atlantic organization...
Poland: minimum wage increase for 2009
On July 2, the government suggested to the tripartite commission (social dialogue council) to bring minimum wage to 1.204 zlotys (about €363) in 2008, that is a 6.9% increase. Employers are...
Peru: workers strike for better share of income
The authorities have declared the third national strike in Peruvian mines this year was illegal. About 30.000 people went on a strike to ask for better wages and lower retirement age. But the...
France : transposition by the social partners of the European framework agreement on stress at work
The French social partners reached agreement on July 2. At present four unions (CGT, CFDT, FO and CFE-CGC) out of five reacted favorably specifying that they should normally sign it after...
Germany : some of Siemens’ works councils prevent staff advancement until further details concerning the restructuring plan
The leader of the Siemens European works council ( EWC) at Siemens, Walter Mönius, stated that Siemens employees and IG Metall were preparing strong resistance to the job suppression plan...
Bulgaria : a bill to improve the application of the labor code
Improve controls and reinforce sanctions. The bill stipulates that territorial administration of Social Security must notify to the labor inspectorate all employment contracts registered (an...
Spain: strike notice on July 12-15 at Renfe Operadora and Adif
Spanish unions are protesting against the partition of the freight transport from the rest of the Renfe Operadora railway, announced on June 24 by the head of State, José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero...
EU: towards a renewed social agenda
On Wednesday, July 2, the European Commission adopted a communication on the new European Social Agenda, which will be on the agenda of the informal Council of the social Ministers on July 10-11...
Gaz de France: CSR agreement for the European companies of the group
On July 2, 2008, the European trade union federations (EPSU, EMF and EMCEF) and all the national trade unions represented within Gaz de France's EWC signed, together with the management, a CSR...
Portugal : postponement of the debate in parliament of the reform of the labor code
An unexpected postponement. The Portuguese government has settled the issue: the debate in the National Assembly will not take place before September (see article n° 080538). The announcement of...
Poland: unions’ way of appointing works council members declared unconstitutional
Seized by the Confederation of Polish employers, the Constitutional Court declared, on July 1, 2008, that the way works council members are appointed – with priority given to the company union –...
Spain: spectacular increase in criminal proceeding against employers failing to fulfill their prevention obligations
The public prosecution has brought 650 managers in court to answer for industrial accidents which happened in 2007. This represents an 86% increase compared to the previous year, and is the result...
Inditex: the Spanish textile group forces a Bangladeshi supplier to rebuild a factory
After the BBC broadcasted a report showing female workers complaining about their working conditions, the Spanish textile group, which owns Zara, got one of its suppliers to rebuild its factory...
2 July 2008
Interseroh: the German group chooses to become a European Company
Announced in September 2007, the transformation of the Interseroh AG group into a European Company (SE) was approved by the shareholders on June 25, 2008 in Cologne during the general assembly. On...
EU: an expert group to follow the development of transnational negotiation
The European Commission has lowered the objective to draw up an optional framework for transnational agreements as part of the Social Agenda for 2005-10 in the working document published on July...
2 July 2008
Great Britain: Equalities Bill presented to Parliament
On June 26, 2008, Equality Minister Harriet Harman set out the main measures of the new Equalities Bill in a Commons statement. Unions are satisfied but experts criticize the introduction of...
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