News

Italy: agreement on generational renewal at Crédit Agricole, that        includes 1,000 voluntary departures and 700 new hires
On 02 October, Crédit Agricole's Italian subsidiary and the Fabi, First-Cisl, Fisac-Cgil, UILCA and Unisin trade unions signed an agreement on generational renewal that has been designed to...
12 October 2021
Spain: Desigual employees approve shift to four-day week
On 7 October, employees of Spanish fashion company Desigual voted in favour of working only four days per week. The firm’s staff will transition from 39.5 hours per week to 34 and will either have...
11 October 2021
Germany: “We want to help employees to change jobs and avoid redundancies,” says Marcel Verweinen, human resources senior vice president at Continental (interview)
Amid rapid evolutions in the world of work due to digitalisation, the ecological transition and demographic change, 26 large German companies employing a combined total of around one million...
8 October 2021
France: MGEN strengthens its ambitions for professional equality with a new agreement
On 29 September MGEN (Mutuelle Générale de l'Education Nationale), France's leading mutual health insurance company and healthcare services provider with almost 10,000 employees, announced it had...
8 October 2021
Ireland: 4-day working week to be tested by companies
Starting in February 2022, Irish employers will introduce a four-day working week on a trial basis for a period of six months. The pilot programme was devised by the lobby group Four Day Week...
8 October 2021
US: PwC offers full-time remote work to almost all of its US workforce
On 01 October the UK consulting giant announced it would be allowing all its 40,000 US client-facing staff to work 100% remotely, and from anywhere within continental USA. Prior to this launch the...
6 October 2021
Mexico: platform workers will be entitled to social security, in the form of voluntary paid affiliation
On 30 September, digital platforms Beat, DiDi, Rappi and Uber signed an agreement with the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) in order to provide their workers, drivers, and delivery...
6 October 2021
Great Britain: creation of a hospitality council to support the sector exit the crisis
The Hospitality Council is a UK Government initiative that it set up to help the authorities identify the best support strategy at a time when the hospitality industry is attempting to recover now...
6 October 2021
Germany: pharmaceutical company Roche launches a pilot project promoting equal opportunities for parents
In order to help employees with young children reconcile work and family life, the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche has set up a new programme in Germany called ‘Das Elternplus’ (The Parents’...
5 October 2021
France: staff that are also caregivers are like “Swiss Army knives”, says Nathalie Gateau, director for engagement and social stewardship at Apicil (interview)
As France gears up to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the national carer’s day, which is celebrated on 6 October, Nathalie Gateau, director for engagement and social stewardship at Apicil, the...
4 October 2021
China: the end of independent trade unionism in Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) has disbanded, a move that comes shortly after the Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union (HKPTU), which was the largest trade union in Hong...
4 October 2021
Ireland: four leading employers form alliance to promote remote working
Unveiled on 27 September, the Remote Alliance is aiming to develop a new model for the way people work in Ireland. The four companies that make up the alliance – telecommunications giant Vodafone...
4 October 2021
France: why Saur has scrapped probation periods for new hires
Saur, the French company specialising in water and waste treatment, was handed an annual prize for human resources innovation on 23 September, after it abolished probation periods for new hires...
Mexico: platform launched to boost female representation in company leadership roles
The Research Centre for Women in Senior Management (Centro de Investigación de la Mujer en la Alta Dirección – CIMAD) has launched a platform that aims to increase the number of women in...
1 October 2021
India: gig economy workers demand to be recognised as employees
In recent weeks a public interest litigation was filed with the Supreme Court of India on behalf of workers in the so-called “gig economy”. The legal action was filed, among others, at the end of...
Ireland: four major employers set up a remote working alliance
Unveiled on 27 September, Grow Remote’s initiative Remote Alliance, comprising telecoms company Vodafone, online marketplace eBay, electricity group ESB, and insurer Liberty Insurance, aims to...
30 September 2021
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
Oliver Dietrich (IG Metall): “The advent of AI can be a means of deepening social partnership within companies”
In Germany, trade unions want to influence how AI is deployed in companies. Oliver Dietrich is an AI project manager at the regional office of the IG Metall trade union in North Rhine-Westphalia...
2
EU: social partners split over competitiveness and action on job quality
The European Trade Union Confederation and BusinessEurope have published their response to the consultation document on the European Commission's upcoming EU quality jobs initiative. The two...
4 February 2026
3
Germany: collective bargaining negotiations begin in chemical industry
Collective bargaining talks in Germany’s chemical and pharmaceutical industries are due to open this week, covering nearly 580,000 employees across around 1,700 companies. With the sector facing...
3 February 2026
4
Italy: new generational renewal agreement penned at UniCredit
The agreement signed on 30 December by UniCredit, Italy’s second-largest banking group, with the Fabi, First-Cisl, Fisac-Cgil, Uilca and Unisin trade unions aims to continue generational...
5
France: social partner talks extend far beyond contractual terminations
After a false start on 3 December, French social partners resumed talks on 7 January 2026 on potential changes to the unemployment insurance agreement, including the rules governing compensation...
12 January 2026
6
EU: banking sector social partners commit to combating violence and harassment
On 15 January, the trade union federation UNI Europa Finance and three employers’ associations in the banking sector signed a joint statement on preventing violence and harassment in the...