News

Germany: vivid polemic around minimum wage in the postal sector
The branch minimum wage, set up on September 4, 2007 by the Ver.di union and the employers' organization AGV – which is controlled by the Deutsche Post (see our story 070722), was vividly...
Germany: the Hesse Land wants to forbid social dumping
Starting from 2008, the Hesse Land, led by conservatives, will only place public orders to companies which respect the wages set by secoral collective agreements in the building, industrial...
Great Britain: unions are asking employers who prevent their employees from surfing the net to be more tolerant
"Let your employees surf on Facebook or MySpace during their breaks”, is asking the trade union confederation TUC. Whereas 50% of employers prevent their staff from using social networking...
Luxembourg: details of the single status bill for blue-collar and white-collar workers
After long negotiations between social partners, the government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg presented to the Parliament, on August 3, the bill concerning the single status for blue-collar and...
Luxembourg : results of the enforcement of the smoking ban act
Smoking ban act came into effect on September 5, 2006 (see our dispatch n° 02826). The Luxembourg's Health Minister is drawing a positive assessment of its enforcement. Most companies chose to...
Suez: the European Consultative Committee wants to give its opinion on the plan to merge with GDF
The Steering Committee of the European Consultative Committee (ECC) of Suez met on Wednesday September 4 for the first time since the group's merger with GDF was announced. Staff representatives...
Netherlands: governmental pressure to limit CEOs’ earnings
Wouter Bos, the chancellor of the exchequer, asked, on September 4, 2007, private companies' boards of directors to introduce themselves limits to their CEOs' emoluments and leave bonuses. If...
Germany: social partners from the postal sector are getting a minimum wage
Started on August 31, negotiations only lasted a few days (see our story 070713). On September 4, 2007, the services union, Ver.di, and the postal services' employers' organization (AGV) announced...
Denmark : the government is launching a network of ten ambassadors to promote women’s access to management
The Danish government is multiplying initiatives to break the glass ceiling which stops women from reaching management jobs. The last one was the launching of a network with large companies'...
EU : the Gdansk shipyard’s restructuring is debated at the European level
The Gdansk shipyard, where the Solidarnosc movement was born in the 1980s, should be subject to an important production cut, on the demand of the GD competition of the European Commission. Facing...
Italy : the Court of Cassation rendered two judgment which specify the definition for moral harassment and the employers’ responsibility
The jurisprudence of the Italian Supreme Court in terms of moral harassment is even more important that there are no specific rules in that matter. Two recent decisions are contributing to this...
Great Britain: a campaign against bullying at work has been launched.
According to a study made by the Chartered Management Institute and by the association of fight against harassment at work, Andrea Adams Trust, the lack of managerial skills is the main factor...
Germany: changes at the head of IG Metall trade union
This is a small revolution. Starting from November, the largest German metalworkers union, IG Metall, should be run by two “reformists”. Berthold Huber, 57, currently IG Metall's number 2 and...
Germany: the Deutsche Post’s competitors created their own employers’ organization
To avoid the minimum wage from 9 to 10 euros wished by the Deutsche Post, the two contender companies, Pin Group AG and TNT AG created a new employers' organization, entitled "community of...
International: the ILO is guiding the legislator through the elaboration of standards on private employment agencies
The International Confederation of Private Employment Agencies (CIETT) congratulated itself on the ILO's publication of a guide on the regulation and the control of private employment agencies...
EU: actual retirement age remains well below legal age
In most European union countries, legal retirement age, that is the age when rights to full pension are open, tends to vary between 60 and 65 years old for women and between 62 and 65 for men...
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
EU: Commission launches consultation with social partners on quality jobs
On 4 December, the European Commission launched the first phase of consultation with social partners with a view to a European directive on jobs, which is scheduled for the end of 2026. It could...
4 December 2025
2
EDF bans alcohol on all its sites
From 1 January 2026, French energy giant EDF (180,000 employees) will prohibit alcohol consumption at all internal and external corporate events, from social gatherings to seminars. The policy...
26 November 2025
3
United Kingdom: government scraps plan to introduce ‘day one’ protection against unfair dismissal
The UK government announced on 27 November, in a statement, that it would not be introducing the right to challenge unfair dismissal (without cause) from the first day of employment in its...
3 December 2025
4
Poland: bill adopted to amend definition of psychological harassment
On 27 November, the Polish cabinet adopted a draft amendment to the labour code aimed at simplifying the definition of psychological harassment at work, or “mobbing” (Article 94 3)...
4 December 2025
5
EU: MEPs demand directive on algorithmic management
Members of the European Parliament have called for a directive on algorithmic management. Such legislation would introduce obligations for companies to inform employees, assess health and safety...
17 December 2025
6
Austria: European rules on wage transparency expected to cause a cultural shock
With the gender pay gap in Austria being the second largest in the European Union (18.3%), the Austrian government has promised to introduce a bill next spring to transpose the European directive...
27 November 2025