News

EU : European Commission organizes 3rd session of “Restructuring Forum”
The European Commission will organize, on December 4th and 5th, in Brussels, the third session of the "Restructuring Forum", which will bring together the different players on an issue which is...
Spain: adoption of the bill creating a status for self-employed workers
The Council of ministers adopted, on November 24th of this year, the bill creating a status for self-employed workers. This bill meets the main demands introduced by professional organizations...
Poland: labor inspectorate points out the growing number of unpaid salaries
According to the « Report of Activities 2005 » of the Labor Inspectorate, which has just been published, for the first time in Poland, the most numerous and the most serious labour law offences...
Netherlands: “central” social plan at Philips
While debates were blocked since October, an agreement in principle was found on October 23rd on the next social plan at Philips. This "central" social plan concerns the 17 000 employees of the...
Lithuania : employers and trade unions to start negociations on wage increases and working hours
Negotiations between the social partners should start at the beginning of December. They will deal with the increase of minimum wage and the improvement of working conditions. (Ref. 061185)
Latvia: ministry of Social Affairs grants prizes to companies that practice gender equality
On November 17th of this year, the Minister of social affairs Dagnija Stake rewarded the company Rimi Latvia, a supermarket chain, for its gender equality policy. The insurance firm Balta and GE...
EU : Dublin Foundation report stresses the gender pay gap
The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions underlines the importance of gender inequality throughout the EU when it comes to salaries. (Ref. 061183)
Great Britain: one more step to the creation of a huge union of almost two million members
The perspective of a fusion between the union groups Amicus (over a million members in the private and public manufacturing sector) and TGWU (mainly transportation) is coming closer after TGWU's...
Volkswagen: Belgian unions and politicians carry on mobilizing for the Forest site
After the first consultation meeting with the Volkswagen management yesterday, November 23, as part of the Forest (Belgium) firm's reorganization (see our article n° 061176,) the union joint...
24 November 2006
Netherlands: the negotiations at Unilever are blocked
Negotiations regarding the next collective convention at Unilever have been blocked since November 22. The Dutch multinational company, employing 206,000 people around the world, refuses to...
Netherlands: abusive recruitments in Portugal by temporary work agencies
The Confederation of Dutch trade unions (FNV) pointed out, on November 21st, the abusive practices of two temporary work agencies, Work Today and Tempo Team, subsidiaries of the international...
Gaz de France : Paris Court of appeal confirms the European works council’s role
The Paris court of appeal confirmed in the night of November 21-22, 2006 the decision of the judge for summary proceedings in the Paris court of first instance to postpone the GDF board of...
Spain: Ministry for Employment to launch training programs for immigrant workers in their country of origin
The Ministry for Employment plans to create programs to train workers in their country of origin, with a « promise of appointment » in Spain among the sectors which are currently experiencing...
EU: debate on modernization of labour law begins
The debate on the necessary evolutions of labour law has started. The Green Paper on the modernization of labour law, adopted on November 22nd by the Commission, stresses the challenges facing the...
Volkswagen: unions and authorities take action to save jobs at Forest site (Belgium)
Ten years after the closure of Renault's Vilevorde plant, Volkswagen is restructuring its Belgian site of Forest, close to Brussels, where the Golf model is predominantly produced. The...
22 November 2006
Volkswagen: European Commission promises financial support to the Belgian employees affected by the restructuring
According to EurActiv, further to the announcement by VW management of a vast restructuring plan affecting the Belgian site, Social affairs Commissioner Vladimir Spidla, and Regional policy...
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