News

France: smoking ban in all firms as from February 1st, 2007
Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin announced, on October 8th, the publication of a decree banning smoking in firms as from February 1st, 2007. Coffee shops, restaurants, bars, tobacconists and...
Denmark: average annual working time is below 1600 hours
Danes work less than 1600 hours a year, whereas the average in OECD countries is around 1700 hours. The 37-hour work week is a vested right. (Ref. 061021)
Spain: coming into force of the new regulation on asbestos
On October 11th, the new regulation on asbestos (royal Decree 396/2006 of March 31st, 2006) took effect. They establish the minimal security measures applicable to workers incurring risks of...
Great Britain: Peugeot announces it will close Ryton plant six months early
PSA Peugeot-Citroën group says the number of employees who volunteered to leave early is too high to keep the plant running until mid-2007. Ryton is now set to close on 8th January 2007. Trade...
EU: presentation of the first report on the implementation of the European framework agreement on telecommuting
The European framework agreement on telecommuting is the first agreement negotiated by the European social partners not to have been transformed into a directive. It was signed in July 2002, and...
Poland : Trade union membership is constantly rising
For the first time since 1990, trade unions are noticing a significant and constant increase in membership. Trade unions are establishing sections in firms where, a few years ago, their presence...
EADS: information will first go through the European works council
While Louis Gallois agreed, in front of the European CS, on October 5th, 2006, to favor social cooperation as part of the implementation of the reorganization plan of its subsidiary, Airbus, the...
Belgium: a draft bill to transpose the directive on takeover bids
A draft bill aimed at transposing the European directive 2004/25 of April 21st 2004 regarding takeover bids, was approved by the Council of ministers of October 6th 2006. The trade union...
Spain: analysis of the law on workers’ involvement in the European company
The implementation of a special negotiation group. Where the management or administrative organs of the participating companies in the establishing of an SE intend to register it in Spain, they...
Poland: difficulties to reach a national social pact
The members of the Tripartite Committee who are social partners and the government are unable to work out a social pact because of existing tensions in the political sphere. (Ref. 061005)
Portugal: government and social partners agree on a reform of retirement pensions
The Portuguese government and the social partners reached an agreement, on October 10th 2006, regarding a deep reform of retirement pensions in order to cope with the ageing of the population and...
Belgium: professional reclassification of pre-pensioners under 58 years old
The Council of ministers approved, on Friday October 6th, a draft royal decree which lays down that pre-pensioners under 58 years old will have to follow a professional reclassification course...
Allianz: the work’s council of the European company is empowered to negotiate
The German insurance group Allianz concluded, in August 2006, an agreement on workers' involvement on the occasion of its transformation into a European company. This text, which provides for the...
Spain: social partners of the transport sector fail to reach an agreement on the working time of lorry drivers
In spite of long debates, labour unions and employers of the transport sector acknowledged the failure of negotiations, on October 6th, on the transposition of the European directive on working...
Belgium: the Doorn group meets to coordinate the next collective negotiations
The Doorn group, composed of Belgian, German, French, Luxembourg and Dutch labour unions, met at the end of last week in Brussels. Objective: to discuss the coordination of collective negotiations...
Netherlands : burden of proof may be partially reversed for sexual harassment at work
The Senate approved on October 3rd a provision which will allow judges to reverse the burden of proof in cases of sexual harassment at work. As soon as the new law is published, some time in...
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
Italy: Enel signs agreement to manage the effects of AI on work
An agreement signed at the end of July by the electricity company Enel (31,000 employees) and the unions Filctem-Cgil, Flaei-Cisl, and Uiltec is pioneering in the Italian energy sector. It aims to...
7 September 2026
2
France: Bayer puts female health and inclusive parenthood at the centre of its equality policy
In a new agreement on gender equality highlighted by mind RH, Bayer commits to strengthening its parenthood policy. Furthermore, the company is anticipating pay transparency and introducing...
25 September 2026
3
France: final document on the work of the Labour, Employment and Pensions Conference
After six months of discussions between French social partners, the guarantors of the Labour, Employment and Pensions Conference submitted the conclusions of the discussions to the Prime Minister...
17 September 2026
4
Germany: Volkswagen cancels almost all collective bargaining agreements signed with IG Metall
The Volkswagen brand announced on 30 September that it is terminating 10 of its 13 internal collective bargaining agreements, effective 31 December 2026. The announcement, which the carmaker...
1 October 2026
5
Germany: working time dispute between Mercedes and the IG Metall Union
The news. At the beginning of September, Mercedes-Benz asked employee representatives and the IG Metall union to agree to an increase in the weekly working time from 35 to 40 hours, without any...
16 September 2026
6
Germany: major day of union action in the automotive industry ahead of collective bargaining
A few weeks before the start of collective bargaining in the German metalworking sector, the IG Metall trade union mobilised nearly 175,000 workers across more than 200 industrial sites on 21...
22 September 2026