News

Denmark: documentary on inhuman working conditions and the exploitation of children in India shakes the supermarket sector
The documentary had been announced and commented beforehand by the press but the violence of the pictures on the working conditions in Indian suppliers of large Danish companies surprised Danish...
Textiles: the European social partners discuss the issue of restructuring
European social partners in the textile sector, Euratex for the employers and the Trade Union Federation for Textile, Clothing and Leather (ETUF: TCL), are mobilising to improve anticipation of...
Great Britain: mandatory retirement at 65 triggers a controversy
The future law against discriminations related to age prohibits employers from forcing an employee to retire before the age of 65. But past 65, the employer is free to do so. This last point...
A revolution at SAP: 9000 employees elect the first work’s council in the company’s history
After months of battle between management and three employees members of IG Metall, SAP, European leader of computing and only company of the DAX 30 (German stock index) which does not have a...
Portugal : government and employees hope they can save the GM factory in Azambuja
The group wants to transfer the production of the Opel Combo to its factory in Saragossa, Spain, in order to reduce costs, threatening 1200 jobs. The official announcement was scheduled last...
The European Parliament adopts a resolution against discriminations
The European Parliament adopted, on June 14, an own-initiative report in which it draws the attention of the Commission and the Member States on the need to take concrete measures to fight against...
The « mega-merger » of Siemens’ and Nokia’s « telephone network » businesses should lead to the cut it 9000 jobs
The Finnish Nokia and the German Siemens have announced the merger of the their telephone equipement and network businesses (excluding the cellphones) for the end of 2006. A 10 to 15% cut in...
Great Britain: senior and immigrant workers could explain the activity rate’s rise
The last official statistics show a deterioration of the unemployment figures, contradicted by the improvement of the activity ratio. A study of the Chartered Institute of Personal &...
Germany : the House of Länder (Bundesrat) rejects the current bill on « law against discrimitation »
During its session that took place on Friday, June 16th 2006, the Bundesrat, that has conservative majority, has refused to conform to the agreements made between the coalition parties. The head...
France: a presumption of salaried status is contrary to the Community law
Despite the Ministry of Social Affairss efforts to make the presumption of salaried status for artists more flexible, the CJEC considers that no matter what its force is, this presumption is an...
Spain: long and non-flexible schedules harm productivity
Spanish companies are not very flexible and tend to lengthen the working day of their employees, without increasing their profitability. This is one of the conclusions of the White Paper for a...
Denmark: details on the law prohibiting the closed-shop practice
The law prohibiting the closed shop practice was adopted on May 8, 2006. It challenges the Danish practice of exclusive agreements, which involves approximately 200 000 Danish employees. (Ref...
Great Britain: Amicus asks the financial sector to end the salary gap between men and women
The main employees' trade union of the private sector threatens "to name and ostracize" the companies of the financial sector which will not quickly undertake to eliminate wage inequalities. For...
The European social Diary of June 20 to October 15, 2006
We provide you with a weekly diary on the main events involving social Europe and institutional appointments. You can forward us your schedules of events to the following address...
Lithuania : new employment regulation to help jobless employees
New regulation will help unemployed people over 50 years old, the long-term unemployed, and some handicapped persons. (Ref. 06618)
Great Britain: labour inspections at their lowest level
The number of labourinspections fell by a quarter, from 74 000 to 55 000, between 2002/03 and 2004/05, according to figures of the Labour inspectorate revealed in the newspaper Hazards, a...
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
Pascale Rauline (Axa EWC): “European charter formalises ongoing and accelerated social dialogue on AI”
On 27 November, Axa and its European works council (EWC) signed a charter setting out principles governing the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) and guaranteeing social dialogue on the...
2
Germany: crisis-hit industries cast shadow over 2026 bargaining cycle
In 2026, collective wage agreements for nearly 10 million employees in Germany are set to expire. With upcoming negotiations in crisis-hit 'pilot' sectors such as chemicals and metalworking, the...
2 December 2025
3
EU: social partners in telecoms sign joint statement on AI
On 16 December, the social partners in Europe's telecommunications sector unveiled a joint statement on artificial intelligence. They propose an action plan for skills and commit to raising...
18 December 2025
4
Bulgaria: government approves bill to encourage sector-level collective bargaining
On 26 November, the Bulgarian government approved amendments to the labour code designed to reinforce the legal framework for sector-level collective bargaining. The reform aims to stimulate...
2 December 2025
5
Inditex European works council mobilises on value sharing
In a joint statement, 10 trade unions comprising the European works council of the Inditex clothing group are calling for rallies in Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal, France, Italy and Germany...
6
Germany: Erwin Hymer Group’s innovative and award-winning AI agreement
Fed up with negotiating separate agreements for each new artificial intelligence (AI) tool, the social partners at Erwin Hymer Group (8,900 employees) have instead secured a broad, overarching...
12 December 2025