News

Belgium : administrative simplifications for personnel management
The Council of Ministers meeting on 19th May approved a series of measures aimed at simplifying human resources management to promote a “paperless personnel policy”. (Ref. 06521)
Great Britain : government contributes to accelerating the compensation for asbestos
The British Department of Work and Pensions has recently announced its intention to cooperate with insurance companies in order to better indemnify asbestos victims. Asbestos is the first cause of...
The European Economic and Social Committee considers Danish flexecurity
The European Economic and Social Committee adopted, last 17 May, an initiative opinion on flexecurity in Denmark, which tries to encircle the elements of the Danish success which are transposable...
Spain : Trade unions criticize the lack of labour inspectors
Spain has one labour inspector for 23 300 workers, which is half than elsewhere in the EU, where the average is one inspector for 12000 workers. According to trade unions, which denounce this...
Slovenia: agreement on employment relationships in a deadlock
Negotiations on a social agreement for the period 2006-2009 are in a deadlock again . Employers consider that the social agreement will not to be adopted in the first half of 2006. (Ref. 06512)
Czech Republic : President vetoes new Labour Code
The introduction of the new Labour Code in the Czech Republic must overcome yet another obstacle. After a veto in the Senate which was overturned by another favorable vote of the national...
Spain: work schedules come under fire
The president of the national commission on rationalization of Spanish work schedules, Ignacio Buqueras, considers that the excessive duration of the working day does not improve the productivity...
Netherlands : twice more fines for hiring clandestine workers in 2005
The number of fines given by factory inspectorates for the employment of foreign clandestine workers has doubled in 2005, according to the ministry for Labour and Social affairs. (Ref. 06509)
Hungary: much less strikes than elsewhere in the EU
Public opinion and the media rarely support strikers. Last year, only 14 strikes took place in Hungary, compared to hundreds in many other EU countries. (Ref. 06508)
Italy: ideas to fight job precariousness
"Ending the dualism of the labour market" is the leitmotiv which symbolized the national congress of the CGIL (second Italian trade union) of last March, and Romano Prodi's new government is...
State of negotiations on the draft Directive relating to the portability of supplementary pension rights
The negotiations on the draft Directive relating to the portability of supplementary pension rights started within the EU Council of Ministers. The discussions are due to be difficult because a...
Germany: agreement in the public sector after more than three months of strikes
After more than three months of conflict, Länder and the trade union Verdi came to a compromise on 19 May over the working hours of 780 000 civil servants. (Ref. 06505)
Netherlands : government decides to organize a special summit on the qualified staff shortage
On May 18th, the government decided that a special summit would be organized in Fall, on the qualified staff shortage. In 2010, about 75 000 jobs will not be filled because too many young people...
Spain : appointment of a magistrate dedicated to workers’ safety
A coordinating prosecutor post, specialist in accidents at work, was just created in Spain. He is in charge of the fights' coordination against infringing the workers' safety and of boosting the...
ING : the Dutch financial group announces relocation of 800 jobs
The financial group ING, that employs 114 000 people in 50 countries, announced, on May 18th, the decentralization of 800 jobs of data bank documents processing from the Netherlands and Belgium to...
Italy : two ex-unionists enter the Prodi goverment
The new Italian Prime Minister, Romano Prodi, presented, on May 17th, the composition of a pro-european government including besides six party leaders, two former unionists. The former president...
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