News

The work visa regime applied by Germany to nationals of non-member states posted by service providers established in other member states is contrary to the freedom to provide services
The Court of Justice of the European Communities has concluded that the German practice based on the checking of certain criteria, in advance of the posting, and restriction of posting to workers...
EU employment ministers very tempted by Flexisecurity
During the informal Council of Employment and Social Affairs that took place on January 19-21 in Villach, Austria, the ministers committed themselves to go "forward together with the social...
Germany: IG-Metall aks for a 5% rise in wages
The branch of metallurgy and electronics, which employs some 3,4 million people in Germany, should be affected by an important wage conflict soon. Taking up the recommendations made by its...
Germany: bill to fight seasonal unemployment
On January 18th, the German government, in a cabinet meeting, introduced a draft law aimed at fighting the recurring rise of seasonal unemployment during winter months. It proposes to improve the...
Germany: press review- January 14 to 19, 2006
The conference on joint management, which took place in Bitburg, has quite interested the press this week. It fed discussions that are currently agitating the country, involving this method of...
20 January 2006
Italy: press review January 12th to 19th 2006
The renewal of the collective agreement for metalworkers dominated the social scene last week. After the blockade of the country, which led to the reopening of negotiations, the conflict ended...
Road transport: Commission reminds the deadline for installation of numerical tachographs
Jacques Barrot, vice-president of the European Commission, in charge of the transport policy, has written to Member States to explain and reaffirm the Commission’s standing on the introduction of...
Netherlands: senior employees will use their savings plan to retire earlier
The pensions reform that took effect on January 1st , 2006 aims to force employees aged 65 and under to work, by removing any possibility of anticipated retirement. But Dutch employees have found...
Poland : social contributions will be lowered for unemployed people who take a new job
The ministry of Employment and Social affairs has announced a plan to lower wage costs for the hiring of an unemployed person. (Ref 0646)
Poland: labour legislation will be amended
The Commission in charge of codifying the labour legislation is preparing a project aimed at reforming the labour code. In particular, it introduces changes in the calculation mode of paid-leaves...
Czech Republic : new sickness insurance system has been drafted
The sickness insurance system in the Czech Republic should be reformed within one year. The draft bill that was approved by the Lower Chamber of Czech Parliament should replace the current...
Spain: Commission decides to refer Spain to the Court of Justice over two tax provisions
The European Commission has decided to refer Spain to the Court of Justice over its taxation of non-residents' employment-related income and over its taxation of non-residents' capital gains...
Italy : metalworkers block the country
Metalworkers organized a blockade of the country’s air and rail traffic routes on Janurary 17th. The three trade unions had organized this day of industrial action. (Ref 0642).
Denmark: debate on open borders for skilled immigrants
While unemployment is falling (4,5 % last November according to Eurostat), conservatives and liberals, currently in power in Denmark, want to open borders to skilled immigrants, in order to face...
France : government introduces two flexible job contracts
French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin announced earlier this week that he was to introduce a bill creating two new job contracts. The most significant, called “first job contract”, will be...
On March 10th, will there be a consensus on the Working time directive?
Austria, which is presiding the EU since January 1st, feels it is Vienna’s responsibility to end the negotiations on the draft Working Time Directive. Austria has indeed made a big move, by taking...
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