22 July 2021
On 14 July, Spain’s leading department store chain, El Corte Inglés signed an agreement with the CCOO and UGT trade unions, which establishes the framework for their...
16 July 2021
According to the sixth Women Count 2021 report, men continue to dominate senior management positions in companies listed on the UK FTSE 350 stock market index. Only 15 of the 350 groups are currently led by women. This...
12 July 2021
At the beginning of the year, IT innovation and transformation consulting firm Talan conducted a review of its maturity on corporate social responsibility, with a view to better structuring its approach and making clear and impactful commitments. The review was based on feedback from an array of...
28 June 2021
As well as the need for greater gender equality in the labour market, which is the number one priority for labour ministers of G20 countries (see article n°12599), two other key areas for action have been identified: social protection and the regulation of remote work. The declaration issued by the representatives of the 20 richest countries, following the summit in Italy on 22 and 23 June, places particular emphasis on the most vulnerable workers, especially those on platforms.
25 June 2021
Economic actors in Upper Austria, the country’s leading industrial region, have joined forces to address the lack of qualified workers and protect jobs. They have launched a pilot project, the first of its kind in Austria, for so-called “transplacement”. The plan consists of a shared platform managing several schemes and programmes ranging from cross-company qualifications to job sharing. Christian Mayer, who is responsible for the project at Business Upper Austria, the regional government’s economic...
24 June 2021
In closing out the G20 Labour Ministers’ meeting held in Catania, Italy, on 22-23 June, government representatives from the world’s 20 richest countries issued a joint statement that focused on the issue of gender equality. The ministers committed to renewed effort in closing the gender gap in labour market participation rates by 25% by 2025 (the Brisbane target). They also listed a series of new policies to be put in place to limit the effects of the pandemic on the fight for gender equality.
24 June 2021
In June, LVMH launched its Heart Fund for its 150,000 employees worldwide. The luxury giant has announced that it will endow the fund with €30 million to provide a telephone based psychological support service, available wherever the company is located, and to provide financial support for employees facing serious difficulties. Françoise Schoenberger, LVMH Global Director Social Development, answered Planet Labor’s questions about the fund’s contours and the motivation for this initiative, which is...
23 June 2021
Since 2016, volunteer HR managers registered on the HR-integrate platform have been mentoring refugees in their search for a job, vocational training ,or a place at university in Germany. Thomas Batsching, one of the HR professionals behind the project and CEO of the Karlsruhe-based consultancy HR Works Personalwerk, has spoken with Planet Labor about the main successes and problems in implementing the project, as well as about the new challenges ahead.
14 June 2021
On 1 June, the UK business of French food services group Sodexo published – for the very first time and despite the pandemic – its ethnicity pay gap for the year 2020. According to the firm’s pay report, the hourly earnings of its employees in the UK and Ireland of BAME (Black, Asian and Mixed Ethnic) backgrounds are 5% lower on average than those of its white employees. This is a gap that Sodexo is hopeful of reducing through a policy of transparency.
11 June 2021
The new mobility plan for the period 2021-2024, signed by the management of French telecommunications group Orange and the trade unions CFDT, FO and SUD, will enter into effect from 1 January 2022. Its aim is to significantly increase the number of employees using clean means of transport, public transport aside. In order to encourage staff to adopt new, more “sustainable” travel habits, and to “increase from 5% to 15% the percentage of employees using clean transport, public transport excluded, (i.e. 36%...
8 June 2021
Approximately 10,000 Mexican manufacturing workers in the state of Baja California will soon be able to receive free Covid-19 vaccinations as part of a unique cross-border agreement. All 10,000 maquiladoras employees (US subsidiary manufacturing companies with tax friendly status), will travel by company-chartered buses to the border crossing between Tijuana, (Mexico) and San Diego, (U.S.), where a mobile vaccination center has been deployed by the University of California, San Diego. “Mexico is our largest...
26 May 2021
In its report released on 23 May, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is inviting UK employers to mobilize as soon as possible towards the “green economy”. The CBI’s report: ‘Seize the Moment: How Can Business Transform the UK Economy?’ estimates that an economic strategy consistent with the country’s 2050 carbon neutrality target could lead to the creation of 240,000 jobs within ten years.
21 May 2021
Having been rocked by the scandal surrounding poor practices at its suppliers last year (see article n°12051), UK online clothing retailer Boohoo is looking to restore its image and has decided for the first time, under pressure from its shareholders as well as members of parliament, to calculate the bonuses pocketed by its executives on the basis of progress made on environmental, social and governance issues.