7 September 2021
On July 23 2021 the UK House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee launched an inquiry to examine whether legislation and company practices adequately support women during menopause. According to the multi-stakeholder committee, more than one million female employees left their jobs due to menopausal symptoms. Many women’s careers are also disrupted during this period, which sometimes even prevents them from securing high-level positions during their 50s. “Despite the fact that hundreds of thousands...
3 September 2021
On 26 August, the UK’s Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy announced that it has become a member of the Employers’ Initiative on Domestic Abuse. With this move the UK government, which passed its Domestic Abuse Bill earlier this year, is calling on more businesses to sign up to the initiative. The BBC, department store chain John Lewis, supermarket group Sainsbury’s, and ride-hailing application Uber are among those that have already joined the EIDA, which provides members with access...
1 September 2021
While employees will gradually have to return to on-site/in-office working, mandatory workplace vaccination is currently under debate in many countries. Several governments are already making vaccination mandatory for health care workers and those working in settings with vulnerable people. Others, such as France, are even going further and require that a certain number of professionals who work in permanent contact with the public be vaccinated. Lastly, while some governments have not taken a particular position...
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 under-representation has consequences since, according to this study, a female CEO appoints on average four times more women to executive committees than does her male counterpart. The Women Count 2021 report points out that 78% of executive committee members are still currently men. While the...
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.
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.
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.
