France: step towards creation of a universal time savings account National industrial relations On 23 April, the Union des Entreprises de Proximité (U2P), the minority employers' organisation representing very small businesses and craftsmen, and the trade unions – CFDT, CFTC, CGT and FO – reached cross-industry agreements on the universal time savings account (compte épargne temps universel, CETU) and on professional retraining. The two texts must now be submitted for the confederations to sign by mid-May. The negotiations took place without the two major employers' organisations, Medef and CPME, which refused to take part.
Réglementaire EU: Parliament adopts regulation banning products made with forced labour European legislation On 23 April, the European Parliament broadly approved the regulation banning the import of products produced using forced labour. The text gives new investigative powers to the European Commission,…
EU: road transport social partners make commitment on rights of third-country workers Transnational industrial relations With a joint declaration published on 19 April, the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) and the International Road Transport Union (IRU) have signed up to a series of commitments to improve working conditions for non-EU nationals.…
United States: historic victory for the UAW at Volkswagen in the South National industrial relations On 19 April, the United Auto Workers (UAW) achieved a historic victory in the Southern United States by winning the membership of 5,500 employees at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga,…
Réglementaire Czech Republic: bill tabled to increase the ‘flexibility’ of labour relations National legislation Czech labour minister Marian Jurečka has submitted to the chamber of deputies a series of amendments aimed at making the labour code "more flexible". The draft text makes it easier to take parental leave of less than two years, increases the length of probation periods and reduces the notice period for dismissal in the event of employee misconduct. It also proposes salary payments in euros or another currency from next year.
Réglementaire Netherlands: Senate votes against minimum wage increase above regular indexation National legislation In January, the government announced an additional statutory minimum wage increase of 1.2% with effect from 1 July 2024,…
Chile: gradual transition to 40-hour week National legislation From 26 April 2024, companies will have to adhere to the “40-hour law”. The working week will be reduced from 45 hours at present to 44 hours,…
Michelin paying living wage worldwide as of end of 2023 Comp and Ben @en The tyre manufacturing giant has been certified as a "Global Living Wage Employer", attesting to its worldwide implementation of a "living wage". Since the end of 2023, the company's 130,000 employees have been paid a salary that will enable them to meet their families' basic needs, as well as to build up savings.
Réglementaire Netherlands: compensation paid to companies hiring older employees to be scrapped National legislation A bill to phase out so-called “labour costs compensation” (Loonkostenvoordelen, LKV) was approved by the Dutch Senate on 16 April.…
EU: declaration to strengthen Social Europe gets almost unanimous backing European legislation At a high-level conference organised by the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU, on April 16 in La Hulpe, the Commission, member states and the social partners pledged to continue work on the European Pillar of Social Rights. The event saw the parties set out a work programme for the next mandate. However, in the wake of the difficulties that marred recent European texts on social topics, BusinessEurope did not sign the declaration.
ILO reaches first agreement on issue of living wages Initiatives from the public authorities and other stakeholders On 13 March, the Governing Body of the International Labour Organization approved an agreement on the issue of living wages, reached during a meeting of experts,…
United Kingdom: more and more companies break the menopause taboo in the workplace Corporate practices An increasing number of companies in the UK are taking menopause-related symptoms into account in the workplace, with measures such as flexible work, manager training, consultation with experts and office design. The UK authorities, via the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), have just published a new practical guide and are pioneering the way.
Sanofi takes programme dedicated to employees with cancer to global scale Corporate practices The pharmaceutical group, which has been offering social and financial support to employees with cancer or close to patients in France since 2017, has decided to extend this programme worldwide with 100% salary continuation. The move follows positive feedback on the scheme, Florence Cauvet, HR director for France at Sanofi, tells mind RH.
Technologies How Tech Foundations (Atos) is using artificial intelligence to optimise the HR management of its consultants Training/Professional development Tech Foundations, the outsourcing and cloud business line of the Atos group, has been using Whoz, a HR staffing solution using artificial intelligence to allocate consultants to clients, for several months now. It is based on a detailed skills map, drawn up jointly by managers and employees themselves. The solution, which is reserved for digital services companies, could soon be extended to the entire market.
Technologies France: Orange harnesses virtual reality for staff cybersecurity training Training/Professional development Since October 2023, Orange has been rolling out virtual reality training to raise awareness among employees of the cybersecurity risks encountered in the workplace. The company drew on a track record of training carried out using this technology over several years by provider Uptale, particularly in soft skills, as well as on in-house support from its business divisions.
Technologies Ireland: Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council launches The first meeting of Ireland’s AI Advisory Council was held on 17 January. The aim of the new institution,…
Réglementaire EU: Parliament adopts regulation banning products made with forced labour European legislation On 23 April, the European Parliament broadly approved the regulation banning the import of products produced using forced labour. The text gives new investigative powers to the European Commission,…
Réglementaire Czech Republic: bill tabled to increase the ‘flexibility’ of labour relations National legislation Czech labour minister Marian Jurečka has submitted to the chamber of deputies a series of amendments aimed at making the labour code "more flexible". The draft text makes it easier to take parental leave of less than two years, increases the length of probation periods and reduces the notice period for dismissal in the event of employee misconduct. It also proposes salary payments in euros or another currency from next year.
Réglementaire Netherlands: Senate votes against minimum wage increase above regular indexation National legislation In January, the government announced an additional statutory minimum wage increase of 1.2% with effect from 1 July 2024,…
France: step towards creation of a universal time savings account National industrial relations On 23 April, the Union des Entreprises de Proximité (U2P), the minority employers' organisation representing very small businesses and craftsmen, and the trade unions – CFDT, CFTC, CGT and FO – reached cross-industry agreements on the universal time savings account (compte épargne temps universel, CETU) and on professional retraining. The two texts must now be submitted for the confederations to sign by mid-May. The negotiations took place without the two major employers' organisations, Medef and CPME, which refused to take part.
EU: road transport social partners make commitment on rights of third-country workers Transnational industrial relations With a joint declaration published on 19 April, the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) and the International Road Transport Union (IRU) have signed up to a series of commitments to improve working conditions for non-EU nationals.…
United States: historic victory for the UAW at Volkswagen in the South National industrial relations On 19 April, the United Auto Workers (UAW) achieved a historic victory in the Southern United States by winning the membership of 5,500 employees at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga,…
Free Looking back at 2023: new inclusion topics emerged Diversity and inclusion were in the spotlight in 2023. This was reflected in Spain, where a law was passed to combat discrimination against LGBTI people and menstrual leave was introduced, as well as in Ireland, where domestic violence leave was introduced. These issues are also gaining ground within companies.
Free Looking back at 2023: initiatives across the board to tackle the skills shortage Amid the shortage of skilled labour, thinking ahead to the professions of the future and securing the skills needed to support business transformation have been among the main concerns of HR departments – as well as European governments – in recent times and numerous initiatives were launched in 2023 to attract and train new sources of talent.
Free Looking back at 2023: a new way of viewing older workers With the retirement age rising and a skills shortage in many parts of the world at present, companies need to learn to change the way they look at older employees and see them as an opportunity. Initiatives have begun to emerge in this area.
