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French dressing tribunal fight
Twelve French state post office workers have gone before an industrial tribunal in Albi, south-west France, to demand payment for the time it takes to put on and take off their uniforms. They calculate it takes a total of 10 minutes a day. The 11 female and one male worker also want their employer to pick up the bill for cleaning. They are being supported in their case by the militant CGT union, which claimed La Poste is not respecting labour legislation introduced in 2000. This stipulates that the time taken to put on and remove a uniform be considered as work, for which compensation should be made in the form of either pay or rest. If the case is upheld - the tribunal is due to deliver its verdict in June - the union has calculated that each of the organisation's 100,000 workers could be due about e3,000 (£2,000) in back pay. La Poste has tried to play down the claims, pointing to a national agreement signed last month with four unions (not including the CGT) that makes provision for fresh negotiations on the issue.
VW's former HR chief guilty
The former personnel director of Volkswagen and architect of Germany's unpopular labour reforms has been given a e576,000 (£380,000) fine and two-year suspended jail sentence following a slush-fund scandal. Peter Hartz, who had been personnel director at the car maker since 1993, pleaded guilty to paying e2m (£1.3m) over a 10-year period in bribes to Klaus Volkert, the former head of Volkswagen's works council. The sentence was suspended because Hartz co-operated with the prosecution, and had not profited personally from the bribes paid to union representatives. Charges that he signed off luxury holidays and brothel visits were dropped as part of a deal with lawyers. Hartz was an adviser to the former chancellor Gerhard Schroder on overhauling Germany's unemployment benefits scheme, and gave his name to the unpopular 'Hartz IV' set of labour market reforms.
US ups investment in diversity
Three in four US employers are planning to maintain or increase spending on diversity and inclusion training this year, according to a survey. The study of more than 2,000 senior HR executives by consultants Novations Group found that 22% expected to boost spending on diversity and inclusion training, while more than half (52%) antici
