Workers' rights & well-being

Infant in NICU

Colorado becomes first state in the U.S. to offer paid neonatal care leave

By / / Good News For Humankind

Colorado has made history as the first state in the U.S. to implement paid neonatal care leave, providing critical support for families with infants requiring extended hospitalization. This pioneering policy allows eligible parents to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave specifically for neonatal care, in addition to standard bonding leave. This ensures parents can remain by their baby’s side during NICU stays without financial fear.

Mexican pesos

Mexico to boost minimum wage 13% in 2026

By / / Good News For Humankind

The Mexican government has announced a 13% increase in the daily minimum wage for 2026, raising it to 315.04 pesos. This marks the eighth consecutive year of substantial hikes, a policy that has successfully doubled the real value of the wage since 2018. This sustained commitment is lifting millions out of poverty and strengthening the domestic economy by boosting consumer purchasing power.

View of Uber driver from backseat

Uber and Lyft drivers in California win the right to unionize

By / / Good News For Humankind

In a landmark moment for the gig economy, Governor Newsom signed a bill granting California’s ride-share and delivery drivers the right to organize and collectively negotiate. This historic law, a national first, empowers hundreds of thousands of workers to demand better wages and working conditions. The move creates a new model of sectoral bargaining, protecting labor rights within the digital economy while preserving the flexibility that platforms rely on.

Silhouette of palm tree

Barbados, Belize, Dominica, and St Vincent launch EU-style deal to let citizens work freely across borders

By / / Good News For Humankind

This groundbreaking pact has created a new, flexible labor market across the Caribbean. Citizens of Barbados, Belize, Dominica, and St Vincent can now live and work in any of the four countries without needing complex work permits. This freedom of movement is expected to significantly boost regional economic resilience by addressing labor shortages. The initiative also strengthens social ties and promotes family stability across the participating nations.

Euro bills

Germany to raise minimum wage from €12.82 to €14.60 by 2027

By / / Good News For Humankind

The wage increase will take place in two stages. First, it will be increased from €12.82 per hour to €13.90 at the beginning of 2026. It will then increase again by €0.70 a year later. This means German workers would typically earn close to €2,500, making it the second-highest minimum wage in the European Union after Luxembourg, which mandates a monthly minimum of €2,638.

Empty office desk and chairs

Two hundred U.K. companies sign up for permanent four-day working week

By / / Good news links

Two hundred U.K. companies have signed up for a permanent four-day working week for all their employees with no loss of pay, in the latest landmark in the campaign to reinvent Britain’s working week. Together, the companies employ more than 5,000 people, with charities, marketing, and technology firms among the best-represented. Supporters say the four-day week is a useful way of attracting and retaining employees while improving productivity by creating the same output over fewer hours and fostering a more fulfilled, happy, and engaged workforce.

Hollywood sign at sunset

California passes two new bills protecting actors and performers against AI

By / / Good news links

In a potentially precedent-setting moment for tech legislation across the country, the new laws not only bolster those existing protections but extend them to everyone in California — not just to people working in front of a camera in Hollywood, as IndieWire notes. Together, the bills make it illegal to use an AI-generated digital replica of an actor’s likeness or voice — or technically, any Californian’s — without their explicit consent. Studios will also be prohibited from cloning deceased actors unless they have permission from their estates.

Australian employees now have the right to ignore work emails and calls after hours

By / / Good news links

The new rule means employees, in most cases, cannot be punished for refusing to read or respond to contacts from their employers outside work hours. Australians worked on average 281 hours of unpaid overtime in 2023, according to a survey last year by the Australia Institute, which estimated the monetary value of the labor at $88 billion USD. The changes add Australia to a group of roughly two dozen countries, mostly in Europe and Latin America, which have similar laws.

Mickey and Minnie Mouse at Disneyland

Disneyland unions agree to ‘historic’ 31% pay raise

By / / Good news links

Master Services Council, which represents 14,000 Disneyland, Disney California Adventure, and Downtown Disney employees from four unions, announced its members had voted to accept a new contract that provides a 31% pay raise over the next three years.
The “biggest wage increases ever” for Disneyland resort employees will raise hourly pay more than $6 over three years from the current $19.90 to $24 in 2024 and $26 in 2026, according to the unions.

Belgian flag

Belgian sex workers to get health insurance, pensions and maternity leave in world first

By / / Good news links

The law makes it legal to give prostitutes employment contracts, after Belgium became the first country in Europe to decriminalize self-employed sex work in 2022. It bestows certain rights on the worker and conditions on their employer. These include the right to refuse a client or a sexual act, as well as the right to interrupt a sexual act at any time without fear of dismissal or punishment.