• About EIRO
• Annual reports
• Comparative information
• EU level developments
• Representativeness studies
• Survey Reports
• Browse by:
  • Country
  • Date
  • Sector
  • Subject
• Industrial relations links

February 1997

• 28 Feb 1997
  Austria: Moves towards greater working time flexibility

  Austria's social partners have been involved in protracted negotiations in recent months in an attempt to meet the need for greater flexibility of working time, without increasing costs to companies. The first concrete result is a collective agreement covering 5% of all employees, which foreshadows both further collective agreements and a revision of the current Working Time Law.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Austria: Average minimum wage rates rise by 2.4% in 1996

  On average, the minimum wage rates laid down by collective agreements rose by 2.4% in 1996. However, around 7.8% of employees are still estimated as being below the trade unions' minimum wage rate target.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Austria: Reform of the apprenticeship system agreed

  In March 1997, the social partners agreed the outlines of a reform of vocational training. These focus especially on the apprenticeship system, one of the mainstays of industrial skill formation in Austria.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Belgium: Apparent breakdown of Belgian central bargaining

  For the first time since 1960, the Belgian social partners have failed to reach an intersectoral pay agreement and have instead accepted government imposition of measures on employment and maximum pay increases. This development runs counter to all traditions of free collective bargaining and the autonomy of both sides of industry. It also appears to reinforce the trend towards sector-level bargaining, away from intersectoral or central-level bargaining, thereby widening the disparities between strong and weak sectors.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Belgium: A "multicoloured" march for jobs: the human element first

  On Sunday 2 February 1997, a so-called "multicoloured march for jobs" drew about 50,000 people from all over Belgium to the streets ofClabecq, a small industrial town on the borders of the provinces ofBrabantandHainaut.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Belgium: Renault closes assembly plant in Vilvoorde without prior notice

  Without any prior notice or consultation, Renault announced on 27 February 1996 the closure of its production plant inVilvoorde(Belgium). The decision means the loss of 3,100 jobs.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Germany: Only one firm in five has a works council

  German works councils are often thought of as operating in all firms that exceed the basic workforce size threshold established by law. However, despite their extensive legal powers and their importance for labour relations in Germany, not much is known about the incidence of works councils and the size distribution of firms having a works council. Two recent representative, large-scale studies show that only about one-fifth of firms covered by the legislation do have a works council, though these account for the lion's share of employment.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Germany: Union opposes end of postal delivery monopoly

  In February 1997, the German postal workers' union organised disruptive actions and demonstrations in opposition to the liberalisation of the postal service proposed by the coalition Government.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Germany: Low wages in a high-wage economy

  Although widely regarded as as a high-wage economy, Germany has a significant low-wage sector. According to different definitions inequitable pay, between 2.18 million and 7.20 million full-time employees could be characterised as "working poor". Low wages are primarily found in the services industries with a predominately female workforce.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Germany: Bargaining in 1996 - from the Employment Alliance to the sick pay dispute

  Collective bargaining in Germany in 1996 was overshadowed by the failure of the tripartite initiative for an "Employment Alliance". Nevertheless, collective agreements provided for relatively moderate pay increases between 1.3% and 2%, and a wide range of measures to secure employment. Following a major political dispute on sick pay, most collective agreements eventually secured sick pay at 100%, in exchange for a reduction in annual bonus payments.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Germany: Basic pay up 2.3% in western Germany in 1996

  According to recent research, collectively-agreed basic wages and salaries in western Germany increased by an average of about 2.3% in 1996

• 28 Feb 1997
  Germany: New collective agreements in printing

  Under a new collective agreement, wages for 130,000 manual workers in the German printing industry will increase by about 1.5% in 1997.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Denmark: Forthcoming mass redundancies at Tele Danmark: the Danish telecom sector in transformation

  Liberalisation, increased competition and the introduction of new technologies have forced the Danish telecom operator -Tele Danmark- to reduce its staff by 2,500 employees. Widespread strikes, involving some 7,000 employees, followed the announcement on 29 January 1997. Employees and trade unions have criticised the passive role of the state and the behaviour of Tele Danmark. After 15 days of conflict, Tele Danmark agreed to negotiate a retraining package for its employees, put forward by the telecom workers' union. The next negotiating meeting was due to take place on 12 March 1997.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Denmark: Employers and unions disagree on the duration of new collective agreements

  In the context of the 1997 bargaining round, employers are in favour of three-year collective agreements but trade unions are arguing for the existing practice of two-year agreements to be continued

• 28 Feb 1997
  Denmark: Two-year collective agreement for government employees

  An agreement for 225,000 government employees was the first to emerge in the current bargaining round. It introduces a new salary scale, by way of experimentation

• 28 Feb 1997
  Spain: New national agreement on continuing training

  At the end of 1996, the major trade unions and employers' associations signed the Second National Agreement on Continuing Training (II Acuerdo Nacional de Formación Continua), which was later endorsed by a tripartite agreement between these organisations and the Government. The new agreements build on certain basic aspects of the continuing training system in Spain that was started in 1993, though they also introduce some important innovations.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Spain: New agreement improves working conditions in temporary employment agencies

  On 31 January 1997, the Second National Agreement on Temporary Employment Agencies was signed. This is the second agreement reached in this sector since the activity of temporary employment agencies (TEAs) in Spain was approved in 1994. It will remain in force until 31 December 1999.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Spain: Industrial action in public administration

  Industrial action has accompanied trade unions' pay demands in Spain's public administration since late 1996, and the threat of further action has been made if negotiations are not started immediately.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Spain: Road transport strike: consequences for industry and trade

  February 1997 saw a major strike in Spain's road transport sector. The dispute was well supported, mainly in the north of the country, but was called off without winning many concessions from the Government.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Spain: Employers and unions adopt positions on labour market reform

  Employers and unions want to reduce the amount of temporary recruitment and the number of types of employment contract. They also want to increase their freedom to negotiate labour market issues through collective bargaining. These are the key issues in the current debate over a new round of labour market reforms in Spain.

• 28 Feb 1997
  EU Level: European social partners issue joint declaration on Confidence Pact for Employment

  After a long period of negotiation, the European-level social partners issued a joint declaration late in 1996 on the priorities and actions proposed byJacques Santerin his Confidence Pact for Action on Employment in Europe. However, disagreements remain over a number of issues in the debate on how to address the problem of unemployment in Europe.

• 28 Feb 1997
  EU Level: The future of the social dialogue at Community level

  The European Commission is currently considering the future development of the social dialogue, in the light of new challenges faced by the EU. Initial indications from the responses generated by its consultation document highlight the desire of European social partner organisations to improve and extend the dialogue process

• 28 Feb 1997
  EU Level: European Commission publishes progress report on equitable wages

  The findings of a recent Commission study show that most member states have the basic legislative framework in place, aimed at achieving an equitable wage. Direct intervention in wage policy is, however, regarded as being undesirable by the majority of member state governments.

• 28 Feb 1997
  EU Level: Social partner negotiations on part-time work near deadlock?

  Disagreements on the scope of a framework agreement, aimed at extending employment and social protection rights to part-time workers, are threatening negotiations between the social partners, which are currently talking place on the basis of the Agreement on Social Policy.

• 28 Feb 1997
  EU Level: Employment and Labour Market Committee holds first meeting

  The recently-established Employment and Labour Market Committee held its inaugural meeting in Brussels on 29 January 1997. The Committee was established to support the European employment strategy.

• 28 Feb 1997
  EU Level: Commission report links employee financial participation and productivity

  A new Commission report on the Promotion of Participation by Employed Persons in Profits and Enterprise Results (PEPPER II) indicates a link between the implementation of such schemes and increases in productivity and - to a lesser extent - flexibility and employee participation.

• 28 Feb 1997
  EU Level: European Parliament debates employee consultation measures

  At its plenary session of 16 January 1997, the European Parliament debated the future of the European Company Statute and adopted a revised draft of the Transfer of Undertakings Directive

• 28 Feb 1997
  Finland: Bank service fees dispute averted

  Recently-announced plans by banks to levy service charges on the accounts into which employees' salaries and wages are paid, have resulted in trade union protests and the dropping of the proposals.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Finland: Training or work experience for unskilled young people

  Unskilled young people aged between 20 and 24 must undertake training or work experience programmes in order to maintain their right to receive unemployment benefit, according to a recent amendment to the Act on Labour Market Support.

• 28 Feb 1997
  France: Agreement on working time at EDF and GDF

  On 21 January 1997, the two French electricity and gas public utility companies signed an agreement with three trade unions ( theCFDT, theCFTCand theCFE-CGC). This agreement is designed to improve their competitiveness and productivity while at the same time maintaining their workforce at current levels. This is to be achieved mainly through the introduction of part-time working. Both theCGTand theCGT-FOunions are strongly critical of this agreement.

• 28 Feb 1997
  France: Strikes focus on earlier retirement

  After lorry drivers won the right to retire at the age of 55 following a strike in December 1996, public transport drivers have been voicing the same demand in disputes which have hit towns throughout France since January 1997. The press has played up this particular demand of the strikers, to the embarrassment of the Government and the opposition Socialist Party, both of which view lowering the retirement age as completely unfeasible. The demand may reflect a wider unrest in a context of high unemployment and fears among many employees that their working conditions are deteriorating.

• 28 Feb 1997
  France: National conference on youth employment

  In a context of increasingly difficult youth employment in France, and of social tension about what course of action to take, a recent national conference has defined a number of concrete objectives. These seek to secure employment for the most disadvantaged, and to expose students to the world of work for the first time. These aims are based on a series of commitments on the part of industry, Government and the social partners - who remain at odds in their analysis - the effects of which must be monitored.

• 28 Feb 1997
  France: Railways' operating functions and network responsibilities to be split

  A new company,Réseau Ferré de France, has taken over the ownership and running of France's railways.

• 28 Feb 1997
  France: Civil servants' pay negotiations break down.

  Following the freezing of civil servants' salaries imposed by the Government for 1996, the Government announced the convening of pay negotiations which have been continually put off since the spring of 1996, but which will now not take place at all.

• 28 Feb 1997
  France: Government ends pay guidelines to nationalised companies

  At the end of January 1997, the Prime Minister ended the practice of issuing pay guidelines to France's nationalised companies.

• 28 Feb 1997
  France: Battle against "clandestine" employment intensifies

  Following parliamentary controversy, a law clamping down on illegal and undeclared "clandestine" employment was adopted in February 1997.

• 28 Feb 1997
  France: 3,300 supply teachers reinstated in French secondary schools

  Following negotiations with the Education Minister, 3,300 unemployed supply teachers won the right in late January 1997 to be temporarily reinstated in their jobs.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Greece: Unemployment as the focus for collective bargaining at national level

  In recent years pressure has mounted on all parties involved to rethink and revise the traditional policies and practices of Greek industrial relations as well as to promote social dialogue between employers and employees. As a result of changing conditions, some believe that a new era in industrial relations and social dialogue has been inaugurated in Greece.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Greece: A new wave of strikes in Greece

  The Government's economic policy of austerity, as well as discontent with the tax system, have resulted in a wave of strikes in late 1996 and early 1997.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Greece: National General Collective Agreement 1996-7 enters second year

  The second part of the two-year National General Collective Agreement for 1996-7 has now come into force, providing for increases in the minimum wage and measures on issues such as parental leave .

• 28 Feb 1997
  Ireland: Social partners agree three-year national programme

  A new three-year national programme -Partnership 2000 for Inclusion, Employment and Competitiveness- has been concluded between the Irish Government and social partners. The agreement, which allows for pay increases totalling 9.25% over 39 months and includes tax relief measures worth IEP 1 billion, also promises to promote enterprise-level partnership and employee share-ownership, and to tackle social exclusion. It is the fourth such deal since centralised national bargaining recommenced in Ireland in 1987.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Ireland: National nurses strike averted as pay offer is accepted

  Ireland's 26,000 nurses have recently accepted an IEP 85 million pay package, thus narrowly averting threatened industrial action.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Ireland: Telecom offers personal contracts to managers

  Telecom Eireann, Ireland's state-owned telecommunications company, plans to introduce personal contracts of employment for 300 of its senior managers.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Italy: Italian railways brought into line with European model

  The Ministry of Transport, the Italian state railways board (FS) and workers' organisations have recently concluded an agreement to bring the Italian railway system into line with the 1991 EU Directive on the development of Community railways.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Italy: Social partners start discussions on reform of the July 1993 agreement

  Negotiated wage flexibility within enterprises is the central theme in current discussions over the forthcoming reform of the July 1993 central tripartite agreement, which governs many aspects of industrial relations in Italy.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Italy: Government introduces supplementary pension schemes

  The Government has issued a decree, setting out the rules for introducing supplementary occupational pensions schemes for the first time in Italy, with the backing of the social partners.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Italy: Implementation of the tripartite Pact for Employment

  The Italian Government and social partners are currently implementing their tripartite "Pact for Employment" (Patto per il Lavoro), which is intended to promote employment and foster economic development in Italy through the introduction of a wide and complex set of policies. The agreement, signed on 24 September 1996, is of the utmost political importance as it falls within within the framework of the renened social concertation strategy that has been pursued over the 1990s. The Pact earmarks a total amount of about ITL 15,000 billion for its implementation over the 1997-1999 period.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Italy: Metalworking collective agreement signed after nine months of negotiations

  On 4 February, following a mediation proposal by the Government, the national metalworking collective agreement was signed. Negotiations had lasted for nine months and were marked by moments of breakdown and conflict which resulted in strikes. The metalworking settlement, which covers some 1.5 million workers, is Italy's most important industry-wide agreement. It will strongly influence both the forthcoming renewals of contracts in other sectors and the evaluation of the July 1993 tripartite central agreement on incomes policy and collective bargaining structure, planned for June 1997.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Luxembourg: Two-fold increase in the minimum wage

  The statutory minimum wage in Luxembourg has been increased by 3.2% from 1 January 1997, as a result of legislation, and additionally by 2.5% from 1 February 1997, under the terms of an index-linked mechanism.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Netherlands: Proposal to exempt long-term unemployed people from legal minimum wage

  A bill that allows Dutch employers exemptions from the legal minimum wage aims to improve the chances of long-term unemployed people obtaining a full-time job. Although the bill will probably have only a minor quantitative impact on the level of unemployment, it has provoked a new debate on the legal minimum wage

• 28 Feb 1997
  Netherlands: Legal barriers to European-level collective bargaining

  Judging from a recent exchange of letters between a Dutch trade unions and the Department of Justice, it would appear that cross-border cooperation between unions, let alone their international merger, is beset with legal difficulties.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Netherlands: Positive experience with working time flexibility at Akzo Nobel

  In accordance with its 1995 collective agreement, Akzo Nobel has evaluated the effects of "working time differentiation" and more flexible working hours on employment. Since the effects appear positive, a 36-hour week is expected to be introduced by 1 July 1997.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Norway: LO executive committee proposes new action programme

  The executive committee of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions has presented a proposal for a new action programme, encompassing a wide variety of social and economic issues, which is due to be adopted at its congress in May 1997.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Norway: Strikes hit 60-year high

  Figures from the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry show that over 530,000 working days were lost in industrial conflict during the 1996 wage negotiations in Norway. The major strikes all occurred in the private sector and among unions affiliated to the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Norway: The 1997 bargaining round previewed

  In 1997, the mid-term renegotiations of Norwegian collective agreements will take place in a climate of economic growth. So far, the signals indicate moderate wage demands, in line with the social pact agreed in 1992 by the Government and the central social partners.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Portugal: Legislation increases national minimum wage

  A recent decree-law issued by the Government has increased the national minimum wage from 1 January 1997. The monthly rates have risen by up to 5%. We review Portugal's minimum wage system and the reactions to, and implications of, the 1997 increase.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Portugal: UGT assesses collective bargaining in 1996

  According to theUGTtrade union confederation, during the 1996 collective bargaining round pay increases were generally settled in line with the Social Concertation Agreement for that year.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Portugal: Civil service normalises situation of its fixed-term contract workers

  With the aim of abolishing "irregular" employment in the civil service, the Portuguese Government is planning to integrate into its permanent staff lists those workers who are currently on fixed-term and other forms of precarious contract.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Portugal: Pressure mounts to protect standard employment relationship

  Some Portuguese sectors have been characterised by a widespread move away from standard, regular and permanent jobs towards temporary forms of employment, including irregular and casual work, homeworking and certain forms of self-employment. These developments are the result of an interplay between macroeconomic conditions, company strategy and labour legislation. However, pressure is mounting amongst the social partners to counter further fragmentation of standard employment statuses.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Sweden: Controversial changes in Employment Security Act provide for more bargaining at company level

  Will there be a shift towards more company-level bargaining in Sweden? That is the question raised since Parliament recently passed legislation that would promote local collective agreements on employment security matters. However, the trade unions are not all enthusiastic about the new provisions.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Sweden: Government proposes amendments in wage guarantee legislation

  In order to bring Swedish law into line with Community law, the Government has proposed modifications in the legislation on wage guarantee, so that it will afford better protection for workers in case of their employer's insolvency.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Sweden: New sick pay legislation brings severe problems in interpretation

  Since the beginning of 1997, Swedish employers are now responsible in law to pay sick pay for 28 days instead of the previous 14. This change has caused severe interpretation problems in collective agreements on sick pay.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Sweden: Paper industry agreement reached after conciliation

  Every full-time employee will receive SEK 230 more per month as a result of the new collective agreement for blue-collar workers in the paper industry, signed on 6 February 1997. In addition, a further 1.1 % of total paybill will be allocated through company-level negotiations.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Sweden: Trade unions and Social Democrats agree on unemployment insurance

  As a result of a new agreement on unemployment insurance, the governingSocial Democrat Partyhas yielded to criticism from the trade unions.

• 28 Feb 1997
  United Kingdom: Ford case highlights the costs of inward and outward investment

  The recent decision by the Ford Motor Company to reduce employment at its Halewood plant in the UK, and to produce a new-model Ford Escort in Spain and Germany, raises questions about the effects that multinational companies (MNCs) have on nation states.

• 28 Feb 1997
  United Kingdom: Job security agreement at Blue Circle

  A recent agreement at the Blue Circle Cement company gives guarantees of job security in return for wage restraint. It has been hailed by many as a future model for good industrial relations in the UK, which might also stem any tendency towards inflationary wage claims. However the Blue Circle deal has a specific 16-year history, and caution is advised before promoting such agreements as a model for all industries.

• 28 Feb 1997
  United Kingdom: Working time moves to the top of the agenda

  Working timehas moved to the top of the industrial relations agenda in the UK. As well as the failure of the UK Government's attempt to have the EU Directive on working time annulled by theEuropean Court of Justice, there has been a growing debate concerning the implications of long hours on the well-being of workers and their families. This feature argues that of all the EU member states the Directive is likely to have the greatest impact in the UK due to the historical legacy of "non-regulation" of working time, and the fact that the Government has removed the limited protective legislation on women and children's working hours.

• 28 Feb 1997
  United Kingdom: Public sector pay policies

  In early February, in response to five independent pay review bodies' reports recommending pay awards for 1.3 million public service employees, the UK Government announced that the increases should be paid in two stages. These awards influence significantly the level of pay settlements for more than five million public sector employees which, for the last four years, have had to be accommodated within a government policy that pay increases should be financed by efficiency gains within an overall paybill freeze. This feature examines the background to current policies, explores the political sensitivity of public sector pay and expenditure decisions in the run-up to a general election, and identifies the pressures that may force any new government to amend the policies over the next few years.

• 28 Feb 1997
  United Kingdom: TUC launches pre-election campaign

  The TUC trade union confederation has launched a GBP 1 million campaign to put employee rights at the centre of the forthcoming general election. The campaign is aimed at all parties, but is likely to be met with suspicion by the Government

• 28 Feb 1997
  United Kingdom: Future of the Post Office under debate

  A consultative paper launched by the postal workers' union calls for changes to the Post Office which will allow it freedom from excessive regulation without privatisation. The paper has largely been met with approval from management, which is keen to regain the organisation's position as number one in Europe.

• 28 Feb 1997
  United Kingdom: Union recognition still an issue

  Despite the fact that UK trade unions have been losing members, in early 1997 groups of employees are still fighting for the right to act collectively and to be represented by unions. At the same time, there are still employers which refuse to recognise unions and to implement what some see as basic rights which would be guaranteed by the EU "social chapter".

• 28 Feb 1997
  United Kingdom: CBI sets out its plans for 1997

  The CBI employers' organisation has set out a five-point programme of long-term priorities for 1997. CBI hopes that by consulting members on targeted issues, it will be able to draw up concerted plans for the long-term future competitiveness of British industry.

• 28 Feb 1997
  United Kingdom: "Social chapter" takes centre stage in the election run-up

  The EU "social chapter" has become an important policy issue in the run-up to the UK general election, as the Government and the opposition have taken opposite stances on the role it should play in their future commitments.

• 28 Feb 1997
  Belgium: Forges de Clabecq: struggle against decline in steel production

  The fate of theForges de Clabecqsteelworks was due to be settled in June 1997. As examined in thsi article, for several years, the trade union delegation at the company has presented itself as the only spokesperson of the true interests of the workforce and the population of Belgium as a whole. This attitude could be understood both as a form of mistrust of the union apparatus and the political parties, and also as a reassertion of rank-and-file union action.