February 2005
- 25 Feb 2005
EU Level: Draft 2004-5 joint employment report issued<#PDF_LINK>The EU's draft joint employment report for 2004-5, issued by the European Commission in January 2005, states that Member States need to embrace reform more decisively to create more jobs.
- 25 Feb 2005
EU Level: Commission issues five-year social agenda<#PDF_LINK>In February 2005 the European Commission issued its social policy plans for the coming five years. Key proposals include the establishment of a European gender institute, a Green Paper on new forms of work, a second round of social partner consultations on restructuring, an initiative on the establishment of a voluntary framework for transnational collective bargaining and an initiative on data protection for workers.
- 25 Feb 2005
EU Level: Global framework agreement signed at Rhodia<#PDF_LINK>In late January 2005, a global social responsibility agreement was concluded at the French chemicals multinational Rhodia. The agreement commits the company to adhering to a range of ILO Conventions and the UN Global Compact. It also contains a number of other commitments in areas such as health and safety, protection of the environment, non-discrimination and social dialogue.
- 25 Feb 2005
United Kingdom: Automotive sector developments reviewed<#PDF_LINK>During late 2004 and early 2005, the UK’s automotive sector, particularly in the West Midlands, has been overshadowed by the announced closure of Jaguar’s Coventry plant and speculation over the survival of MG Rover as it continues negotiations with the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation. Elsewhere Nissan, BMW and Ford have announced substantial investments, whilst the latest collective agreements continue to emphasise labour flexibility and performance-linked reward.
- 16 Feb 2005
Slovakia: Steady reduction in accidents at work<#PDF_LINK>Statistics indicate a long-term decline in the number of accidents at work in Slovakia. The average number of accidents per 100 employees fell to its lowest recorded level in 2004, and serious injuries at work have followed the same trend. Despite these favourable developments, a number of problems remain. For example, the average length of employee absences due to incapacity as a result of injuries sustained at work is increasing.
- 16 Feb 2005
Slovakia: Temporary agency work examined<#PDF_LINK>Temporary agency work has been permitted in Slovakia since February 2004, and is now regulated by several items of labour legislation, which include guarantees on workers' pay and conditions. Temporary work agencies must obtain a licence and provide their services free of charge. Although detailed statistics on agency work are not yet available, just under 50 agencies had obtained a licence by late 2004 and some employers have shown an interest in employing agency workers. Most have been posted to companies in Slovakia, especially in Bratislava, but some also to the Czech Republic.
- 16 Feb 2005
Cyprus: Framework agreement signed in semi-public sector<#PDF_LINK>A framework accord on the renewal of collective agreements in Cyprus's semi-governmental organisations was finally reached in January 2005, following a lengthy dispute and a one-day strike. Pay will be increased by around 3% in 2006, after pay freezes during 2004 and 2005.
- 16 Feb 2005
Slovakia: 2005 collective agreement signed for public service employees<#PDF_LINK>In December 2004, a new collective agreement was signed for Slovakian public service employees, covering 2005. The agreement regulates matters such as pay increases (5% from July 2005), working time, paid leave, redundancy payments and supplementary pension contributions. Some significant changes were made in comparison with the 2004 agreement.
- 16 Feb 2005
France: One-day strike held at SNCF<#PDF_LINK>Seven railworkers' trade unions called a strike at French National Railways (SNCF) on 19 January 2005, in opposition to the company’s 2005 budget, job losses and any future threat to the public service status of rail transport. This was the first test of the dispute-prevention scheme put in place at SNCF in late 2004.
- 16 Feb 2005
France: New rules on early retirement for civil servants with three children<#PDF_LINK>As a result of a European Court of Justice ruling in December 2002 and a large number of court cases, the French government has been obliged to extend to male civil servants with three children a right to early retirement granted previously only to female civil servants in this position. Finally, in late 2004, it opted to extend this right in principle but arguably restrict it in practice, by making this entitlement contingent upon the civil servants involved having taken a career break.
- 16 Feb 2005
France: MEDEF president highlights successes<#PDF_LINK>France's MEDEF employers' confederation held its annual general assembly in January 2005. Its president, Ernest-Antoine Seillière, whose term expires at the end of 2005, presented what he saw as rather positive outcomes from MEDEF's activities and expressed the desire to see reforms such as that planned by the government for the 35-hour week continued.
- 16 Feb 2005
France: Call centres to be allowed to operate on Sundays<#PDF_LINK>In a move to promote the development of call centres in France and to avoid them being relocated to other countries, in December 2004 the government decided to allow them to operate on Sundays. In exchange, employers have pledged to create 30,000 jobs over three years and to improve employment and working conditions. Trade unions are very critical of this initiative.
- 16 Feb 2005
Spain: Consolidation scheme promotes stable employment in healthcare<#PDF_LINK>Legislation adopted in December 2004 provides for competitions to be held during 2005 to fill 37,000 civil servant vacancies in Spain's public healthcare sector. This consolidation exercise should enable many temporary workers in the sector to find open-ended employment, bringing about a major stabilisation of employment in healthcare.
- 16 Feb 2005
Spain: Constitutional Court finds social security rules discriminatory<#PDF_LINK>In December 2004, Spain's Constitutional Court ruled that current regulations on the contributions required to obtain social security benefits discriminate against part-time workers, and also constitute indirect discrimination against women.
- 16 Feb 2005
Spain: Minimum wage agreement introduces guarantee clause<#PDF_LINK>In December 2004, the Spanish government and social partners agreed to increase the national minimum wage by 4.5% in 2005, and to apply a wage guarantee clause whereby, if inflation exceeds the increase in the minimum wage, the latter will be adjusted upwards. However, the CEOE employers' confederation later withdrew its support, arguing that the wage guarantee clause is inflationary. The situation remained unresolved at the end of January 2005.
- 15 Feb 2005
Sweden: Four more blue-collar trade unions plan to merge<#PDF_LINK>In 2005, four trade unions in the building sector affiliated to the blue-collar Swedish Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) are investigating the possibility of a merger. Two major LO unions in industry recently decided to merge in 2006.
- 15 Feb 2005
Slovenia: Sport may be hit by strike<#PDF_LINK>The Slovenian Athletes’ Union (SSS) and some Slovenian sports clubs are complaining that a new Law on Income Tax, which came into force on 1 January 2005, has greatly increased the tax burden on sportspeople. Unless the government changes the rules, SSS is planning protest actions culminating in general strike in all sports in March 2005.
- 15 Feb 2005
Austria: Number of employers offering apprenticeships falls<#PDF_LINK>The number of apprenticeship places offered by Austrian employers has fallen dramatically in recent years, with a new low expected in 2005, despite numerous initiatives aimed at reversing the trend.
- 15 Feb 2005
Romania: Controversy over restructuring plan for mining<#PDF_LINK>In early 2005, an announcement by Romania's new government of over 5,000 redundancies in the mining industry gave rise to numerous controversies with trade unions. The disagreements relate to the number of miners to be made redundant, the size of compensation payments and other social assistance policies.
- 15 Feb 2005
Bulgaria: Minimum wage increased without tripartite consensus<#PDF_LINK>The Bulgarian government increased the statutory national minimum wage by 25% from January 2005. The government imposed this increase despite the opposition of employers' organisations during tripartite talks on the issue.
- 15 Feb 2005
Belgium: Collective agreement in sight at Fortis<#PDF_LINK>After several months of negotiations between management and trade unions at the Belgian operations of the Fortis financial services group, a collective agreement drawn up with support from an official conciliator was due to be signed in early February 2005. The proposed deal contains guarantees on employment and provisions on Saturday opening.
- 15 Feb 2005
Belgium: Negotiations restart at AGC Automotive Europe<#PDF_LINK>Two months after a strike over the announcement of large-scale redundancies started at the AGC Automotive auto glass factory in Fleurus in the south of Belgium, in late January 2005 trade unions were given a mandate by staff to resume negotiations with management.
- 15 Feb 2005
Finland: New rules on workplace privacy come into force<#PDF_LINK>Legislation on workplace privacy was reformed in Finland in October 2004. The new rules, governing drug tests, video surveillance and e-mail privacy, are in accordance with the proposals of the social partners. These issues are now increasingly to be determined through workplace-level bargaining.
- 15 Feb 2005
Poland: New rules on health and safety consultation<#PDF_LINK>New regulations came into force in Poland in 2004 obliging employers to consult with employees or their representatives on all action relating to health and safety at work.
- 15 Feb 2005
Poland: Employment prospects improving in banking sector <#PDF_LINK>Employment in Polish banks started to fall in 1999, with the total workforce being cut by several thousand per year thereafter. However, fewer jobs were lost in 2004 and many banks are intending to recruit new staff in 2005. The workforce reduction process in banking has been been regulated by collective agreements, with few protests by employees resulting.
- 15 Feb 2005
Denmark: LO issues 10-point plan to combat relocation of jobs<#PDF_LINK>In January 2005, the Confederation of Danish Trade Unions (LO) published a 10-point plan to counteract the consequences of globalisation in Denmark and prevent jobs from being relocated to other countries. The central theme is training and education. Globalisation is a key issue in the current Danish general election campaign.
- 15 Feb 2005
Estonia: Transnational employee involvement Act adopted<#PDF_LINK>In January 2005, the Estonian parliament finally ratified an Act transposing into national law the EU Directives on European Works Councils and employee involvement in the European Company Statute.
- 15 Feb 2005
Lithuania: Agreement finally reached on minimum wage increase<#PDF_LINK>After six months of debate on the issue, in January 2005 the Lithuanian government and social partners finally agreed to increase the national minimum wage by 10% with effect from 1 July 2005.
- 15 Feb 2005
Austria: IT social partners agree further training certificate<#PDF_LINK>A new collective agreement concluded for Austria's information technology (IT) industry in December 2004 introduced a ground-breaking further training certification scheme. This initiative aims to improve IT workers’ employability and the companies' competitiveness.
- 15 Feb 2005
Norway: Five-month dispute ended by compulsory arbitration<#PDF_LINK>A five-month industrial conflict involving Norwegian elevator constructors was halted in late January 2005, following a government decision to recommend the use of compulsory arbitration. The conflict arose out of a trade union demand aimed at guaranteeing foreign workers the same pay and employment conditions as Norwegian workers.
- 14 Feb 2005
Slovenia: ECS employee involvement Directive not yet transposed<#PDF_LINK>Slovenia, along with many other EU Member States, did not meet the October 2004 implementation deadline for transposing the EU Directive on employee involvement in the European Company Statute. The delays were largely caused by the general election in October 2004 and the preceding election campaign. As of January 2005, the draft law to transpose the Directive had not been published.
- 14 Feb 2005
Netherlands: Occupational health services to be reformed<#PDF_LINK>In December 2004, the Lower House of the Dutch parliament adopted a legislative proposal that amends the manner in which occupational health services are organised. There will be far-reaching liberalisation of the occupational health services market, with employee participation playing a central role in arranging provision. The change also responds to a ruling issued in May 2003 by the European Court of Justice concerning the obligation on employers to give priority to in-house expertise in organising preventive health and safety measures. The new system is highly complex.
- 14 Feb 2005
Latvia: Dispute over pay of Latvian building workers in Sweden<#PDF_LINK>In December 2004, Swedish trade unions launched a boycott of Laval & Partneri, a Latvian construction firm that is carrying out building work at a site near Stockholm, calling for the Latvian workers involved to be paid the same as their Swedish counterparts. The conflict has attracted considerable attention in Latvia, with the government stating that EU free market rules are being breached, and employers' organisations and trade unions becoming involved
- 14 Feb 2005
Spain: Unions' electoral strength exceeds membership<#PDF_LINK>The results of the most recent elections of workers' representatives in Spain, published in late 2004, confirm the dominance of the CC.OO and UGT trade union confederations. It is their electoral strength that is regarded as the source of the legitimacy and representativeness of Spanish trade unions, rather than their membership, which is low but stable, at around 17% of the wage-earning population.
- 14 Feb 2005
United Kingdom: Unions to hold strike ballots over public sector pensions changes<#PDF_LINK>In January 2005, the UK public sector trade union, Unison, announced that it would be holding a ballot of its members in local government over possible strike action against changes to their pension scheme. Other unions are to follow suit. Unions across the public services are campaigning against government-proposed changes to pension schemes involving increased pension ages, moves away from final-salary-based pensions and reduced benefits.
- 14 Feb 2005
United Kingdom: Employee consultation legislation finalised<#PDF_LINK>The final text of the Regulations implementing the EU employee consultation Directive in Britain received parliamentary approval in December 2004. The legislation will come into force in April 2005, applying initially to undertakings with 150 or more employees.
- 14 Feb 2005
Malta: Air Malta works council holds first meeting<#PDF_LINK>A works council started operations at Air Malta, the national airline, in January 2005. It was created as a result of a rescue plan agreed in May 2004, and is the first body of its kind to be established in a Maltese company.
- 14 Feb 2005
EU Level: Agency sets out 'business case' for safe and healthy work<#PDF_LINK>In January 2005, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work published two reports. One identifies 10 occupational safety and health criteria that underpin corporate social responsibility and the other finds strong links between the quality of work and productivity.
- 14 Feb 2005
EU Level: Commission holds conference on disability<#PDF_LINK>A conference on equal opportunities for people with disabilities took place in Bulgaria in December 2004, organised by the European Commission, bringing together delegates from Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Turkey.
- 14 Feb 2005
EU Level: Commission launches new social dialogue website <#PDF_LINK>At the beginning of February 2005, the European Commission launched a new social dialogue website, aimed at providing a research and information resource to all those with an interest in the European social dialogue process.
- 14 Feb 2005
EU Level: President sets out Commission's vision for future of EU social policy <#PDF_LINK>In February 2005, the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, addressed the European Parliament, setting out what he believes are the social and employment priorities for the coming five years. These include reworking the Lisbon strategy and focusing on internal market proposals.
- 11 Feb 2005
Slovenia: Railway strike postponed<#PDF_LINK>The Railway Workers’ Union of Slovenia (SZS) called a strike by key freight-shunting personnel at Slovenian Railways (HSZ) for 11 January 2005, in a dispute over union claims that managers are breaching legislation and collective agreements. However, on 10 January SZS decided to postpone the strike, giving HSZ management two months to meet its demands.
- 11 Feb 2005
Spain: Agreement on restructuring of Izar shipyards<#PDF_LINK>In December 2004, an agreement on the restructuring of Spain's publicly-owned Izar shipyards was signed by three trade unions and the State Holding Company (SEPI), which controls the shipyards. The agreement, which aims to put an end to a major industrial conflict, separates military shipbuilding from civil shipbuilding, which is to be privatised. The 11,000-strong workforce will be cut by 4,000 through early retirement.
- 11 Feb 2005
Spain: New gender-based violence law has workplace implications<#PDF_LINK>A new law seeking to provide an integrated system of protection for women who are victims of gender-based violence was adopted in Spain in December 2004. Among other areas, the law includes a number of measures of direct significance for employment - for example, women facing gender-based violence may suspend their employment relationship (with maintenance of social security rights and a right to return) and change their workplace or job.
- 11 Feb 2005
Spain: Minimum pensions increased<#PDF_LINK>In January 2005, Spain's Socialist government increased minimum pensions by between 4.5% and 8.07%, as part of a commitment to raise pensions by 26% during its term of office. This followed increases enacted in 2004 by the previous People's Party administration, based on an earlier agreement signed by the CEOE employers' confederation and CC.OO trade union confederation.
- 10 Feb 2005
Poland: Non-payment of wages in focus<#PDF_LINK>The non-payment of wages is a persistent problem in Poland, and its elimination is one of the key objectives of the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP). The latest data from the PIP show that the number of employees who did not receive their wages on time or at all fell for the first time in 2003, though the data for the first half of 2004 are somewhat less positive. The issue has been discussed recently in various tripartite forums, and in December 2004 the Polish Confederation of Private Employers (PKPP) agreed to cooperate with the PIP in eliminating this sort of practice.
- 10 Feb 2005
Italy: De’ Longhi and Zoppas cases highlight challenges of relocation<#PDF_LINK>In order to adjust to ever greater international competition, increasing numbers of Italian firms - mainly in the manufacturing sector - are reorganising production and especially taking the decision to relocate abroad, a strategy that has become widespread among companies in the North-East of Italy. Recent and significant cases of relocation have concerned two leading manufacturers of domestic appliances, De’ Longhi and Zoppas. In 2004, both of these companies drew up plans for the restructuring of plants in the North-East, with the consequent loss of around 1,300 jobs. Talks among the owners of the firms concerned, trade unions, employers’ associations and local and national political authorities have produced preliminary and partial solutions to specific problems, but also a commitment to engage in broader discussion on the structural change now affecting the entire Italian production system.
- 10 Feb 2005
France: Civil servants strike<#PDF_LINK>French civil service trade unions called a one-day strike on 20 January 2004, mainly in support of demands for pay increases and in opposition to cuts in staffing levels. The unions regarded the action as being relatively successful, with an estimated one-third of central government civil servants taking part and particularly strong support in the state education sector.
- 10 Feb 2005
Bulgaria: Health and safety under debate<#PDF_LINK>Late 2004 saw renewed discussion among the Bulgarian social partners of health and safety regulations, in the light of requirements to comply with EU law in this area. The key issues include the current system of compensation for workers with hazardous working conditions, and incentives for employers to invest in improving health and safety.
- 10 Feb 2005
Italy: Forms of non-standard work in public administration examined<#PDF_LINK>There are around 3 million public-sector workers in Italy. Some 10% are employed on a short-term basis, mainly on fixed-term contracts (80%) or as socially usefulworkers (around 20%), while the other forms of temporary employment such as temporary agency work, training/work contracts, and telework are less widespread. Women, who make up 60% of employees in the public sector, are also those most frequently employed on non-standard contracts (making up 60% of short-term workers). Italy stands slightly below the EU average as regards the use of such non-standard contracts in the public sector (20.5% compared with 21.9%). These are among the findings of a study published in late 2004.
- 10 Feb 2005
Poland: Controversy over social guarantees agreed in energy sector<#PDF_LINK>January 2005 saw the publication of the Polish government's strategy for transforming the energy industry over the coming 20 years, which includes restructuring and further privatisation. However, the implementation of the plan may be hindered by new collective agreements signed at major energy companies in late 2004, which provide pay and employment guarantees and stipulate sizeable severance payments in the event of redundancy, including for board members.
- 09 Feb 2005
Estonia: Public conciliator's activities in 2004 examined<#PDF_LINK>During 2004, 20 applications to resolve collective disputes involving almost 60,000 employees were submitted to the Estonian public conciliator Most disputes were over wages and collective agreements, and the great majority were resolved positively through conciliation.
- 09 Feb 2005
France: Casino strike averted by last-minute deal<#PDF_LINK>Disagreement between French casino employers and the sector’s five trade unions led the latter to give notice of a strike on 31 December 2004 in pursuit of claims relating to pay and working conditions. A last-minute deal containing pledges on these issues was reached on 30 December, preventing the strike.
- 09 Feb 2005
Norway: White Paper on pension reform presented<#PDF_LINK>In December 2004, the Norwegian government issued a White Paper setting out a strategy for a new pension system. It involves a public basic pension for all, as well as a public supplementary pension, with pensions to a greater degree than today depending on individuals’ life-time income and labour market participation. The government also proposes the introduction of a compulsory occupational pension. Trade unions have already expressed opposition to some of the proposals.
- 09 Feb 2005
Hungary: Trade union membership and workplace presence continue to shrink<#PDF_LINK>Trade union membership and workplace presence, along with collective bargaining coverage, have diminished continuously in Hungary in recent years. The 2004 Labour Force Survey indicates that union density stood at 16.9%, down from 19.7% in 2001, while 33% of respondents reported a trade union presence at their workplace, compared with 37% in 2001. However, the reported presence of works councils was up from 32% in 2001 to 36% in 2004.
- 09 Feb 2005
Denmark: Survey finds employer doubts over future of trade unions<#PDF_LINK>Many Danish employers believe that trade unions think too much about employees' interests and too little about competitiveness, according to the findings of a survey of top managers in 264 enterprises, published in January 2005. Employers seem very sceptical about trade unions’ capacity to change themselves from old-fashioned militantorganisations to modern knowledge-basedones. However, the vast majority of respondents are in favour of the Danish model of collective bargaining.
- 04 Feb 2005
Greece: Post-Olympic period marked by major job losses<#PDF_LINK>In January 2005, a report by the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE) indicates a poor outlook for employment in Greece. The report states that, four months after the end of the 2004 summer Olympic Games in Athens, the Greek economy has entered a phase of slower growth, and as a result many industrial enterprises consider that they are operating with surplus staff. This trend towards job losses is underlined by recent figures on the rising unemployment rate and the increasingly negative balance between recruitments and dismissals.
- 04 Feb 2005
Belgium: Major dispute at AGC Automotive Europe<#PDF_LINK>Following the announcement of major redundancies at the AGC Automotive Europe factory in Fleurus in southern Belgium, part of the automobile glass division of the Japanese-owned Asahi Glass, the workforce went out on strike in early December 2004. Management has stressed the necessity of cutting costs, in particular wage costs, whereas trade unions fear that activities will be moved to lower labour-cost countries. The public authorities have intervened and launched a conciliation procedure, but without much success, and the conflict started to spread to the other Glaverbel-Asahi Glass sites in Belgium in mid-January 2005.
- 04 Feb 2005
Austria: Labour immigration examined<#PDF_LINK>Against the background of increasing unemployment, Austria's current ÖVP-FPÖ government is pursuing a very restrictive immigration policy, based on a rigid quota system for new residence and works permits. This policy approach contrasts with that of the 1960s and 1970s, when a major labour shortage led governments to attract large numbers of guest workersto work in Austria. This article examines changing migration policies and the shifts in the role of labour migration in Austria’s economy and industrial relations from the early 1960s up to 2005.
- 04 Feb 2005
Italy: Dispute over restructuring of Terni steelworks<#PDF_LINK>In December 2004, the German-based steelmaking group ThyssenKrupp apparently went back on a 2004 agreement with the Italian government and trade unions by announcing the imminent closure of some of its operations in Terni, Italy. Its restructuring plan will lead to the immediate exit from the company of 155 employees (through early retirements and redundancies), the use of the Wages Guarantee Fund for a still unspecified number of workers, and the possible non-renewal of the contracts of 630 fixed-term workers. In protest, trade unions called a one-day strike on 25 January in all departments of the Terni steelworks, as well as a demonstration in Rome. The government convened negotiations involving the company, unions and local institutions in an attempt to resolve the dispute.
- 03 Feb 2005
Lithuania: Tripartite partnership institutions examined<#PDF_LINK>In Lithuania, tripartite partnership involving the government, trade unions and employers' organisations (particularly at national level) is much more developed than bipartite relations between employers and unions. This article examines, as of early 2005, the main national forum, the Tripartite Council of the Republic of Lithuania, and the relatively extensive network of tripartite bodies dealing with specific issues such as social insurance and the labour market.
- 02 Feb 2005
Finland: New incomes policy agreement signed<#PDF_LINK>A new central incomes policy agreement was signed by the Finnish social partners in December 2004. The deal lasts two and a half years (the longest duration yet for such agreements) and increases wages by 2.5% in 2005 and by 2.1% in 2006. The structure of pay policy has been somewhat altered to allow for more income differentiation, as demanded by employers. Meanwhile, trade unions achieved their central goal of increasing redundancy protection for workers. Some major sectors remain outside the agreement, whose coverage stood at about 90% of employees by January 2005.
- 02 Feb 2005
Czech Republic: Dispute over transformation of Czech Railways<#PDF_LINK>A conflict between the management of Czech Railways and trade unions representing its workforce has continued in early 2005. At issue is how the enterprise, with more than 70,000 employees, is to be transformed from a state-run organisation into a functional and economically successful company that can compete in the EU market. A continuing process of major redundancies at Czech Railways is at the heart of the dispute.
- 02 Feb 2005
Norway: Significant drop in sickness absence<#PDF_LINK>Figures issued in December 2004 revealed a significant drop in the sickness absence rate in Norway in the course of the year. The social partners have responded by stressing the positive effects of a 2001 tripartite agreement on an inclusive working life, which aimed to cut sickness absence, and asked the authorities not to put into effect proposed changes to employers’ contributions to financing sickness absence, due to take effect in July 2005.
- 01 Feb 2005
Cyprus: Ministry proposes survival plan for Cyprus Airways<#PDF_LINK>In November 2004, the Cypriot Ministry of Labour submitted a proposal aimed at ensuring the continued existence and operation of the troubled national air carrier, Cyprus Airways. The plan includes a pay freeze and cuts in pay supplements, plus changes in working time for some staff. By mid-January 2004, only one of the five trade unions represented at the company had accepted the proposals.
- 01 Feb 2005
Austria: Study finds increasing gap in pay structure<#PDF_LINK>A study conducted by the Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO), presented in December 2004, finds that - as in most other industrialised countries - inequality of income distribution in Austria has increased during recent decades. Mainly as a result of growing unemployment and an exceptional rise in property-related incomes, the wage ratio (the proportion of national income represented by total earnings from employment) has significantly declined since the 1970s. Among wages and salary earners, pay differentials have widened, especially since the mid-1990s. The redistributive effects of government action through spending and transfer payments, however, mean that the distribution of households’ net incomes has remained relatively stable.
- 01 Feb 2005
Germany: IW proposes labour market-oriented immigration policy<#PDF_LINK>In December 2004, the Cologne Institute for Business Research (IW) published a study calling for a labour market-oriented immigration policy. IW has developed a model that examines whether or not a shortage of skilled workers exists in over 300 occupations. For example, an empirical investigation of the unemployment rate, vacancies, employment growth and skill intensity finds that, in September 2002, there was room for about 22,000 immigrants in occupations in the engineering, healthcare and business services sectors. These vacancies exist despite the high overall rate of unemployment.