Communiqués de presse, 9 octobre 2003
LIVING AND WORKING CONDITIONS, AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, IN AN ENLARGED EUROPE
In the coming months, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, the Dublin-based EU-agency providing socio-economic knowledge and research findings to EU-level policy makers, will launch a series of publications related to living and working conditions in an enlarged Europe.
First Survey of Working Conditions in the Acceding and Candidate Countries
The survey provides a unique comprehensive overview of working conditions in the twelve candidate countries, using the same methodology as in the previous Foundation working conditions surveys in the European Union (1992, 1995, 2000). It addresses a wide range of issues related to the quality of work and employment, such as physical risk factors (i.e. noise, vibrations), working time patterns (i.e. working hours, shift and night work), and occupational health outcomes (i.e. stress). The survey was carried out in June 2001 and is based on face-to-face interviews with a representative sample of a total of 11,000 workers: 1000 workers in each country, apart from Malta and Cyprus where 500 persons were interviewed.
The report will be published on 23 October 2003
Quality of life in Europe
What is your quality of life? This was the question that was asked answered by citizens of 28 European countries in a Foundation survey to took place in May and June of this year. The survey on living conditions and quality of life in the 15 Member States, the 10 Acceding countries and the three candidate countries, focuses on employment, economic resources, family life, community life, health and education looking at the views and experiences of Europe’s citizens.
The first findings from the quality of life monitoring initiative will be published in early 2004.
EU policy focus on living conditions has grown considerably in the wake of the Maastricht Agreement in 1992 with the European Commission White Papers on European Social Policy and on Growth, Competitiveness and Employment and the Communication on the Social Policy Agenda. The Foundation’s quality of life monitoring initiative is a resource that can provide data and analysis and to assess new and emerging issues on living conditions for EU policymakers.
Monitoring industrial relations in Europe
The European Industrial Relations Observatory’s (EIRO) network of correspondents has been expanded to also cover the 10 acceding countries to the European Union, offering news and analysis on industrial relations from 25 countries across Europe.
'We aim to collect, analyse and disseminate high-quality and up-to-date information on key developments in industrial relations in the acceding countries, in the same way we have in the current EU Member States during the past five years,' says Willy Buschak, the Foundation’s Acting Director. 'The EIRO cross-country comparisons will be further developed to cover topics on the EU political agenda.'
The second Industrial relations developments in Europe report, a joint effort between the Foundation and the European Commission presents a comparative overview of the most significant industrial relations developments in 2003, is already in the production pipeline. The annual review entitled Industrial relations in the EU, Japan and USA, which examines the key issues such as pay, gender pay inequality, working time, new forms of work, leave, training and skills development, is due to be published before the end of the year.
Several comparative reports on topics such as collective bargaining on occupational pensions, on childcare and parental leave, and on tripartism in the acceding countries and industrial disputes will also be published on EIRO.
The European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO) was set up more than five years ago, following a request by the European Commission and the social partners. The aim is to regularly provide national and European level social partner and governmental organisations, and EU institutions, with news and analysis of industrial relation developments in Europe. EIRO recorded an average 170.000 user sessions per month during the first six months of this year, which represents an increase of more than 120% compared to the first six months in 2002.