Weber, Tina

The end of 1998 marked a milestone in the development of the European Union. On 1 January 1999, 11 Member States officially adopted the European single currency, the euro (the third stage of Economic and Monetary Union, EMU). Of the EU Member States, only Denmark, Greece, Sweden and the UK remain outside the "euro-zone", but it appears inevitable to many observers that at least most of these countries will join the single currency in the not too distant future. In 1998, the impact of EMU on industrial relations was assessed more widely than before and was the subject of keen debate for the social partners at European, national and regional levels.

The nature of the organisation and delivery of postal services in the European Union has undergone significant restructuring over the last decade, partly as a result of technological changes and changes in consumer demand, and partly as a result of changes in the national and transnational policy environment. The latter changes led to a degree of liberalisation in relation to certain aspects of the provision of postal services. With the exception of Sweden and Finland, all Member States retain a single public sector operator, enjoying a monopoly over certain retained services. However, there are an increasing number of more or less specialised private sector providers operating in this area. These private providers have been able to secure a substantial share of the high value-added services market not covered by the post office monopoly and have been particularly successful in establishing high-quality, high-reliability operations in door-to-door delivery services.

The meeting of the Council of Labour and Social Affairs Ministers on 2 December 1998 (EU9812142N [1]) failed to reach an agreement on the Austrian Presidency's latest compromise version of the draft Directive on worker involvement in the European Company Statute (ECS). This is the latest setback in the long history of negotiations on this issue which go back nearly three decades. The ECS was first put forward in the early 1970s and was intended to allow the setting up of a new type of company, incorporated under European rather than national law, and enjoying a number of tax advantages. Despite interest among the business community in this new form of company, successive proposals have failed to enter the statute book, largely as a result of seemingly insurmountable disagreements in relation to the nature of worker involvement in such companies. [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/social-affairs-council-agrees-health-and-safety-directives

In the days prior to the European Council summit meeting in Vienna on 11-12 December 1998, the European-level social partners in the cleaning industry - the European Regional Organisation of the International Federation of Commercial, Clerical, Professional and Technical Employees (Euro-FIET) and the European Federation of Cleaning Industries (EFCI) - signed a joint declaration calling for an end to undeclared work in the sector.

At a December 1998 sectoral social dialogue meeting, the European Committee of Food, Catering and Allied Workers' Unions within the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations (ECF-IUF) and the European Committee of Sugar Manufacturers (Comité Européen des Fabricants de Sucre, CEFS) signed a joint declaration on vocational training in the sugar industry.

The 1999 Employment Guidelines put forward by the European Commission in draft form on 14 October 1998 emphasised the need for continuity and called on Member States to build on the progress made under the 4 main pillars of action:

Meeting on 16 October 1998, the council of presidents of the Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations of Europe (UNICE) again rejected the European Commission's invitation to enter into negotiations on information and consultation of workers at national level. Emilio Gabaglio, general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) called the decision "regrettable but not unexpected".

Meeting on 8-9 October 1998, the executive committee of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) adopted a statement on Europe and the global crisis [1], which outlines the response ETUC would like the European Union and the Member States to adopt to limit the negative impact of the economic crisis in Asia on European businesses and employment. [1] http://www.etuc.org/Exec/Resolutions/English/decang1.cfm

Since the initial adoption of the Council Directive on certain aspects of the organisation of working time (93/104/EC) [1] in 1993, the European Commission has emphasised its desire to review the situation in relation to the sectors and activities excluded from the Directive (such as transport or junior doctors etc). In July 1997, the Commission launched a White Paper on sectors and activities excluded from the working time Directive [2] (EU9707138N [3]).. [1] http://europa.eu.int/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexapi!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=en&numdoc=31993L0104&model=guichett [2] http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/soc-dial/labour/white/whiteen.htm [3] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/commission-publishes-white-paper-on-sectors-and-activities-excluded-from-the-working-time-directive

Three legislative proposals adopted by the Commission on 22 July 1998 aim to update and clarify the rights of EU citizens in relation to freedom of movement within the Union in order to take up work. The first two proposals modify and update the two core pieces of legislation which have guaranteed freedom of movement for the past 30 years; Council Regulation (EEC) 1612/68 on freedom of movement of workers within in the Community; and Directive 68/360/EEC on the abolition of restrictions on movement and residence within the Community for workers of Member States and their families.