Evropská nadace pro zlepšování životních a pracovních podmínek
Nadace Eurofound je tripartitní agenturou Evropské unie, která poskytuje přehled poznatků s cílem přispívat k rozvoji lepších sociálních, zaměstnaneckých a pracovních politik
Nadace Eurofound je tripartitní agenturou Evropské unie, která poskytuje přehled poznatků s cílem přispívat k rozvoji lepších sociálních, zaměstnaneckých a pracovních politik
In April 2002, the Fontaneda biscuit factory in Aguilar de Campoo
(Castilla-León, Spain) was threatened with closure by its owner, the
multinational United Biscuits. The announcement met with fierce protests from
the workforce and the inhabitants of Aguilar de Campoo, and the closure was
suspended pending negotiations between management and the plant's workers'
committee.
A new European-level joint text [1] in the commerce sector was signed on 11
March 2002 by the EuroCommerce employers' organisation and, on the trade
union side, by the commerce section of UNI-Europa, the European regional
organisation of Union Network International (UNI). The document sets out
voluntary guidelines supporting age diversity at work.
On 30 March 2002, Martin Bartenstein, the Minister for Economic and Labour
Affairs, announced his intention to extend unemployment insurance coverage to
all 'dependent self-employed persons' and holders of 'free-service contracts'
(Freier Dienstvertrag). People employed under a free-service contract are
currently insured under the terms of the General Social Insurance Act
(Allgemeines Sozialversicherungsgesetz, ASVG), while economically dependent
holders of a 'contract for work' (Werkvertrag) (also referred to as 'Neue
Selbständige') are dealt with like all other self-employed persons and
therefore insured under the terms of the Social Insurance Act on
Self-Employed Persons (Gewerbliches Sozialversicherungsgesetz, GSVG). While
in 1998, both of these categories of worker were brought within full coverage
of Austria's social insurance system (including state pensions), they are
still not covered by unemployment insurance - only dependent employees are
subject to obligatory unemployment insurance and therefore entitled to
receive unemployment benefit on losing their jobs.
On 19 April 2002, the Unified Service Sector Union (Vereinte
Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft, ver.di) concluded a company agreement [1] with
management at the Lufthansa airline's call centre, Lufthansa Global Tele
Sales GmbH (Lufthansa GTS), in Berlin. Backdated to 1 April 2002, employees
will receive pay increases of between 8.1% and 18.6%. Jan Kahmann, a member
of ver.di's management board, stated that this 'pilot' company agreement
would send a signal both nationally and internationally.
In April 2002, Spain's central social partner organisations - CEOE and CEPYME
for employers and CC.OO and UGT for trade unions - issued a joint statement
on collective bargaining in the wake of their December 2001 agreement laying
down guidelines for bargaining in 2002. The social partners' assessment is
positive, and they claim that the agreement's commitment to pay moderation is
being upheld.
Employees at Daewoo's television-manufacturing plant in Lorraine, eastern
France, came out on strike in April 2002 after the company announced a plan
to cut 120 jobs. The workforce has called for the state to intercede with the
Korean-based group, which received government grants when it set up factories
in the region.
Following the terrorist attacks on the USA on 11 September 2001, Aer Lingus,
the Irish state-owned airline, was faced with a serious financial crisis, to
which it responded with a survival plan of major restructuring and job
losses, brokered by the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) (IE0111101F [1]).
Arising from this plan, two sets of proposals relating to pilots have been
drawn up - one on changes to their working practices, and one aimed at
resolving a dispute over 86 planned redundancies among pilots. In essence,
the two documents are seen as a trade-off, with the pilots 'winning' on the
redundancy issues and the company 'winning' in relation to the working
practice changes.
On 6 May 2002, the German metalworkers' trade union IG Metall called some
50,000 workers out in strike in Baden-Württemberg, the union's 'flagship'
district in the south-west of Germany. The strike came after negotiations
over a new sector-wide collective agreement for the metalworking industry had
stalled about two weeks previously. On 19 April, having negotiated without
interruption for 15 hours, Berthold Huber, the union's chief negotiator for
the Baden-Württemberg district, declared that the talks had failed to
reach an agreement.
In February 2002, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) expelled the
UK-based union, the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union (AEEU)
(IE0203201F [1]). This followed a 1998 membership 'poaching' row with AEEU's
rival Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU) over 39 electricians
at a Cadburys manufacturing plant in Dublin. In an internal disputes body
ruling, ICTU sided with the locally-based TEEU, ordering AEEU not to recruit
the Cadburys electricians and to encourage those who sought membership to
return to TEEU. However, AEEU flatly rejected the decision.
In April 2002, a government bill relating to protection from violence, moral
harassment (bullying) and sexual harassment at the workplace was nearing
adoption in the Belgian federal parliament. The bill, submitted by the
Minister of Employment and Labour, has prompted disagreement among the social
partners. In the view of employers' associations, the bill is unsuited to
labour relations in enterprises.
The European Restructuring Monitor has reported on the employment impact of large-scale business restructuring since 2002. This series includes its restructuring-related databases (events, support instruments and legislation) as well as case studies and publications.
The European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) launched in 1990 and is carried out every five years, with the latest edition in 2020. It provides an overview of trends in working conditions and quality of employment for the last 30 years. It covers issues such as employment status, working time duration and organisation, work organisation, learning and training, physical and psychosocial risk factors, health and safety, work–life balance, worker participation, earnings and financial security, work and health, and most recently also the future of work.
Eurofound’s Flagship report series 'Challenges and prospects in the EU' comprise research reports that contain the key results of multiannual research activities and incorporate findings from different related research projects. Flagship reports are the major output of each of Eurofound’s strategic areas of intervention and have as their objective to contribute to current policy debates.
Eurofound’s work on COVID-19 examines the far-reaching socioeconomic implications of the pandemic across Europe as they continue to impact living and working conditions. A key element of the research is the e-survey, conducted in two rounds – in April and in July 2020. This is complemented by the inclusion of research into the ongoing effects of the pandemic in much of Eurofound’s other areas of work.
Eurofound’s European Company Survey (ECS) maps and analyses company policies and practices which can have an impact on smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, as well as the development of social dialogue in companies. This series consists of outputs from the ECS 2019, the fourth edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 2004–2005 as the European Survey on Working Time and Work-Life Balance.
Eurofound's representativness studies are designed to allow the European Commission to identify the ‘management and labour’ whom it must consult under article 154 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). This series consists of studies of the representativeness of employer and worker organisations in various sectors.
This series reports on and updates latest information on the involvement of national social partners in policymaking. The series analyses the involvement of national social partners in the implementation of policy reforms within the framework of social dialogue practices, including their involvement in elaborating the National Reform Programmes (NRPs).
This series reports on the new forms of employment emerging across Europe that are driven by societal, economic and technological developments and are different from traditional standard or non-standard employment in a number of ways. This series explores what characterises these new employment forms and what implications they have for working conditions and the labour market.
The European Company Survey (ECS) is carried out every four to five years since its inception in 2004–2005, with the latest edition in 2019. The survey is designed to provide information on workplace practices to develop and evaluate socioeconomic policy in the EU. It covers issues around work organisation, working time arrangements and work–life balance, flexibility, workplace innovation, employee involvement, human resource management, social dialogue, and most recently also skills use, skills strategies and digitalisation.
The European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) is carried out every four to five years since its inception in 2003, with the latest edition in 2016. It examines both the objective circumstances of people's lives and how they feel about those circumstances and their lives in general. It covers issues around employment, income, education, housing, family, health and work–life balance. It also looks at subjective topics, such as people's levels of happiness and life satisfaction, and perceptions of the quality of society.
How can working conditions be improved to make work more sustainable over the life course? This question has been the guiding principle for analysis of the 2015 European Working Conditions Survey data during the period of Eurofound’s work programme for 2017–2020. This flagship report brings together the different research strands from this work and gives a comprehensive answer to the question. It includes an analysis of trends in working conditions, examining whether these are the same for all workers or whether inequalities between different groups of workers are increasing.
Access to key social services, especially education and healthcare, as well as stable family life and decent housing are necessary for the well-being and development of children. Ensuring that all children have these resources is an EU priority; the European Commission is currently undertaking to recommend a Child Guarantee to address the situations of children in need. Service provision has been complicated by the COVID-19 outbreak, however, and the pandemic has put psychological and material strains on families.
This report builds on Eurofound's existing research on social mobility, assessing the distribution and transmission of wealth in Member States. It examines the roles of inheritance and household debt in explaining the transmission of advantage or disadvantage between the generations across Member States. The analysis is based on Eurosystem's Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS).
This report analyses the involvement of the national social partners in the implementation of policy reforms within the framework of social dialogue practices, and their involvement in elaborating the National Reform Programmes (NRPs) and other key policy documents of the European Semester cycle.
This report will focus on assessing the employment impact of the COVID-19 crisis, including its effects across sectors and for different categories of workers. It will also be looking at measures implemented to limit negative effects following the Coronavirus outbreak in Europe.
This report examines the contribution of social and employment services in EU Member States to the inclusion of people with disabilities, specifically in relation to the impact these have on labour market integration – in line with the 2006 UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The report includes a discussion of the costs and benefits of different approaches.
This report examines people's optimism about the future, for themselves and for others, and the extent to which it varies depending on one's social situation and perceptions of the quality of society. The study includes an analysis of the relationships between people’s perceptions of fairness and objective indicators of their social and economic situation and living standards.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the civil aviation (flight crew) sector. Their relative representativeness legitimises their right to be consulted, their role and effective participation in the European sectoral social dialogue and their capacity to negotiate agreements.
The European Green Deal is at the very top of Member State agendas across the EU. This topical update maps the national discussions – in policy, public and research debates – on the potential, ongoing or already felt impact on work and employment of the transition to a low-carbon economy. It attempts to identify the most active actors involved in these discussions (governments, social partners, NGOs and so on) and their perspectives.
This report will draw from case studies of establishments across the EU that have introduced advanced digital technologies in the workplace. The technologies in focus are the Internet of Things, 3D printing and virtual and augmented reality. Each case study – illustrated in the report - will explore the approach or strategy taken by the establishment to manage the digital transition and the impact of the deployment of the technology on the work organisation and job quality.