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
/It seems inevitable that increasing economic integration and competition
within Europe will have some influence on national collective bargaining. The
aim of this comparative study is to provide an assessment, as of summer 1999,
of the extent to which the processes and outcomes of bargaining in the 15
Member States of the EU, plus Norway, are developing a cross-border, European
dimension. The study outlines the diverse processes, both implicit and
explicit, which can be said to be leading towards a "Europeanisation" of
collective bargaining. Developments across the 16 countries concerned are
examined at intersectoral, sectoral and enterprise levels, with a special
focus on metalworking and financial services, and the views of the social
partners are summarised./
A reform of the rules on overtime working has been pending in Spain since the
social partners and the government made a commitment in this area in 1997.
However, there has still been little progress, with the 1999 National Action
Plan on employment, issued in May 1999, containing no measures to reduce and
reorganise working time.
Early summer 1999 had seen a number of disputes breaking out in the transport
sector, with commentators believing that Austria potentially faced a summer
of disruption on the roads and in the air (AT9906150F [1]). This had failed
to materialise by late July.
Some 70% of chairs of company boards and 60% of managing directors, in a
sample of 660 Swedish companies with more than 25 workers, have a positive
attitude towards employee representatives on the boards of companies. This is
among the findings of a survey, released on 5 July 1999, commissioned by the
Swedish Trade Union Confederation (Landsorganisationen i Sverige, LO) and the
Federation of Salaried Employees in Industry and Services
(Privattjänstemannakartellen, PTK), which represents 1.2 million members of
white-collar trade unions. The survey, entitled /The representation of
employees on company boards/ (Anställdas representationi företagsstyrelser)
was carried out by Klas Levinsson, a researcher at the National Institute for
Working Life (Arbetslivsinstitutet, ALI). No larger studies on the subject
have been conducted since the end of the 1970s.
On 7 July 1999, delegations from France's five main trade union
confederations (CFE-CGC, CFDT, CFTC, CGT and CGT-FO) met to study the
government's recent proposal for a second law on the 35-hour working week and
compare points of view.
In late June 1999, the Spanish central government lodged an appeal with the
Constitutional Court against the Navarre regional government's recent law on
the 35-hour working week, because it considers that the tax benefits arising
from it are unconstitutional.
Magna International, one of the world's major automotive components
manufacturers, based in Canada, and founded and owned by a 1950s Austrian
emigrant, in 1998 acquired the Austrian Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG (SDP) for about
ATS 4 billion. At the same time, Magna continued to expand its own Austrian
operations. It has, by its own reckoning, so far invested ATS 11 billion in
Austria and created 1,300 jobs while cutting 100 jobs in one of the SDP
plants. While engineering jobs are carried out for a wide variety of
customers, much of the manufacturing output is destined for Daimler-Chrysler.
Recently, major orders were also received from BMW's Rover subsidiary, from
Opel and Saab ( the two General Motors subsidiaries), and from Volkswagen.
The latter order is expected to create another 300 jobs. Magna, however, is
threatening to divert the investment to Hungary or Germany because it feels
that its welcome in Austria has soured and its treatment has become unfair.
At the end of June 1999, trade unions and employers in private sector
industry appointed eight impartial chairs for their forthcoming collective
bargaining round. Under the March 1997 agreement on cooperation and pay
regulation in the industry sector (SE9703110N [1]), such impartial chairs on
their own initiative join the negotiations over a new collective agreement
one month before the existing agreement is to expire and ensure that the
negotiations end in due time. The 1997 agreement was signed by eight trade
union federations and 12 employers' associations, representing some 10,000
companies and 800,000 employees. The aims of the agreement include the
conclusion of new collective agreements without any strikes or lock-outs.
The president of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Sir Clive
Thompson, has sparked controversy by warning that the much-discussed concept
of partnership may be hiding a "damaging build-up of trade union influence".
His remarks, made in a speech to an audience of employers on 23 June 1999,
have been strongly criticised by union leaders and have highlighted the
diverging interpretations placed on the idea of partnership by different
groups of practitioners and policymakers. The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has
been actively promoting the concept of union-based partnership at work, but
the government and employers' organisations are unwilling to accept that
partnership arrangements necessarily require union involvement (UK9906108F
[1]).
In July 1999, sectoral trade unions and employers' associations signed a new
national collective agreement for Italy's banking industry. The main
innovations in the deal concern the redefinition of the area covered by the
agreement, the creation of a new "executive middle managers" category, the
renewal of the industrial relations system, working time reduction and pay
increases.
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, launched in April 2020, with five rounds completed at different stages during 2020, 2021 and 2022. 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 representativeness 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 developments in minimum wage rates across the EU, including how they are set and how they have developed over time in nominal and real terms. The series explores where there are statutory minimum wages or collectively agreed minimum wages in the Member States, as well as minimum wage coverage rates by gender.
The European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) launched in 1990 and is carried out every five years, with the latest edition in 2015. 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.
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.
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 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.
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 COVID-19 crisis has increased inequality between social groups in health, housing, employment, income and well-being. While a small part of society was able to hold on to or increase its wealth, other groups such as women, young people, older people, people with disabilities, low- and middle-income earners and those with young children were acutely affected by the pandemic. Drawing on current research on how to best measure multidimensional inequality, this report highlights recent trends in inequality in the context of the COVID-19 crisis.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the textiles and clothing 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.
This report analyses how working conditions, job quality and working life outcomes – such as work–life balance, health and well-being, and sustainability of work – changed between February 2020 and spring 2021. Following up on responses to the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) 2020, it explores the differences between three distinct groups of workers: those teleworking during the COVID-19 pandemic, those who continued to work on their employers' premises as frontline staff, and those who were furloughed or worked reduced hours.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in European sectoral social dialogue taking place at cross-sectoral level. 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 aim of this Eurofound’s study on representativeness is to identify the relevant national and European social partner organisations at cross-sectoral level in the EU Member States.
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 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.
This report offers a backward look at the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the work and life of Europeans. The main focus is on Eurofound’s e-survey ‘ Living, working and COVID-19’ which was launched on 9 April 2020 just after the onset of the crisis. Through four rounds of the survey (two in 2020 and two in 2021), the range of questions changed to match the evolving situation and to understand the effects on the everyday lives of citizens and workers. A fifth round of the e-survey is planned for March–May 2022, with initial findings available in July.
This report explores the drivers of economic and social convergence in Europe, using a selected set of economic and social indicators to examine trends in the performance of individual Member States. It also investigates what role the Economic and Monetary Union plays in convergence, particularly in southern and eastern Member States. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on convergence is analysed and initial conclusions are drawn about the impact of EU recovery packages and their ability to prevent divergence.
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered an extraordinary level of provision of social services across the EU. Healthcare and care providers carried much of the burden and, together with essential services, played a crucial role in getting citizens through the crisis. This report explores how public services adapted to the new reality and what role was played by the digital transformation of services. The aim is to contribute to the documentation and analysis of changes in funding, delivery and use of healthcare and social services during the pandemic.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the professional football 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 aim of this Eurofound’s study on representativeness is to identify the relevant national and European social partner organisations in the professional football sector in the EU Member States.
Building on previous work by Eurofound, this report will investigate intergenerational dynamics over time. During the 2008 double-dip recession, worrying intergenerational divides appeared in many Member States, and while some of the economic and social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is universal, early data suggests disparities across demographic cohorts. Eurofound will examine how different age groups may have been affected in terms of their health, labour market participation, quality of life and financial needs, both in the short term and in the long term.