Labour law

A report submitted to the social partners in autumn 1997 assesses the status of collective bargaining in Portugal. It analyses the structure and level of collective bargaining and critically examines the role of legislation in its operation. Overall the report suggests that the state should curtail

As with other countries such as Sweden (SE9705120F [1]), Norway (NO9708118F [2]) and Spain (ES9702103N [3]), Germany is witnessing an ongoing debate on employment with temporary work agencies (TWA s) and its industrial relations consequences. Against the background of steadily increasing numbers of

A private company, OKG Aktiebolag, recently wanted to introduce routine compulsory drug tests for the employees at a nuclear power station, and initiated negotiations with the trade unions. OKG wanted to have a written instruction which would make such tests compulsory. The trade union which

The statutory rules on temporary employment contracts have been controversial ever since they were first instituted with the Act on Security of Employment 1974. The principal rule of the Act was that employment contracts were valid for an indefinite period. Temporary contracts were permitted only in

In October 1997, the UGT and CC.OO union confederations began an awareness and action-oriented campaign in protest against the increase in the number of industrial accidents in Spain. The unions demand immediate compliance by organisations with current legislation on health and safety at work.

This is the latest in a series of articles examining the industrial relations systems of the Central and Eastern European countries which are due to start European Union accession negotiations in 1998 - see EU9708143F [1] and EU9709146F [2]. [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork

An agreement, signed in July 1997 and covering the period 1997/9, is the first to be concluded by the Catalan Government and the trade unions since 1992, and covers the issue of employment security in the Catalan Regional Government (Generalitat). It introduces changes in working hours, encourages

The social partners are engaged in a protracted debate on the ways and means to address a mounting problem of youth unemployment. The best indicator of the extent of the problem is perhaps that on average 2.9% of those aged 15 to 18 years were neither employed nor in school during 1996, while a