The Higher Council for Employment (Hoge Raad van de Werkgelegenheid/Conseil
supérieur de l'Emploi) is a body recently set up by the Federal Government
to "evaluate measures to promote employment and examine job-creation
proposals" (BE9708114N [1]). It was clear from the time of the Council's
creation that the contents of its report on employment would be
controversial. The body's origins were themselves controversial, as part of a
political agreement, and all sorts of political manoeuvring apparently took
place concerning the composition of this "council of experts" from which the
social partners were deliberately excluded. The Council's political balance
had been meticulously weighed up which meant that, right from the start, its
image as an objective and independent scientific body was called into
question in some quarters, before a single letter or figure had been
committed to paper.
According to France's Minister of Labour, the conflict over the Government's
plans to introduce a 35-hour working week led to a deadlock in 1997's
sector-level negotiations on minimum pay rates.
Since the mid-1980s, the development of collectively agreed working time in
Germany has been mainly the result of a compromise between the trade unions'
demands for shorter working time and the employers' demand for more working
time flexibility. As Table 1 below indicates, over the past 10 years, average
annual working time in western Germany has been reduced by about 88 hours
from 1,732 in 1987 down to 1,644 hours in 1997. In the past few years,
however, there has been a remarkable slowdown in the speed of working time
reduction: since 1993 average annual working time has been reduced by only
about 16 hours.
The average growth in pay of top managers in the private sector was
2.5%-4.75% higher than the increase experienced by the average wage earner in
1997, according to new figures published by the Technical Calculating
Committee on Income Settlement (Det tekniske beregningsutvalget for
inntektsoppgjørene, TBU). When compared to the 1996 period, during which the
average growth of managers salaries was 1%-3% higher than the average worker,
the 1997 period witnessed a much higher wage increase among top managers
relative to average wage earners. From 1995 to 1996, management salaries in
private stock companies grew by 5.7%-7.5%, while from 1996 to 1997 they
increased by 6.7%-8.9%. The figures also show that in the period from 1990 to
1997 the annual wage growth of top managers was between 3.9% and 4.9%, while
for the average wage earner the figure was 3.7%.
In March 1998, the Italian Government issued a decree setting out new rules
on access to social welfare benefits, following lengthy debate with the
social partners.
The Budget [1] presented by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, to
parliament on 17 March 1997 has been described as the "make work pay" Budget.
The Chancellor said that the tax and benefit system should reflect the value
that are placed upon the responsibilities and rewards of work. Thus, as well
as measures to encourage long-term investment both in jobs and skills, the
Budget contains other measures to encourage employment directly, such as
extending the "New Deal" scheme for unemployed people (UK9710175N [2]) to new
groups, and radical tax and benefit reform measures which, along with the
forthcoming national minimum wage (UK9712190N [3]), should help to make work
pay (ie, more attractive than receipt of social security benefits).
In February 1998, a central organisation was formed by Spanish associations
of unemployed people, aimed at claiming the right to work and social
protection. The new body, which has put a series of demands to the
Government, has received a mixed reaction in trade union and political
circles.
On 11 March 1998, the Swedish Textile and Clothing Industries' Association
(TEKOindustrierna, TEKO) and the Industrial Union (Industrifacket) accepted a
draft collective agreement proposed by three impartial chairs who had led the
final phase of negotiations. The agreement, which covers around 7,500
blue-collar workers, will run for an extraordinarily long period of 44
months. The parties can, however, renegotiate it after it has run for two
years.
Each of the EU Member States have been drawing up national employment action
plans based on the EU Guidelines for Member States' employment policies 1998
[1], following the Luxembourg"employment summit" in November 1997 (EU9711168F
[2]). The plans are due to be submitted to the Cardiff European Council in
June 1998. *Equal opportunities* measures are one of four agreed areas
covered by the national action plans, and in the Austrian draft plan
(AT9802164F [3]), as presented on 20 February 1998, four of the 19 measures
cover this area. Three of these refer specifically to women and one to people
with disabilities. The three other areas are *employability* (seven
measures), *entrepreneurship* (five measures) and *adaptability* (three
measures).
The EU Member States have been drawing up national employment action plans
based on the EU Guidelines for Member States' employment policies 1998 [1],
following the Luxembourg"employment summit" in November 1997 (EU9711168F
[2]). The plans are due to be submitted by 15 April 1998 for consideration at
the Cardiff European Council in June 1998. The subsidiarity principle is a
key feature of the guidelines both at European and at national and regional
levels and because of this subsidiary principle the government of Flanders
and the Flemish social partners - like their counterparts in Wallonia
(BE9803135F [3]) and the Brussels-Capital region (BE9803136N [4]) - are
making their own contributions to the Belgian action plan.
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 2009, the second edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 2004–2005 as the European Establishment Survey on Working Time and Work-Life Balance.
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 2013, the third edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 2004–2005 as the European Establishment Survey on Working Time and Work-Life Balance.
Eurofound’s European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) examines both the objective circumstances of European citizens' lives and how they feel about those circumstances and their lives in general. This series consists of outputs from the EQLS 2003, the first edition of the survey.
Eurofound's European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) examines both the objective circumstances of European citizens' lives and how they feel about those circumstances and their lives in general. This series consists of outputs from the EQLS 2007, the second edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 2003.
Eurofound's European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) examines both the objective circumstances of European citizens' lives and how they feel about those circumstances and their lives in general. This series consists of outputs from the EQLS 2012, the third edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 2003.
Eurofound’s European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) paints a wide-ranging picture of Europe at work across countries, occupations, sectors and age groups. This series consists of findings from the EWCS 2005, the fourth edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 1990.
Eurofound’s European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) paints a wide-ranging picture of Europe at work across countries, occupations, sectors and age groups. This series consists of findings from the EWCS 2010, the fifth edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 1990.
This publication series explores scenarios for the future of manufacturing. The employment implications (number of jobs by sector, occupation, wage profile, and task content) under various possible scenarios are examined. The scenarios focus on various possible developments in global trade and energy policies and technological progress and run to 2030.
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.
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.
Are the policies required to meet the commitments outlined under the EU’s plan for a green transition, the Fit-for-55 package, and the associated budgetary commitments – the Green New Deal – likely to lead to positive or negative employment outcomes by 2030? What types of jobs will be created or destroyed? Will shifts in employment be skewed towards the bottom, middle or top of the job–wage distribution? This report aims to provide answers to these questions, using macro-modelled estimates of the likely impacts of these policies on the structure of employment.
This report explores the potential socio-economic implications of the transition to a climate-neutral economy on different EU regions and groups of people. It adopts a foresight approach to envision potential actions that can be taken to shape the future. After consulting with stakeholders and experts, three scenarios were developed to consider emerging economic and social inequalities at EU and regional level. The report includes policy pointers which outline measures to be taken to achieve a just transition to a sustainable, climate-neutral economy where no one is left behind.
This report explores how environmental performance has converged – or diverged – among the EU Member States since the early 2000s. With environmental goals piling up at the EU level, is it reasonable to expect Member States to adhere to this emerging EU environmental aquis? And, just as importantly, can we expect Member States to reach these goals at the same time? This report attempts to provide answers to these and other questions high on the political agenda.
This report investigates the potential individual and societal impacts of labour market insecurity, focusing on workers with non-permanent contracts, part-time and self-employed workers, and workers who perceive their job as insecure. It explores the impact of labour market insecurities on health and well-being, social exclusion, trust in people and the perception of fairness, as well as trust in institutions. Policies aimed at reducing labour market instability following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic are also presented.
This report highlights the prevalence of psychosocial risks across countries, sectors and occupations during the later phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. It outlines the specific working conditions that can lead to work-related health problems. In particular, the report investigates the potential pitfalls related to the expansion of telework, the role of job and income insecurity as a psychosocial risk and the phenomenon of adverse social behaviour and discrimination at work. In addition, it offers policy pointers on tackling the increase in work absenteeism due to mental health problems.
This report – published every two years – covers important developments resulting from legislative reforms in collective bargaining at national or sectoral level in 2021 and 2022. It examines the average weekly working hours set by collective agreements, both across national economies and in five sectors: education, health, transport, retail and public administration.
This policy brief provides facts and figures on the working life and job quality of so-called ‘essential workers’ and is based on data from the European Working Conditions Telephone Survey (EWCTS) extraordinary edition 2021. It will define various subgroups of essential workers, describe the challenges they face and outline the type of responses provided, or being developed, to address those challenges.
This policy brief aims to contribute to the effective monitoring and evaluation of the European Child Guarantee. Progress at EU level is measured by a monitoring framework which monitors the key areas of the European Child Guarantee: early childhood education and care; education, including school-based activities and at least one healthy meal each school day; healthcare; healthy nutrition; and adequate housing. The policy brief explores trends and disparities in these areas using a convergence analysis, which tracks any disparities among EU Member States.
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