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  • Article
    27 februar 1998

    In January 1998, the Italian Government passed a legislative decree on the
    reorganisation of the commerce sector. This first step towards a more
    "European" model of commerce has been opposed by employers but welcomed by
    trade unions.

  • Article
    27 februar 1998

    According to estimates by the Association of Social Security Providers
    (Hauptverband der Sozialversicherungsträger, HSV) released at the beginning
    of February 1998, the average duration of sick leave was 13.3 calendar days
    per worker in 1997. Final figures will be known only in June. The early
    estimate for 1996 was 14.7 days and the final figure was 14.0 days. Both the
    1996 final data and the 1997 estimate are the lowest in well over a decade.
    This development continues a trend in evidence since 1991. During the period
    1989 to 1991 the average annual duration of sick leave peaked at 15.3 days.
    Since then it has been falling, at first by roughly 0.1 days per year until
    it reached 14.9 days in 1995, and much faster since then. The data include
    all recipients of wages and salaries but exclude civil servants and most
    apprentices.

  • Article
    27 februar 1998

    In November 1997, the social partners represented on the Netherlands' Labour
    Foundation seemed to have reconfirmed the reputation of the Dutch
    "consultation model" by jointly averting a possible end to the policy of pay
    moderation. It was agreed in the Foundation to continue moderate pay
    increases in exchange for employee training opportunities and sick leave.
    However, initial analysis of negotiations in early 1998 reveals that, in
    practice, it is very difficult to translate the provisions of such an
    agreement reached at central level into a form that is acceptable to the
    social partners at sector or company level.

  • Article
    27 februar 1998

    A collective agreement for Finnish doctors was signed on 28 February 1998,
    taking into account the application of the 1993 EU Directive on working time
    to their work. As a result, pay will increase by FIM 1,400 per month, and
    weekly working time by 1.25 hours.

  • Article
    27 februar 1998

    On 12 February 1998, the European Commission adopted a report on the
    implementation of the Council Recommendation of 31 March 1992 on childcare
    (92/241/EEC [1]). The Recommendation was adopted as part of the Community's
    Third Equal Opportunities Action Programme (1991-5) and the Commission's
    social Action Programme accompanying the 1989 Community Charter of the
    Fundamental Social Rights of Workers [2] (the "Social Charter"). Both the
    Third Action Programme and the Social Charter emphasised the importance of
    measures to enable men and women to reconcile work and family life. Such
    measures were to act as a means to achieve greater equality of opportunity
    for women and men in the labour market. The 1998 guidelines for Member
    States' employment policies [3], which were adopted by the Council of
    Ministers in December 1997 (EU9712174N [4]), also call for adequate provision
    to be made for the care of children and other dependants in order to enable
    greater equality in the labour market.

    [1] http://europa.eu.int/comm/sg/scadplus/leg/en/cha/c10916.htm
    [2] http://eurotext.ulst.ac.uk/policy/social/charter/92826097/92826toc.html#x
    [3] http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/elm/summit/en/papers/guide2.htm
    [4] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/1998-employment-policy-guidelines-adopted

  • Article
    27 februar 1998

    A European "cross-border employment centre" has recently been established in
    Valença, as part of a European Community EURES project that covers northern
    Portugal and Galicia in Spain. The initiative aims to combat clandestine
    labour, promote greater transparency in the labour market and encourage the
    mobility of workers within Europe.

  • Article
    27 februar 1998

    The distribution of earned and household incomes (Arbeits- und
    Haushaltseinkommen) in Germany has been displaying growing "social
    polarisation" for some considerable time. This is the finding of a new report
    published by the Institute for Economics and Social Science (Wirtschafts- und
    Sozialwissenschaftliches Institut, WSI) - "Verteilungspolitik; Chronik eines
    angekündigten politischen Selbstmords", Claus Schäfer, in WSI-Mitteilungen
    Vol. 50, No.10 (1997). The reasons for this development range from structural
    changes in employment relationships to the implementation of moderate
    collective bargaining policies and active redistribution through state social
    and tax policies.

  • Article
    27 februar 1998

    In February 1998, a law was passed by the Greek Parliament under which labour
    relations may be altered in public enterprises in financial difficulties. The
    Government subsequently decided to implement a package of measures on public
    enterprises, one of whose aims, according to the Prime Minister, is Greece' s
    immediate integration and participation in EU Economic and Monetary Union.
    These developments have sparked opposition from the trade unions, and Greek
    General Confederation of Labour has drawn up alternative proposals.

  • Article
    27 februar 1998

    A dispute in the Dutch secondary education sector, which had been brewing for
    several months, finally erupted into a national "relay" strike in February
    1998. The teachers' workload is at the heart of the conflict: the trade
    unions demand that the number of teaching hours be reduced, while the
    employers respond that they lack the funds.

Series

  • European Restructuring Monitor

    The European Restructuring Monitor (ERM) has reported on the employment impact of large-scale business restructuring since 2002. This publication series include the ERM reports, as well as blogs, articles and working papers on restructuring-related events in the EU27 and Norway.

  • European Working Conditions Telephone Survey 2021

    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 European Working Conditions Telephone Survey (EWCTS) 2021, an extraordinary edition conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey was first carried out in 1990.

  • Developments in working life, industrial relations and working conditions in the EU

    This publication series gathers all overview reports on developments in working life, annual reviews in industrial relations and working conditions produced by Eurofound on the basis of national contributions from the Network of Eurofound Correspondents (NEC). Since 1997, these reports have provided overviews of the latest developments in industrial relations and working conditions across the EU and Norway. The series may include recent ad hoc articles written by members of the NEC.

  • COVID-19

    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.

  • Sectoral social dialogue

    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.

  • Minimum wages in the EU

    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.  

  • European Working Conditions Surveys

    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.

  • Challenges and prospects in the EU

    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.

  • European Company Survey 2019

    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. 

  • National social partners and policymaking

    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).

Forthcoming publications