Publications

The issue of legislating against discrimination on grounds of ethnic origin
in working life has been debated in Sweden for the last 30 years, but it was
not until 1994 that the first law was enacted. To the very last, even one of
the trade union confederations asserted that collective agreements, not
legislation, were the appropriate means of combating discrimination.

At the February 1998 plenary session of the European Parliament, the
representative of the current UK Council Presidency, Douglas Henderson
confirmed that the Council of Ministers and the European Commission had no
plans to review the decision to end intra-EU duty-free sales (EU9711166N
[1]). This was despite claims made by representatives of the ferry and
airport industry and trade unions in these sectors that the loss of up to
140,000 jobs may result from the decision. The decision to end duty-free from
1999 was taken over seven years ago by the Council of Ministers in 1991, as
one of the taxation and excise measures to make the single market a reality.

[1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/conference-highlights-controversy-over-abolition-of-duty-free

On 16 February 1998, the president of the Public Services, Transport and
Traffic Union (Gewerkschaft Öffentliche Dienste, Transport und Verkehr,
ÖTV), Herbert Mai, stated in an interview that in the long run there is no
alternative to an extensive reduction of working time in order to solve the
unemployment problem. For Mr Mai, the introduction of the 30-hour week could
be an important step towards halving unemployment in Germany. In the public
services sector alone, a weekly reduction of one hour in working time would
have an "arithmetical employment effect", producing 135,000 new jobs. At the
moment, weekly working time in public services is 38.5 hours in western
Germany and 40 hours in eastern Germany.

The third conference of female trade unionists in the Greek General
Confederation of Labour (GSEE), held in February 1998, has highlighted the
serious lack of representation and participation of women in trade union
bodies in Greece.

A recent study has found that 60% of Dutch employees suffer from work-related
stress. The unions have placed this issue at the top of their agenda for the
1998 collective bargaining round.

In February 1998, the sectoral trade unions and Ferrovie dello Stato, the
Italian national railway, signed an agreement aimed at increasing the
company's efficiency, productivity and competitiveness.

On 22 February 1998, negotiations between the Confederation of Danish
Industries (Dansk Industri, DI) and the Central Organisation of Industrial
Employees in Denmark (Centralorganisationen af Industriansatte i Danmark,
CO-industri) broke down. The DI/CO-industri bargaining unit covers some
210,000 workers in industry, or some 62% of all the employees whose
collective agreements are due to be renewed by 1 March 1998. The norm-setting
effect of the agreement in industry is estimated to affect agreements
covering an additional 100,000 workers. As other bargaining units in the
private sector await the outcome of the negotiations in the industrial
sector, the breakdown in talks meant that a major conflict across the whole
private sector could have broken out on 2 March 1998, the day after the
current agreements expire.

Trade unions in the state-owned aircraft maintenance company, TEAM Aer
Lingus, are considering a management offer to buy out employment guarantees
made to workers who transferred over from the former maintenance and
engineering division of the parent company in 1990. The guarantees are in the
form of individually signed "letters of comfort" and state that the workers
formally remain as employees of Aer Lingus"as if TEAM did not exist"
(IE9711235F [1]).

[1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/industrial-relations-undefined-labour-market/team-aer-lingus-employees-seek-deal-prior-to-potential-sell-off

In February 1998, the UGT trade union confederation signed the second general
collective agreement for the Spanish construction sector, over three months
after it was signed by the CC.OO union confederation and the CNC employers'
organisation, thus ending the bargaining deadlock in the industry.

The new collective agreement for white-collar workers in Luxembourg's iron
and steel industry, signed in January 1998, includes an overall pay increase
of 1.85% spread over two years and ratifies an existing profit-sharing
scheme.