At the end of December 1997, the Institute of Personnel and Development (IPD)
- the professional body for personnel managers - launched its /Management of
equality/ awards. These will be awarded annually by the Equal Opportunities
Commission (EOC), the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) and the Employers'
Forum on Disability (EFD) to students taking IPD qualifications who come up
with creative solutions to the problems of equal opportunities.
/The December 1995 framework agreement on parental leave was the first such
accord between the EU-level social partners, and was given legal force by a
Council Directive in June 1996. This comparative study: outlines current
parental leave provisions in the Member States (plus Norway); examines the
perceptions of the framework agreement/Directive and the changes it requires
in national provisions; and assesses the practical impact of current parental
leave provisions and the likely effect of the agreement/Directive./
On 7 January 1998 the metalworkers' trade union, IG Metall, and the Steel
Employers' Association (Arbeitgeberverband Stahl) signed a new collective
agreement for the about 8,000 employees in the east German steel industry.
The collective bargaining parties agreed on a flat-rate payment of DEM 330
for the period October 1997 to December 1997 and a 2.6% wage increase from
January 1998.
The Austrian Trade Union Federation (Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund,
ÖGB) has launched a campaign in 1998 to make good on one of its
long-standing demands: the removal of the remaining legal differences between
wage earners/blue-collar workers (Arbeiter) and salary earners/white-collar
workers (Angestellten). In the late 1970s, equality in holiday regulations
and severance pay was achieved. Now ÖGB wants regulations concerning wage
earners' payment during sickness and dismissal notice periods to be brought
up to salary earner standards. The ÖGB sees this as the final phase of a
historical social policy project. The Austrian Chamber of the Economy
(Wirtschaftskammer Österreich, WKÖ) has made it clear it opposes any
measure that would increase total wage costs, this being one of the hottest
issues between social partners at national level. By the WKÖ's reckoning,
upward equalisation would cost ATS 10 billion per year, while the ÖGB
estimates the net cost to be about ATS 1 billion per year. There are 1.3
million wage earners on annual average, about 43% of total employment.
Following a long dispute, in December 1997 employees at Electrabel, the
Belgian electricity-distribution company, approved an agreement that focuses
on the reduction of working hours and on recruitment.
The number of working days lost through strikes in France in 1996 decreased
sharply from the number recorded in 1995, according to figures published in
late 1997. Rates are now back to levels registered in the early 1990s.
During the spring of 1998 most of the pay agreements in Norway are to be
renegotiated. It is anticipated that the right to further education and
training will be a central issue during this year's settlement.
In May 1997, the group of experts on "European systems of worker
involvement", known as the Davignon group, after its chair, issued its report
[1] (EU9705128N [2]). The group had been set up by the European Commission
essentially to suggest ways of breaking the deadlock on worker involvement
measures which had blocked the adoption of the European Company Statute for
many years. The report set out recommendations for the information,
consultation and board-level participation of employees in the European
Company (SE), which were then largely taken up by the Luxembourg EU
Presidency of the second half of 1997 in a new draft version of the Statute
(EU9710158N [3]).
A survey of 374 organisations by the recruitment company, Reed Personnel,
conducted prior to Christmas 1997, showed that the number of companies
opening on Christmas Day has grown by a third over the past decade.
Traditionally only organisations such as hospitals, the emergency services,
hotels, telephone operator services and the media worked on Christmas Day,
but this has now extended to the service sector in general and even to some
manufacturing establishments. The service sector showed the largest increase
in the proportion of establishments opening, up from 6% to 8% over the
decade, while manufacturing rose from zero to 1%.
Against the background of increasing mass unemployment, and following
legislation in 1996, partial retirement (Altersteilzeit) has become a very
prominent bargaining issue between the German social partners (DE9708224F
[1]). According to a recent study by the Institute for Economics and Social
Science (Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliches Institut, WSI) there are
now 15 branch-level collective agreements and several company agreements on
partial retirement covering altogether about 5 million employees.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
The report describes trends in social and economic discontent across the EU between 2002 and 2020, highlighting in particular the turbulent times brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The report explores the evolution of social cohesion and its impact on economic and social discontent. It assesses the relationship between social cohesion and discontent during the pandemic, allowing for a comparison of the situation as it stands in 2023. The focus of the report is on regions where social cohesion is low, where a contrast is drawn with regions where social cohesion is much higher.
This report analyses the working conditions and job quality of different types of self-employed workers. Drawing on data from the European Working Conditions Survey, it looks into policies in Member States aimed at addressing the challenges and opportunities associated with specific types of self-employment.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the chemical 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 chemical sector in the EU Member States.
The focus of this report is on the role that human capital plays in determining inequalities across the EU, as well as within Member States. Using Cedefop’s work in this area, the report provides a comparative analysis of national trends in education and lifelong learning, including differences between educational groups in terms of income, living conditions and health.
The report maps trends in income inequality and examines the situation of the middle classes in the EU during 2020, the year most associated with the COVID-19 lockdowns. It charts developments in the size and composition of middle-class households across countries, identifies those that suffered disproportionately in 2020. Taking a longer lens, the report describes the evolution of income inequalities over the last 15 years, comparing the Great Recession (2007–2009) with the COVID-19 pandemic, and outlines the trends both between and within Member States.
This report explores the implications of the right of all EU citizens to live independently. It investigates the barriers faced by people who wish to live independently, and the situation of people at risk of living in institutional settings. It maps the various measures taken by EU Member States to foster independent living and autonomy. The report also includes policy pointers to support future decision-makers and provides a review of lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.
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