Publications

In January 1998, both the UGT and CC.OO trade union confederations proposed
measures aimed at improving the situation of unemployed people in Spain. UGT
has proposed the creation of a branch for unemployed people within the trade
union and CC.OO has suggested lower taxes for them.

Worker representatives are aiming to guarantee acquired rights at Petrogal, a
Portuguese oil-refining company which is engaged in a process of
"outsourcing", and the dispute resulted in strike action in December 1997.
Information and consultation are seen as mechanisms through which workers can
participate.

The Greek Government is seeking to alter the way in which labour relations
are conducted in public enterprises, by means of an article of a taxation
bill submitted to Parliament in January 1998. This has aroused strong
opposition amongst the trade unions and has given rise to strike action.

The Finnish Ship's Officers Union has not approved the country's new central
incomes policy agreement, which was signed on 12 December 1997 by STTK, the
confederation to which it belongs. According to the union, the reason for its
refusal is an imbalance in pay between crew and officers, which need to be
adjusted.

Labour flexibility has returned to the agenda in Italy after the Cgil, Cisl
and Uil trade union confederations reached agreement in December 1997 on
"guidelines to follow in negotiations between the social partners to support
the growth of investment and job creation in the Mezzogiorno". The agreement
has provided the opportunity for discussion of some of the issues that will
be addressed in forthcoming talks on both the 35-hour working week and the
revision of the central agreement of July 1993.

December 1997 and January 1998 have seen industrial action in public
transport and refuse collection, called by the Dutch civil service trade
union, AbvaKabo, in support of wage claims by workers recruited on several
job-creation schemes. Amsterdam city council will meet the demands, while the
city of Leiden has also taken a positive stance.

Since Denmark's industry sector concluded a three-year collective agreement
in 1995, while the rest of the private sector bargaining units concluded
two-year agreements which were renewed in 1997 by one-year agreements
(DK9705110F [1]), industry is faced with two main issues in the 1998
bargaining round, which began in January. On the one hand, the industry
bargaining parties - the Confederation of Danish Industries (Dansk Industri,
DI) and the Central Organisation of Industrial Employees in Denmark
(Centralorganisationen af Industriansatte i Danmark, CO-industri) - will have
to catch up with the results achieved in the other bargaining units
(transport, building and construction, hotel and restaurants, and services)
in 1995 and 1997. On the other hand, the parties will aim to set a norm by
finalising their bargaining prior to these other areas, whose collective
agreements also expire on 1 March 1998.

[1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/undefined-working-conditions/the-1997-danish-collective-bargaining-round-completed

According to a report on collective bargaining in Spain in 1997, conducted by
the CEOE employers' confederation, changes have taken place in pay structure,
involving an increase in the number of productivity bonuses and a reduction
in the incidence of length-of-service payments. Clauses transforming
temporary into secure jobs have had little effect despite the April 1997
intersectoral agreement for secure employment.

On 20 October 1997 wage and salary collective agreements for industrial
enterprises in the metalworking sector were concluded, which became effective
from 1 November 1997 (AT9710138N [1]). They were negotiated by the Industry
Federal Section of the Austrian Chamber of the Economy (Wirtschaftskammer
Österreich, WKÖ), the Union of Metals, Mining and Energy Workers
(Gewerkschaft Metall Bergbau Energie, GMBE) and the Industry Section of the
Union of Salaried Employees (Gewerkschaft der Privatangestellten, GPA).

[1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/pay-round-off-to-a-good-start

The first collective agreement in each bargaining round in Sweden usually
sets the standard for others that follow. It is significant that the first
agreement in the 1998 bargaining round has occurred in an export industry -
the paper and pulp sector.