In the Namur province in Belgium, a joint organisation in the engineering
industry is proposing to act over 1997-8 as an interface between firms and
schools, in order to promote training within companies.
On Wednesday 17 December 1997, negotiations between the Confederation of
Vocational Unions (YS) and the Confederation of Norwegian Business and
Industry (NHO) regarding a new Basic Agreement broke down after only a few
hours of negotiations. In Norway, Basic Agreements between the main social
partner organisations lay down a set of principles and procedures which
regulate their relationship.
CNPF, the main French employers' association, elected Ernest-Antoine
Seillière as its president in December 1997. Mr Seillière restated his
fundamental opposition to the current bill to introduce the 35-hour working
week, and announced far-reaching reform of CNPF's organisation.
An agreement was signed in December 1997 by management and trade unions at
the Italian metalworking company Wam, covering flexibility, continuing
training and cuts in working hours to 35 hours a week for shiftworkers.
In November 1997, La Caixa - a prominent Spanish savings bank - signed an
agreement with the trade unions to promote the creation of permanent jobs.
This agreement is a model that will be followed in five other banks with
which the CC.OO trade union is negotiating similar terms.
In late 1997, the CGTP trade union confederation has amplified its criticisms
of Portugal's system of tripartite social concertation, pointing out
anomalies, claiming that it is manipulated, and raising the issue of the
social partners' representativeness.
In November 1997, organisations representing Greece's hotel sector employers
submitted their views on the country's new tripartite "Confidence Pact". The
employers' calls for greater flexibility have met with opposition from trade
unions.
European and domestic legislation is leading to greater pressure for
competition in Dutch public transport. The resulting measures have led during
the 1990s to practically permanent disputes between trade unions and works
councils on the one hand, and employers and the Ministry of Transport, Public
Works and Water Management on the other. October and November 1997 saw
further industrial action in this area.
On 16 December 1997 about 20,000 employees in the "social" or not-for-profit
sector - also known as the "white sector" - protested in the streets of
Brussels. They came from a wide variety of subsectors, including home care,
care for the elderly, residential youth work, sheltered accommodation,
hospitals and so on (BE9712127N [1]), but they all united behind the slogan:
"The elastic band is stretched too far."
In 1997, GDP growth stood at 3.9%, or 3.5% for mainland Norway (offshore
sector excluded). The consumer prices index rose by 2.5%, compared with 1.3%
in 1996. The 1997 unemployment rate was 4.2%, against 4.9% for 1996. In 1997,
Norway had a central government surplus of NOK 65.8 billion (ECU 8.2
billion). However, if revenues from the petroleum sector are excluded, Norway
had a public budget deficit of NOK 20.2 billion (ECU 2.5 billion). The
surplus will be transferred to the Government Petroleum Fund.
This series reports on the new forms of employment emerging across Europe that are driven by societal, economic and technological developments and are different from traditional standard or non-standard employment in a number of ways. This series explores what characterises these new employment forms and what implications they have for working conditions and the labour market.
The European Company Survey (ECS) is carried out every four to five years since its inception in 2004–2005, with the latest edition in 2019. The survey is designed to provide information on workplace practices to develop and evaluate socioeconomic policy in the EU. It covers issues around work organisation, working time arrangements and work–life balance, flexibility, workplace innovation, employee involvement, human resource management, social dialogue, and most recently also skills use, skills strategies and digitalisation.
The European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) is carried out every four to five years since its inception in 2003, with the latest edition in 2016. It examines both the objective circumstances of people's lives and how they feel about those circumstances and their lives in general. It covers issues around employment, income, education, housing, family, health and work–life balance. It also looks at subjective topics, such as people's levels of happiness and life satisfaction, and perceptions of the quality of society.
This series brings together publications and other outputs of the European Jobs Monitor (EJM), which tracks structural change in European labour markets. The EJM analyses shifts in the employment structure in the EU in terms of occupation and sector and gives a qualitative assessment of these shifts using various proxies of job quality – wages, skill-levels, etc.
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 2016, the fourth 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 2015, the sixth 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 1996, the second 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 2001, which was an extension of the EWCS 2000 to cover the then 12 acceding and candidate countries. 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 2000, the third edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 1990.
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 first edition of the survey carried out in 2004–2005 under the name European Establishment Survey on Working Time and Work-Life Balance.
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.
Adequate, affordable housing has become a matter of great concern, with an alarming number of Europeans with low or lower household incomes unable to access any, especially in capital cities. Housing was a key factor in people’s experience of the COVID-19 pandemic: its quality and level of safety significantly affected how lockdowns and social distancing measures were experienced, with those who had no access to quality housing at higher risk of deteriorating living conditions and well-being.
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.
The use of artificial intelligence, advanced robotics and the Internet of Things technologies in the workplace can bring about fundamental changes in work organisation and working conditions. This report analyses the ethical and human implications of the use of these technologies at work by drawing on qualitative interviews with policy stakeholders, input from the Network of Eurofound Correspondents and Delphi expert surveys, and case studies.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in European sectoral social dialogue taking place at cross-sectoral level. 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 at cross-sectoral level in the EU Member States.
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