On 22 May 1997, the German Federal Government, the German Trade Union
Federation (Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund, DGB), the German Salaried Employees'
Union (Deutsche Angestellten-Gewerkschaft, DAG), the Confederation of German
Employers' Associations (Bundesvereinigung der Deutschen
Arbeitgeberverbände, BDA), the Confederation of German Industries
(Bundesvereinigung der deutschen Industrie, BDI), the German Association of
Chambers of Commerce (Deutscher Industrie- und Handelstag, DIHT), the Central
Association of German Crafts (Zentralverband des deutschen Handwerks, ZDH)
and the Associations of the Credit Institutions (Kreditgewerbe) succeeded in
forging a regional "Employment Alliance" entitled the /Joint initiative for
more jobs in eastern Germany/ (Gemeinsame Initiative für mehr Arbeitsplätze
in Ostdeutschland) (DE9706117F [1]). Its primary objectives were to: speed up
the transformation process of the eastern German economy; boost growth;
reduce unit labour costs; stabilise employment in 1997 at the level of 1996;
and create 100,000 new jobs in each of the following years.
On 16 June 1998, Spain's UGT and CC.OO trade union confederations held a
national meeting of union delegates under the slogan /For employment and
solidarity/. The unions' aim was to mobilise their members and reinforce
their position in negotiations with the employers and the Government.
May-June 1998 saw the first specific strike by foreign workers in Greece. The
dispute, involving Albanian and Romanian agricultural workers, lasted five
days and had a positive outcome.
On 21 May 1998, the Government published a white paper entitled Fairness at
work [1] setting out its legislative agenda in the area of industrial
relations. As well as giving details of the Government's proposed statutory
trade union recognition procedure, the white paper outlines a range of other
employment law reforms in areas such as protection against unfair dismissal,
dismissals during disputes, representation during grievance and disciplinary
procedures, maternity rights, and parental and family leave.
A new national collective agreement for the Italian chemicals industry was
signed in June 1998. The most innovative aspects of the deal concern working
hours: flexibility has been increased and an "hours bank" introduced. The
Confindustria employers' confederation has been critical, insisting that the
chemicals agreement should not be used as a model for other sectors.
On 24 June 1998, the workers at the Belgian Volkswagen assembly plant
spontaneously went on strike. The immediate cause of this "wildcat" strike at
Volkswagen's Forest assembly plant was a decision by the company doctor to
send home an assembly-line worker, allegedly without any serious medical
examination. The woman had become indisposed at the assembly line and
reported to the company's medical facility. Shortly after being sent home,
she had a stroke and went into a coma. Apparently, this was not the only
decision by the doctor that has caused controversy.
In May 1998, the French managements of AGF, Allianz and Athéna agreed with
trade unions to set up a social dialogue group. The goal of this
extra-statutory employee representative institution is to prepare the way for
the merger of these three insurance companies, and it will not replace
existing official representative structures.
On 15 May 1998, after 18 month of intense negotiations, the eastern German
metalworking employers' association, Ostmetall, and the Christian
Metalworkers' Union (Christliche Gewerkschaft Metall, CGM) concluded a
package of collective agreements known as Phönix [1]. Ostmetall is an
association of the three regional metalworking employers' associations of
Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. It was founded in March 1998 (DE9803157N
[2]) and is a member of metalworking sector peak employers' association,
Gesamtmetall. Its bargaining partner, CGM is affiliated to the Christian
Federation of Trade Unions (Christlicher Gewerkschaftsbund, CGB). Of CGM's
100,000-plus members in Germany, 15,000 are organised in Saxony,
Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. In the metalworking and electrical sector, CGM
competes with IG Metall, the metalworkers' union affiliated to the German
Trade Union Federation (Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund, DGB), especially as
regards works council elections and collective agreements in crafts. IG
Metall had about 2.7 million members in 1997 (DE9802147F [3]).
Improved conditions for families with small children were a central theme in
the Prime Minister's traditional speech delivered on New Year's Day 1998
(DK9802156N [1]). Having been through the March general election, the May
referendum on the Amsterdam Treaty and 11 days of major industrial conflict
over April-May (DK9805168F [2]), the re-elected Social Democrat-led
Government issued its long-awaited package of family-friendly polices on 9
June 1998. The package is by no means a simple recipe; it contains a wide
range of initiatives, which involve five different actors - the government,
the regional and municipal authorities, the social partners and, foremost,
parents themselves.
The employers' association in the Spanish textiles and clothing sector is
undergoing a process of reorganisation in 1998, triggered by the refusal of
the association's component subsectors to re-elect a chair from the
traditionally important clothing industry. Clothing employers are considering
separating from their textiles counterparts.
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).
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