The long-announced founding of a new trade union outside the Austrian Trade
Union Federation (Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund, ÖGB) has now occurred
(AT9802166N [1]). On 1 May 1998, in a small town outside Vienna, the Austrian
Free Trade Union (Freie Gewerkschaft Österreichs, FGÖ) was officially
founded and a 34-year-old police officer was elected as its chair. The
union's main promoter over the past two years chose not to stand for election
but to retain instead his seat in Parliament. The new union is closely
related to the right-wing populism of the Austrian Freedom Party
(Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs, FPÖ) whose main politicians spoke at the
founding ceremonies.
After the European Council had adopted its Guidelines for Member States'
Employment Policies for 1998 [1] in December 1997 (EU9712174N [2]), all
Member States were committed to incorporate these guidelines into National
Action Plans (NAP s) on employment and to submit these plans for examination
by the European Council meeting in Cardiff in June 1998. On 22 April 1998,
the German Federal Government presented its National Action Plan [3] for 1998
which contains two parts:
On 24 April 1998, the members of the organisations affiliated to the Danish
Confederation of Trade Unions (Landsorganisationen i Danmark, LO) and the
Danish Employers' Confederation (Dansk Arbejdsgiverforening, DA) were
balloted on a joint mediation proposal for the bargaining round in the entire
DA/LO area, drawn up by the Public Conciliator and accepted by DA and LO on
30 March (DK9804163F [1]). The proposal - bringing together and renewing
approximately 600 collective agreements - followed a settlement in the key
industry sector, which was reached despite concerns that negotiations would
fail and a major dispute would break out (DK9803158F [2]). Once the industry
deal was struck, the ballot on the overall joint mediation proposal - which
was recommended by the unions - was widely regarded as a formality; it had
been 42 years since a joint mediation proposal was last rejected and 13 years
since Denmark last experienced a major conflict. However, a clear majority of
those voting in the ballot (265,000 out of 565,000, or 56%) rejected the
mediation proposal (DK9804166N [3]). At 47%, the participation rate among
union members in the ballot was the highest for 25 years. It seemed that the
workers' message to LO was clear: renegotiate the mediation proposal and
introduce more days of leave, thus taking the first steps towards a sixth
week of paid holiday (the Holidays Act gives all workers the right to five
weeks of paid holiday per year).
A number of recent reports have highlighted the persistence of horizontal and
vertical job segregation along gender lines. Men continue to occupy the
majority of managerial positions while women can largely be found in
clerical, caring and menial industrial jobs. Women are also far more likely
to occupy precarious employment situations such as part-time, temporary and
fixed-term work. All these factors contribute to a persistent pay gap between
the sexes (EU9801176F [1])
On 6 May 1998, it was announced that Lew Adams, who had been general
secretary of the train drivers' trade union, the Associated Society of
Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF), for the previous four years, had
failed to retain the post in an election. In a first ballot, Mr Adams had
topped the list of five candidates but failed to achieve the necessary 50% of
votes (obtaining only 45.1%), thus necessitating a second ballot involving
himself and the second-placed candidate, Dave Rix, a local union official
from Leeds who had polled 23.9%. In the second ballot, Mr Adams polled 3,357
votes, compared with 4,558 for Mr Rix, who was thus elected general
secretary. More than 14,300 ballot papers had been sent out, and around half
of ASLEF's members actually voted.
Sparked by the proposed sell-off of Ionian Bank, trade unions escalated
industrial action in the Greek banking sector in May 1998, expanding both
their programme for action and their framework of demands.
In early 1998, trade unions have asked to participate in the drafting and
negotiation of the industrial plan for Babcock & Wilcox Española, a
publicly-owned Spanish company which is to be taken over by the Norwegian
multinational Kværner.
In the first half of May 1998, collective agreements for wage earners
(Arbeiter) in hotels and restaurants were concluded in three provinces and
for salary earners (Angestellte) on a national basis. Negotiations for wage
earners in tourism are being conducted on a province-by-province basis
because, for the second year in succession, national talks failed (AT9802167N
[1]).
/Flexibility of working time is undoubtedly a topical theme in European
industrial relations at present. It is in the spotlight of EU social and
employment policy and is becoming an increasingly important issue for
collective bargaining in most countries. The emergence and implementation of
working time flexibility are explored in this EIRO comparative study./
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.
The European Restructuring Monitor has reported on the employment impact of large-scale business restructuring since 2002. This series includes its restructuring-related databases (events, support instruments and legislation) as well as case studies and publications.
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).
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 retail banking sector is fertile ground for studying the impacts of digitalisation on work and employment. Financial services are increasingly provided online, without the intermediary of customer-facing institutions. Many banks in the sector have been undergoing serial restructuring since the global financial crisis, and it is one of the few service sectors with stagnant or declining employment.
This policy brief will provide an update on upward convergence in the economic, social and institutional dimensions of the European Union, as outlined in the European Pillar of Social Rights and its accompanying Social Scoreboard.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the electricity 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 study on representativeness is to identify the relevant national and European social partner organisations in the electricity sector in the EU Member States.
This paper provides an analytical summary of state of the art academic and policy literature on the impact of climate change and policies to manage transitions to a carbon neutral economy on employment, working conditions, social dialogue and living conditions. It maps the key empirical findings around the impact of climate change and the green transitions on jobs, sectors, regions and countries in Europe, identifying the opportunities and risks that climate change policies bring to European labour markets.
Given that compliance with lockdown measures is a first line of defence against COVID-19, maintaining trust in institutions is vital to ensure a coordinated, comprehensive and effective response to the pandemic. This report investigates developments in institutional and interpersonal trust across time, with a particular emphasis on the COVID-19 pandemic period and its impact. It examines the link between trust and discontent and investigates the effect of multidimensional inequalities as a driver of distrust.
The civil aviation sector has been deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is one of the most severe crises the sector has ever experienced, giving rise to a number of significant challenges for companies and workers alike. This study will explore the role of social dialogue and collective bargaining in how the sector is adapting to the pandemic. What kinds of changes have been introduced, either through social dialogue or collective bargaining? Are the changes temporary or permanent?
Lockdown measures and the economic shift following the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a widening of the gender divide between men and women, putting at risk some of the gender equality gains that had been made in previous years. This report analyses changes in the distribution of paid and unpaid work, along with care and domestic responsibilities, among men and women during the crisis. It also explores the impact of the pandemic on the well-being of women and men.
The report provides an overview of the scale of teleworking before and during the COVID-19 crisis and gives an indication of ‘teleworkability’ across sectors and occupations. Building on previous Eurofound research on remote work, the report investigates the way businesses introduced and supported teleworking during the pandemic, as well as the experience of workers who were working from home during the crisis. The report also looks at developments in regulations related to telework in Member States and provides a review of stakeholders’ positions.
The hospital sector has been deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Hospitals and their workers are on the frontline in the fight against the virus, and they face a number of significant challenges in terms of resources, work organisation and working conditions. This study will explore the role of social dialogue and collective bargaining in how the sector is adapting to the pandemic. What kinds of changes have been introduced, either through social dialogue or collective bargaining? Are the changes temporary or permanent?
The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have varied across sectors, occupations and categories of worker (for instance, according to gender, age or employment status). Hours worked have declined the most in sectors such as accommodation services and food and beverage services, and in occupations heavily reliant on in-person interaction, such as sales work. At the same time, it’s in these sectors that labour shortages have become increasingly evident as labour markets have begun to normalise.
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