The collective agreement for France's banking sector has to be renegotiated
by 1 January 2000, following the decision in 1998 by the AFB employers'
organisation to terminate the accord. In June 1999, AFB tabled a draft of a
new agreement, which has been deemed unacceptable by all the trade unions
involved.
In June 1999, the Institute of Labour of the Greek General Confederation of
Labour (INE-GSEE) published a study examining the prevalent orthodox thinking
in Greece that increases in real wages reduce profitability, investments,
employment and competitiveness. The study claims that this belief is not
borne out by the statistical data for Greece.
At a time when industrial accidents are an increasingly important problem in
Spain, in June 1999 the CC.OO and UGT trade union confederations claimed that
the government is failing to fulfil its commitments on the prevention of
occupational risks.
The integrated police law adopted in December 1998, based on agreement
between Belgium's main political parties, provides for the overhaul of the
various law-and-order forces (the gendarmerie, criminal-investigation
department and municipal police), establishing federal and local levels and
defining a new unified statute for the entire force. Because of the
importance of the issues at stake, the police reform has caused an
unprecedented labour dispute during 1999 between police unions and the
Interior Ministry, leading to a breakdown in negotiations and highlighting
the complexity of police trade unionism in Belgium.
On 20 July 1999, the national council of the Confederation of British
Industry (CBI) adopted a policy statement [1] reaffirming that the CBI is "in
favour in principle of UK entry into European Economic and Monetary Union
once key conditions for success are in place". The CBI believes that UK
membership of EMU"has the potential to deliver significant benefits to the UK
economy", but that further progress is needed towards "sound fiscal
conditions in all major euro-zone countries", together with a shift in labour
market policies towards more flexibility. The new policy statement is the
culmination of a three-month consultation process involving voting on CBI
regional and national committees and a survey of wider membership opinion
carried out by polling organisation MORI.
In June 1999, a first agreement was signed between Italian (Fillea-Cgil,
Filca-Cisl, Feneal-Uil) and German (GHK) trade unions representing wood and
furniture workers. The agreement calls for the establishment of a European
collective bargaining committee aimed at defining common bargaining
objectives.
In late May 1999, the Dutch Minister of Health and State Secretary for Social
Affairs adopted a standpoint on the issue of privatised healthcare and
possible priority treatment for employees. Politicians have thus given the
green light for offering employees specialised care on a commercial basis for
work-related medical complaints. Private outpatient centres have long offered
specialised care, treating problems such as stress and "burn-out".
At a conference on 10 June 1999, Hans Skov Christensen, the managing director
of the Confederation of Danish Industries (Dansk Industri, DI) presented a
proposal for a new system of collective bargaining in Denmark. "It has to be
a marked exception that a dispute breaks out, and if it occurs it has to be a
logical consequence of the system's rules", said Mr Christensen. While,
undoubtedly, disputes could still occur, the possibility of traditional
industrial action would not not be the basis for all bargaining. Such action,
according to DI, belongs to the past. Accordingly, DI proposes that the
current automatic process, whereby notice of an impending dispute is issued
during the bargaining round, be reconsidered.
On 14 July 1999, the European Commission adopted a Communication entitled A
concerted strategy for modernising social protection [1] (COM(99)347 final).
The Communication emphasises the key role played by social protection systems
in supporting public health and well-being and in redistributing wealth. It
is argued that, without social security transfers, nearly 40% of EU
households would be living in relative poverty (compared with the actual rate
of 17%). Spending on social protection accounts for an average of 28.5% of
GDP.
In July 1999, the joint employer-trade union administrative board of France's
National Sickness Insurance Fund (CNAM) approved, by a large majority, a
strategic reform plan. This package of measures is designed to reduce
spending and improve the quality of healthcare. CNAM hopes that the
government will give legislative effect to the plan.
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.
The European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) launched in 1990 and is carried out every five years, with the latest edition in 2020. 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 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, conducted in two rounds – in April and in July 2020. 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 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.
Eurofound's representativness 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 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 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 study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the live performance 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 Eurofound’s studies on representativeness is to identify the relevant national and European social partner organisations in the field of industrial relations in the EU Member States.
This report investigates the convergence of Member States in various dimensions of living conditions. Indicators are drawn from the European Quality of Life Surveys and other surveys. The analysis pays special attention to particular subgroups such as young people and women. The analysis also investigates the key drivers of convergence in living conditions.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the overlaps between different parts of the public sector, especially with regard to social services. Firstly, the overlaps in terms of employment structures are analysed; secondly, the overlaps of all national sector-related organisations are assessed; and thirdly, the overlaps of the European social partner organisation are considered. The conclusions of this report should help decision-making regarding which ESSDC social services activities fit best in.
The European Jobs Monitor biannual report comprises two sections: one providing a jobs-based analysis of labour market developments, while the other has a thematic focus on shifts in the employment structure from both a gender and an age perspective. The age-based analysis examines how the age profile of employment has evolved since the crisis and explores whether employment continues to be more resilient in jobs with an older age profile. The gender analysis reassesses the findings of the jobs approach using more gender-disaggregated job-ranking data, based on both wage and education.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the civil aviation (groundcrew and air traffic control crew) 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 objective of this study is to examine the quality and effectiveness of the tripartite social dialogue practices involving national social partners aimed at addressing relevant reforms and particularly those adocpted as CSRs in the context of the European Semester. It also analyses the structural, political or operational reasons limiting or shaping the effective involvement of the social partners in these processes.
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