In Italy there are three levels of bargaining: cross-sector, national or sectoral, and second-level (territorial or company-level). Cross-sector bargaining can be bilateral – i.e. between employer associations and trade union organisations – or trilateral, when other national public authorities are involved.
Cross-sector social dialogue exists in the form of inter-sector collective bargaining in part of the public sector, and in the form of tripartite consultations – both at the national level. Inter-sector collective bargaining covers the education sector, part of the healthcare sector and some public service organisations.
European Union Member States are obliged to prevent abuse arising from the
use of successive fixed-term employment contracts or relationships, in
accordance with Article 2 of Council Directive 99/70/EC [1].
As part of the reorganisation and modernisation of the Cyprus
Telecommunications Authority (CyTA [1]) and with the immediate objective of
reducing its operating costs, CyTA announced a voluntary early retirement
scheme in December 2013. It aims to cut staff by between 550 and 600 and is
expected to save €366.4 million in wage costs between now and 2015.
However, the cost of implementing the scheme, including pension costs, is
estimated to be €102.9 million.
The social partner peak-level organisations mentioned in this study recognise each other as equal partners with respect to collective bargaining and employment regulation. There are four confederations on the employees’ side, one for basically private sector blue-collar workers (LO), one for basically public sector white-collar workers (FTF), and one for university graduates AC). The members of the fourth, LH, are managers and executives, i.e. traditionally trusted employees, and therefore not covered by a traditional collective wage agreement in the private sector.
The crisis has deeply affected the Spanish economy and labour market. As a consequence, the unemployment rate has continuously increased since 2008, being recorded at 25% in the third quarter of 2012 (Labour Force Survey). Under these adverse circumstances, the social partners CEOE and CEPYME on the employer side, and CCOO and UGT on the employee side, signed the cross-sector ‘National Agreement for Employment and Collective bargaining’ (2010–2012), which was renewed in 2012.
A tripartite framework of a new centralised national agreement on wages and conditions was worked out between social partners in Finland in October 2011. The framework agreement covers 94% of Finnish employees in all sectors. Peak-level trade union confederations are: the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK); the Finnish Confederation of Professionals (STTK) and the Confederation of Unions for Professional and Managerial Staff in Finland (AKAVA).
The problem of health insurance cover for Estonia’s creative freelance
professionals has long been publicly debated. In many cases, getting
insurance cover as a freelance involves a lot of bureaucracy and some workers
are not able to get insurance cover at all. On 18 December 2013, Estonia’s
parliament finally approved amendments to the Creative Persons and Artistic
Associations Act to solve these problems, and the improvements came into
effect on 20 January 2014. The role of artistic associations in social
dialogue has also been recognised. Amendments to the Health Insurance Act are
also underway to improve access to health insurance for people with
short-term employment contracts.
France seems to have settled into a period of economic stagnation, with a string of five consecutive quarters of zero growth and unemployment continuing to soar (now amounting to 10% of the labour force). The number of business failures rose by 2.7% in 2012, to 59,780, a level that remains below the 2009 record. President François Hollande, elected in 2012, expressed the wish for the social partners to participate in the reform of the labour market to face the crisis.
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).
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.
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.
Are the policies required to meet the commitments outlined under the EU’s plan for a green transition, the Fit-for-55 package, and the associated budgetary commitments – the Green New Deal – likely to lead to positive or negative employment outcomes by 2030? What types of jobs will be created or destroyed? Will shifts in employment be skewed towards the bottom, middle or top of the job–wage distribution? This report aims to provide answers to these questions, using macro-modelled estimates of the likely impacts of these policies on the structure of employment.
This report explores the potential socio-economic implications of the transition to a climate-neutral economy on different EU regions and groups of people. It adopts a foresight approach to envision potential actions that can be taken to shape the future. After consulting with stakeholders and experts, three scenarios were developed to consider emerging economic and social inequalities at EU and regional level. The report includes policy pointers which outline measures to be taken to achieve a just transition to a sustainable, climate-neutral economy where no one is left behind.
This report explores how environmental performance has converged – or diverged – among the EU Member States since the early 2000s. With environmental goals piling up at the EU level, is it reasonable to expect Member States to adhere to this emerging EU environmental aquis? And, just as importantly, can we expect Member States to reach these goals at the same time? This report attempts to provide answers to these and other questions high on the political agenda.
This report investigates the potential individual and societal impacts of labour market insecurity, focusing on workers with non-permanent contracts, part-time and self-employed workers, and workers who perceive their job as insecure. It explores the impact of labour market insecurities on health and well-being, social exclusion, trust in people and the perception of fairness, as well as trust in institutions. Policies aimed at reducing labour market instability following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic are also presented.
This report highlights the prevalence of psychosocial risks across countries, sectors and occupations during the later phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. It outlines the specific working conditions that can lead to work-related health problems. In particular, the report investigates the potential pitfalls related to the expansion of telework, the role of job and income insecurity as a psychosocial risk and the phenomenon of adverse social behaviour and discrimination at work. In addition, it offers policy pointers on tackling the increase in work absenteeism due to mental health problems.
This report – published every two years – covers important developments resulting from legislative reforms in collective bargaining at national or sectoral level in 2021 and 2022. It examines the average weekly working hours set by collective agreements, both across national economies and in five sectors: education, health, transport, retail and public administration.
This policy brief provides facts and figures on the working life and job quality of so-called ‘essential workers’ and is based on data from the European Working Conditions Telephone Survey (EWCTS) extraordinary edition 2021. It will define various subgroups of essential workers, describe the challenges they face and outline the type of responses provided, or being developed, to address those challenges.
This policy brief aims to contribute to the effective monitoring and evaluation of the European Child Guarantee. Progress at EU level is measured by a monitoring framework which monitors the key areas of the European Child Guarantee: early childhood education and care; education, including school-based activities and at least one healthy meal each school day; healthcare; healthy nutrition; and adequate housing. The policy brief explores trends and disparities in these areas using a convergence analysis, which tracks any disparities among EU Member States.
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