It is not possible to determine the share of the Czech electricity sector as a proportion of GDP, since the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ) monitors only its parent sector, of electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply, which accounted for a 3.9% share in the Czech GDP in 2011. The share of sectoral employment as a percentage of total employment in the Czech economy is 0.8%. The number of business entities in the sector was almost 6,000, which is only 0.4 % of the number of all active economic entities in the Czech Republic.
This study provides information designed to aid sectoral social dialogue in the electricity sector. The study is divided into three parts: a summary of the sector’s economic and employment background; an analysis of the social partner organisations in all EU Member States, with emphasis on their membership, their role in collective bargaining, social dialogue and public policy, and their national and European affiliations; and finally, an analysis of the relevant European organisations, particularly their membership composition and their capacity to negotiate.
In 2012–2013, researchers carried out a study of labour dispute resolution
in Lithuania. The research was carried out by the Institute of Labour and
Social Research (ILSR [1]) of the Lithuanian Social Research Centre (LSRC
[2]).
In 2011, Slovenia’s electricity sector and coal industry showed a combined profit of €109.7 million, with the bulk of this being contributed by electricity production companies Grup HSE (64.7%), Group GEN (11.3%), distribution companies (19.5%) and the transmission company ELES (3.7%). In Slovenia all forms of primary energy sources are used for the production of electricity (forming 67.9% of total production).
Austria’s electricity sector is made up of around 1,000 companies (including 200 large companies) with 22,000 employees. There is one voluntary employer organisation, the OEE, and three trade unions, the GPA-djp representing white-collar workers, the PRO-GE representing blue-collar workers and the GdG-KMSfB representing municipal workers. While the GPA-djp and the PRO-GE conclude two separate collective agreements with the OEE, the GdG-KMSfB concludes three company collective agreements, in two of which the OEE also acts as a representative for the respective companies.
The UK electricity industry is of growing importance in economic and employment terms. It is marked by levels of trade union membership and collective bargaining coverage that are very high by UK private sector standards. The industry’s two main employer bodies are strongly representative of the small number of major firms that dominate the electricity sector.
The number of people working in the Italian electricity sector is quite low, compared with the national workforce. Nevertheless, the sector boasts one of the biggest companies in Italy, which employs almost two thirds of all the people working in the sector. Naturally, the presence of this group considerably influences sectoral industrial relations. In fact, the biggest enterprises participate directly in national collective bargaining.
The electricity sector has, in recent years, become increasingly important for the Swedish economy. Despite a decline in the number of companies and employees, the industry and structure of industrial relations have been largely unaffected by the crisis. The largest employer organisation, EnergiFöretagens Arbetsgivareförening (EFA), organises private sector companies including the three largest electricity producers (Vattenfall, E.ON and Fortum).
Employment in the electricity sector is a small part of Slovakia’s economy, and it has decreased over the last decade, standing at about 1% of aggregate employment in 2011. Industrial relations are quite stable but significant changes have taken place in the set-up of trade unions in the sector. The Slovak Trade Union Association of Energy merged with Chemical Trade Union Association in 2009 and established a new Energy-Chemical Trade Union Association. Some union members established a new Energy Trade Union Association.
The electricity sector in Luxembourg is concentrated in two companies – Enovos (an energy provider) and Creos (distribution) – and has limited employment. Social dialogue is well established at company level. There are two trade union federations that are responsible for this sector among others and one employer organisation. However, the social partners failed to negotiate a sector-level collective agreement in 2010.
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 fifth round of Eurofound's e-survey, fielded from 25 March to 2 May 2022, sheds light on the social and economic situation of people across Europe two years after COVID-19 was first detected on the European continent. It also explores the reality of living in a new era of uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine, inflation, and rising energy prices.
As part of a process to collect information on essential services, the European Commission (DG EMPL) requested Eurofound to provide input on certain aspects of existing and planned measures in the Member States to improve access to essential services, in reference to Principle 20 of the European Pillar of Social Rights. The scope of the exercise included energy services, public transport and digital communications, and the focus was on people at risk of poverty or social exclusion (in practice, people on low incomes in most cases).
This report will map the existing regulations on telework in European Union Member States, including in legislation and collective agreements. It will present the most recent changes to these regulations and shed light on how the future of (tele)work could be regulated at both national and EU level, in order to improve working conditions in telework arrangements and reduce the risks associated with telework and with specific ways of working remotely.
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?
This report explores the association between skills use and skills strategies and establishment performance, and how other workplace practices, in terms of work organisation, human resources management and employee involvement, can impact on this. It looks at how skills shortages can be addressed, at least in part, by creating an environment in which employees are facilitated and motivated to make better use of the skills they already have. This further supports the business case for a more holistic approach to management.
This report focuses on trends and developments in collective bargaining that were evident from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It examines potential new strategic approaches and priorities incorporated in negotiation agendas, as well as collective bargaining practices and coordination at sector and company levels in the private sector.
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.
Between 2021 and 2023 Eurofound is carrying out a pilot project on minimum wage on behalf of the European Commission. The question of how minimum wages and other forms of pay can be fixed for the self-employed is investigated as a part of this project through mapping national and sectoral approaches. Out of concern for the challenging conditions that the self-employed face, some Member States have established or are discussing establishing statutory forms of minimum pay for certain categories of self-employed.
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 study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the gas 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’s study on representativeness is to identify the relevant national and European social partner organisations in the gas sector in the EU Member States.