The first findings of the 2012 Skills and Employment Survey, published in
early 2013, present an up-to-date, authoritative picture of British
employees’ experiences and views regarding their current work situation.
The survey focuses on skill requirements, training, task discretion and job
control, job-related well-being, fears over job loss and unfair treatment at
work, and work intensification. In comparing the findings with those of the
2006 survey, the survey also shows the impact of the recession in both
private and public sectors.
Given that the Electricity Authority of Cyprus remains, in practice, the main employer in the entire electricity sector (including all of the sub-activities such as production, transmission, distribution and trade) industrial relations in the sector, especially concerning representation and collective bargaining, are characterised by high union density and 100% collective bargaining coverage.
The electricity sector in Estonia is very small, with the share of employment in 2011 at around 1.3% of total national employment. Despite the financial crisis, the number of employees has remained quite stable, although the number of enterprises in the sector has almost doubled, from 56 in 2005 to 92 in 2011. There are two trade unions (EEAÜL and KESA) and several employer associations. The sector is covered by enterprise-level collective agreements that cover most employees.
The business landscape in Bulgaria’s electricity sector has been gradually changing since the beginning of 2000, due to restructuring and privatisation, and the commitment to follow the European energy policy, in developing new subsectors based on renewable energy sources, and taking into account climate change, energy efficiency and energy security. However, until now, renewable energy sources have not been broadly developed (except for the generation of hydropower).
In 2011, the electricity sector in Romania accounted for 0.6% of the employment and 1.2% of the number of employees in the Romanian economy. The sector’s rate of collective bargaining coverage is estimated at over 70%, higher than the national average. The collective agreements at company level have a high coverage rate. There is also a multi employer collective agreement in force, signed by one trade union federation and one employer organisation.
The Belgian electricity sector has almost 17,000 employees (0.5% of the total number of employees in Belgium). The European liberalisation process has created a substantial transformation of the sector since 2003. The production, import and sale of electricity are no longer the monopoly of one organisation. Consequently, the market has changed fundamentally and the number of enterprises has increased. The changes did not affect the process of collective bargaining as the collective agreements cover all employees including those who are not members of a trade union.
In Hungary the electricity sector is quite well organised. The Trade Union Federation of Electricity workers’ Unions (EVDSZ) and the Mining and Energy Industry Workers’ Union (BDSZ) claim to cover all employees in the sector. There is only one representative employer organisation, the Alliance of Electricity Sectors Employers’ Associations (VMTSZ). The collective agreement is extended, thus covering the entire sector.
As the latest comparable data shows, aggregate employment rose from 295,000 in 2009 to 325,000 in 2011 in the German electricity sector. Employees are mainly organised by the Mining, Chemicals and Industrial Energy Union and the United Services Union. Employers (including the largest companies in the market) are either represented by regional member associations of the Federation of Employer Organisations for Energy and Utility Providers and the Municipal Employers’ Association, or conduct single-employer bargaining.
Although the Maltese government has, in recent years, incentivised the use of renewable energy sources for the production of electricity, uptake remains well below the established projections. Malta thus depends heavily on heavy fuel oil for the production of electricity. The small size of the country makes the local electricity sector an unattractive one for private investors, resulting in the sector being monopolised by Enemalta, a government-run corporation.
The number of electricity companies in Finland increased between 2001 and 2011, but aggregate employment decreased from a total of 14,817 people working in the sector in 2001, to 11,176 in 2011. The sector is male-dominated. The Finnish Energy Industries Association (Energiateollisuus ry) is the only employer association making collective agreements in the private sector, and public sector workers have one joint collective agreement in the electricity sector.
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.
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?
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.
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.
This report analyses the working lives of workers in Europe in 2021, when the continent was still in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic. It examines working conditions during that period and the association between job quality and work outcomes such as health and well-being, work–life balance, and financial security. The report also considers how the shifts in working life during the pandemic are likely to affect work in the future.
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