Since the onset of EU-driven competition, Ireland’s electricity sector has witnessed the growth of a range of producers and distributors, such as Bord Gáis Energy and Airtricity who, in recent years, have engaged in sometimes aggressive marketing campaigns based on providing cheaper electricity for customers. These campaigns were all launched before price restrictions, imposed by the Commission for Energy Regulation, were lifted from the largest state utility, ESB.
The electricity sector is relatively important in Denmark. It is subject to constant change because of the development of alternative energy sources and practices. The sector is known for its traditionally high representativeness of the social partners and a high level of collective agreement coverage.
The Greek electricity sector accounted for 0.6 % of total employment in the economy in 2012, with 22,911 employees (of which 15,117 are men and 7,794 women). This accounted for 0.9% of the total paid employees, of which 80% are public-sector employees. In Greece, collective agreements are at company level, as far as the main provider is concerned. In this case there is no difference between producers and distributors.
Since the beginning of the 1990s, the global workforce of the main electricity companies (EDF, ERDF and RTE EDF) has decreased, currently standing at about 105,000 in 2010. The sector’s workforce is organised within several trade unions, but mainly by the FNME-CGT which achieved a 46.23% share of the vote in the 2010 professional elections within the Electricity and Gas industries (IEG) sector. Two other unions are close to the threshold of 20% (FCE-CFDT and CFE-CGC).
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.
In 2010, the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning industry accounted for 3.8% of Latvia’s GDP. Electricity production, transmission, distribution and trade provided for 15% of industrial production and 8% of all employment in the industry sector. Since 1990, electricity consumption has fallen by 47%, production by 34%, imports by 44% and exports by 22%. Social dialogue is active in the sector. The trade union Energija has concluded a sector-level collective agreement with the main employers: Latvenergo group, and ABB.
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).
The use of artificial intelligence, advanced robotics and the Internet of Things technologies in the workplace can bring about fundamental changes in work organisation and working conditions. This report analyses the ethical and human implications of the use of these technologies at work by drawing on qualitative interviews with policy stakeholders, input from the Network of Eurofound Correspondents and Delphi expert surveys, and case studies.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the professional football 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 professional football sector in the EU Member States.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in European sectoral social dialogue taking place at cross-sectoral level. 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 at cross-sectoral level in the EU Member States.
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