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.
The production and consumption of electricity, as well as employment in the electricity sector, has decreased in Lithuania because of the financial crisis and the closure of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant. Two trade unions operating in the electricity sector represent the employees of almost all leading Lithuanian electricity production and distribution companies. As there is no organisation in the sector assuming the responsibilities of a sectoral employer, collective bargaining does not take place at sectoral level.
Employment in Portugal’s electricity sector has fallen sharply in recent years,both in absolute numbers and in the sector’s share of total employment. Simultaneously, the main operators (EDP and REN) have been privatised and have radically changed their relations with the major trade unions. The traditional culture of social partnership at EDP and REN (with SINDEL as the most important partner) has been replaced by a predominantly unilateral management policy. SINDEL and FIEQUIMETAL are the major unions in the sector.
The electricity sector in Poland generates 0.6 per cent of its overall employment. The sector, based mostly on Poland’s own coal reserves, has significant investment needs and is currently undergoing some difficulties, which result from restructuring rather than from the global economic downturn. In recent years, the sector has been consolidated into four major groups of companies. Social dialogue is strong: there are five national trade unions or trade union federations, and three employers’ organisations in the sector.
The electricity sector is of great importance to Dutch society and its economy. After the liberalisation of the market in 2006, the production and distribution of electricity have been privatised, although the network’s infrastructure has remained under state control. So far, the decrease in the number of employees has turned out to be lower than anticipated. Additionally, the organisation of the social partners has remained unchanged and the density is relatively high.
In the UK, debates about psychosocial risks in the workplace are led by the
Health and Safety Executive [1] (HSE [2]), the national independent regulator
for health and safety in the workplace. In consultation with the social
partners, the HSE has developed an approach to psychosocial risks at work
that focuses on collective issues related to the nature of work, the design
of work and the work environment, rather than focusing on the behaviour and
practices of individual workers.
So-called ‘zero hours’ employment contracts in the United Kingdom
(*UK1308029I* [1]) allow employers to take workers on without guaranteeing
any specific amount of work,
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).
In 2022, the European Semester was streamlined to integrate the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) established on 19 February 2021 (Regulation (EU) 2021/241). While facing the geopolitical and economic challenges triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Member States have been implementing the national Recovery and Resilience Plans (RRPs) for more than one year and around 100 billion euro in RRF funds have already been disbursed.
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.
With the expansion of telework and different forms of hybrid work as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important for policymakers to consider both the opportunities and the negative consequences that may result. This report will explore potential scenarios for such work. In doing so, it will identify trends and drivers, and predict how they might interact to create particular outcomes and how they are likely to affect workers and businesses. Policy pointers will outline what could be done to facilitate desirable outcomes and to avoid undesirable ones.
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.
This report explores the drivers of economic and social convergence in Europe, using a selected set of economic and social indicators to examine trends in the performance of individual Member States. It also investigates what role the Economic and Monetary Union plays in convergence, particularly in southern and eastern Member States. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on convergence is analysed and initial conclusions are drawn about the impact of EU recovery packages and their ability to prevent divergence.
As economies emerge from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, labour shortages are becoming increasingly evident. These include shortages exacerbated by the crisis in some sectors and professions where they had been endemic for some time. This report will look at measures implemented at national level to tackle labour shortages in the health, care and information and communications technology sectors, as well as those arising from the twin digital and green transitions.
Adequate, affordable housing has become a matter of great concern, with an alarming number of Europeans with low or lower household incomes unable to access any, especially in capital cities. Housing was a key factor in people’s experience of the COVID-19 pandemic: its quality and level of safety significantly affected how lockdowns and social distancing measures were experienced, with those who had no access to quality housing at higher risk of deteriorating living conditions and well-being.
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.
The urban-rural divide in EU countries has grown in recent years, and the depopulation of certain rural areas in favour of cities is a challenge when it comes to promoting economic development and maintaining social cohesion and convergence. Using data from Eurofound and Eurostat, this report will investigate the trends and drivers of the urban-rural divide, in various dimensions: economic and employment opportunities, access to services, living conditions and quality of life.
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.
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