Publications

Parents have called for increases to maternity leave compensation and child benefits in 2016. The National Council for Tripartite Cooperation has rejected such calls and a proposal to bring parental benefits in line with the statutory minimum wage.

Following long efforts on the part of trade unions, the Social Dialogue Act was amended, allowing the representative federations at sectoral level to conclude collective agreements in establishments where the trade union organisation is not representative at company level.

The government pursues its strategy to restructure industrial sectors that began in 2014, in an effort to reduce their number and increase their coverage in terms of number of employees.

It is likely to be more difficult to be an LGBT person in a male-dominated Danish workplace than a female-dominated one, according to a recent union-backed survey. The survey reveals significant differences between men’s and women’s experiences regarding the acceptance of LGBT people in Danish workplaces. It also finds that 34% of respondents have heard LGBT people spoken of with contempt at their workplace.

This study provides information designed to aid sectoral social dialogue in the temporary agency work sector. The study is divided into three parts: a summary of the sector’s economic and employment background; an analysis of the relevant social partner organisations in all EU Member States, including their membership, role in collective bargaining, social dialogue and public policy, and national and European affiliations; and an overview of relevant European organisations, particularly their membership composition and their capacity to negotiate.

​The Swedish government has launched a fast-track initiative to match newly arrived immigrants with jobs in sectors that have skill shortages. The healthcare and restaurant sectors have already implemented the new system. Many employers and trade unions have shown an interest in participating while others have been more sceptical.

In August 2015, legal amendments came into force allowing more people in Cyprus to receive a minimum guaranteed income. The government estimates the move will cost €11 million. Approximately 20,000 households had been approved for GMI benefit by November 2015, two months before the application deadline.

​A Finnish study on job quality finds that people working in part-time jobs and on temporary contracts experience poorer job quality – in many important respects – than their counterparts in permanent, full-time jobs. They have fewer opportunities for skills development and less discretion in their work. However, they tend to enjoy a better atmosphere and team spirit in the workplace, and they experience less mental and physical strain.

A study of the problems older employees face in the Austrian labour market shows that their age is the biggest hindrance to getting a job. The study debunks the common belief that older workers’ problems are caused by the ‘seniority principle’: the fact that the longer workers are employed, the more they are paid.

Austerity measures introduced during the crisis have disproportionately concerned cuts in the measures that are most vital for reducing child poverty: cash and tax benefits, a new Eurofound report shows. Furthermore, there has been a move away from universal coverage towards more targeted support. Of course, it makes good sense for governments to target spending on the most deprived families in a period of austerity. But at some point the pendulum can swing the wrong way and families that, under the principle of universality, were eligible for support may lose out, putting more families at risk of poverty than before.