Publications

In May 1997, the Dutch trade union Industriebond FNV demanded a halt to
demolition work by a Chinese company on two blast furnaces in the
Netherlands, in a case which has highlighted concerns about working and
employment conditions in complex transnational assembly and demolition
operations.

Following a proposal by the Finnish Ministry of Labour, the Council of State
has appointed a committee, due to report by October 1997, with the task of
evaluating the need to reform the Employment Contracts Act. The committee is
to take into account developments that have taken place in society, working
life, industry and commerce and legislation. During the course of its work,
the committee will consider the status of different forms of employment, as
well as the relations between employment and social and tax legislation. It
will also assess developments that have taken place in collective bargaining,
employment protection, equal pay and treatment, the increasing international
dimensions of employment, and the need to promote job creation.

An April 1997 Government directive regulating the Portuguese fishing sector
has unleashed major protests by ship-owners and fishing workers, although for
different reasons. The trade unions are trying both to protect fish stocks
and to defend living conditions. The central problem is that, as a
consequence of collective bargaining in the sector, wages and other income
depend directly on the amount of fish caught. In addition, under an agreement
between Portugal and Spain signed in 1985, the Spanish fleet can still fish
without restrictions in Portuguese waters.

From 31 May to 1 June 1997, Copenhagen was the venue for an international
conference, known as the "Global Labour Summit". The event was attended by
780 people representing more than 50 countries, 15 international trade union
organisations, 115 national trade unions, the World Bank, the International
Labour Organisation, 50 different Danish national organisations, ministries,
universities and a few embassies. The summit was arranged by theGeneral
Workers Union in Denmark (SiD) in connection with its 100th anniversary. SiD
is the second largest confederation of trade unions in Denmark, representing
some 326,000 employees, of whom the vast majority are unskilled workers.

Following failure to agree in their current round of negotiations, about 400
journalists belonging to the Belgian Union of Professional Journalists
(Algemene Vereniging van Belgische Beroepsjournalisten, AVBB) carried out a
protest on Thursday 5 June 1997 in Brussels. The former collective agreement
had expired in March and negotiations between the journalists and the Belgian
Union of Newspaper Publishers (Belgische Vereniging van Dagbladuitgevers) had
not led to any new agreement.

Between 12 May and 16 May 1997, transport trade unions throughout Europe
organised boycotts, strikes and demonstrations during the European week of
action against substandard and flag of convenience (FOC) shipping.
Coordinated by the London based International Transport Workers' Federation
(ITF), the action took place against owners of flag of convenience ships in
17 European countries. Suspect ships were tracked from port to port across
the continent. The demand from the ITF was to force shipowners to recognise
unions and to sign up for collective agreements which provide for minimum pay
of USD 1,100 per month, inclusive of 120 hours overtime and five days'
holidays. The ITF intends to enforce international minimum standards of
employment on those shipowners who choose to operate their vessels under
FOCs. The move followed a first week of action in June 1996 which saw 22
separate boycott actions, involving seafarers and dockers, and resulted in
some 43 collective bargaining agreements being signed. In the second week of
action ITF-affiliated trade union inspectors were checking to see that
agreements were being adhered to, as well as inspecting ships where no
approved agreements exist.

Recent studies published in the Netherlands show that discrimination on
grounds of age and other factors occurs frequently in job recruitment and
selection, while inappropriate treatment of applicants is also common.

SAK and TT announced the renewal of their basic agreement on 6 June 1997. The
new agreement permits SAK and TT's member organisations at industry level to
agree on certain issues outside the auspices of the national agreement. The
agreement also states that agreements on subcontracting and hired labour will
include a clause whereby subcontractors or the company responsible for
subcontracting commit themselves to complying with the relevant collective
agreement as well as labour and social legislation. Furthermore, the new
basic agreement includes a section on the notification of political strikes
and sympathy strikes. The period of notification is four days.

At its annual assembly in May 1997, Confindustria, the main Italian
employers' confederation, kept up its pressure on the Government to make
changes to the welfare and social security system.

Apprenticeships, together with secondary vocational schools (ninth to 13th
grade, around 15 to 19 years of age), form the backbone of the Austrian
skill-formation system. They are a part of the formal educational structure,
and are usually entered into at the age of 15, after completion of the
compulsory nine years of schooling. They involve an employment relationship
plus formal schooling over a period of three or sometimes four years.
Schooling is for the equivalent of one and a half or two days per week.
Apprentices graduate through a final examination in which they have to prove
their theoretical and practical grasp of the occupation concerned. There are
about 45,000 establishments having certified trainers among their employees.