Broughton, Andrea

The European Commission’s first consultation of the social partners was launched in March 2010 (EU1004011I [1]). It was held under Article 154 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU [2]) (1.41Mb PDF), and followed the breakdown in 2009 of talks between the European Parliament [3] and the Council of the European Union [4] over an earlier proposal to amend Directive 2003/88/EC [5], the Working Time Directive (EU0906039I [6]). [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/industrial-relations-working-conditions/commission-consults-social-partners-on-working-time-directive-review [2] http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2010:083:0047:0200:en:PDF [3] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/european-parliament [4] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/council-of-the-european-union [5] http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32003L0088:EN:HTML [6] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/impasse-on-changes-to-working-time-directive

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC [1]) marked the 50th anniversary of the European Social Charter (ESC [2]) by adopting a resolution (388Kb PDF) [3] at its executive committee on 19–20 October 2011. It tells how the ESC has, since its adoption on 18 October 1961 by the Council of Europe [4], contributed to the improvement of people’s working and living conditions. It says that the charter is ‘one of the last safeguards to protect workers and citizens, in particular the most vulnerable’. [1] http://www.etuc.org/ [2] http://www.coe.int/T/DGHL/Monitoring/SocialCharter/ [3] http://www.etuc.org/IMG/pdf/EN-Declaration_50_Anniversary_ESC_adopted_resolution.pdf [4] http://www.coe.int/lportal/web/coe-portal

The European Commission issued the Eurobarometer Social Climate Report (Special Eurobarometer 370) (2.46Mb PDF) [1] in October 2011. The survey, which was conducted in June 2011, asked a range of questions on personal and employment issues to determine what impact the economic and financial crisis has had on the lives of EU citizens. It is based on approximately 1,000 interviews with people in each Member State, with the exception of Cyprus (500), Germany (1,500), Luxembourg (500), Malta (500) and the UK (1,300). [1] http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_370_en.pdf

The Communication [1], A renewed EU strategy 2011-14 for Corporate Social Responsibility (136Kb PDF) [2],was published on 25 October 2011/./ It states that a strategic approach to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is increasingly important for the competitiveness of businesses and can bring benefits in terms of risk management, cost savings, access to capital, customer relationships, human resource management and the capacity for innovation. CSR can also benefit society as a whole by contributing to the achievement of the European Union’s Treaty objectives of sustainable development and a competitive social market economy, and underpinning the Europe 2020 [3] strategy’s objectives. [1] http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/newsroom/cf/_getdocument.cfm?doc_id=7010 [2] http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/newsroom/cf/_getdocument.cfm?doc_id=7010 [3] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/europe-2020

With a particular focus on the crisis and responses to it, this annual review highlights developments in working conditions and industrial relations in the EU Member States and Norway in 2010, both at national and EU level. At national level, the report examines key issues covered by collective bargaining (pay and working time) and looks at developments in social partner activity and industrial action. It also looks at company restructuring, the impact of the crisis and approaches to pension reform in light of demographic change. At European level, it reviews the year’s main events and trends in employment legislation and policy (in areas like paternity/maternity leave and working time), as well as in the European social dialogue at crosssectoral, sectoral and company levels. The final chapter focuses on training initiatives provided or supported by enterprises for their employees during the recession.

On 22 July 2011, the European Commission issued a staff working paper (235Kb PDF) [1] examining the implementation of Council Directive 91/383/EEC [2] of 25 June 1991 on measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health at work of workers with fixed term or temporary contracts. The working paper is based on: [1] http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=7002&langId=en [2] http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31991L0383:en:HTML

The Employment and Social Situation Quarterly Review (2.4Mb PDF) [1] published on 30 September 2011, indicates that the fragile recovery in the EU’s economy appears to have slowed, although there are significant differences between Member States. The report looks at data relating to the first quarter of 2011, which shows that the employment rate [2] in the EU has not returned to its pre-crisis level, although the year-on-year rate has improved in most Member States. The employment rate increased only marginally, by 0.1%–0.2%, between the first and second quarter of 2011. In particular, long-term unemployment is high, at 4.1% in the first quarter of 2011. [1] http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=7118&langId=en [2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/employment-rate

The Employment Council meeting, held in Luxembourg, discussed a range of issues including the Tripartite Social Summit [1], the role of the European Social Fund (ESF [2]), voluntary work in social policy and the management of demographic challenges through better reconciliation of work and family life. Summaries of the discussions are contained in a press release (190Kb PDF) [3]. [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/tripartite-social-summit [2] http://ec.europa.eu/esf/home.jsp?langId=en [3] http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/lsa/124872.pdf

On 6 July 2011, the EU’s Social Protection Committee (SPC) released a report (1.28Mb PDF) [1] on the social dimension of the EU’s Europe 2020 strategy. The first part of the report examines the reduction of poverty and social exclusion [2], while the second part details the work conducted in 2010 on social inclusion and social protection. The report also sets out a number of main messages relating to the social dimension of Europe. [1] http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=6895&langId=en [2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/social-exclusion

On 10 June 2011, members of the European Metalworkers’ Federation (EMF [1]) voted in favour of creating a new European industrial trade union [2]. The new organisation will comprise the EMF, the European Mine, Chemical and Energy Workers’ Federation (EMCEF [3]) and the European Trade Union Federation - Textiles, Clothing and Leather (ETUF:TCL [4]). [1] http://www.emf-fem.org/ [2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/trade-unions [3] http://www.emcef.org/ [4] http://www.etuf-tcl.org/