Participation at work

In June 2000, construction workers' trade unions from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands agreed a joint declaration on measures to seek harmonisation of working conditions in the industry. They also signed an innovative cooperation agreement, which comes into force on 1 October 2000, providing for

On 6 September 2000, under the headline "LO fighting for shares", the /Politiken/ newspaper published an exclusive story which painted a very dramatic picture of a break by the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions (Landsorganisationen i Danmark, LO) with old traditions. "LO is ready for a historical

While the average pay increase for Dutch workers amounted to 3.7% in 1999, top managers secured an average increase of 13% (excluding share-option schemes), it emerged in July 2000. Trade unions have called on employers to justify this development, which apparently contradicts their persistent calls

The "knowledge economy" has become a common term to encompass what are perceived to be all-embracing changes in the nature of competition and production. The key element is the idea that the widespread use of information and communication technologies has led to knowledge being the most important

The informal meeting of the Employment and Social Policy Council which took place in Paris on 8 July 2000 was the first Council meeting under the French Presidency of the EU. The French labour and social affairs Minister, Martine Aubry, who chaired the meeting, stated: "The fact that the French

At the end of May 2000, an important agreement on employee share-ownership was reached at Dalmine, a leading Italian manufacturer of unwelded steel tubes. The agreement also provides for the possibility of a representative of worker shareholders sitting on the board of directors. At the same time, a

The economic context in Ireland has - as has frequently been noted - changed dramatically over the course of recent years from "managing crisis" to "managing growth and rising expectations". The continuing economic boom has thrown up a number of challenges and tensions. One such challenge is

Research for the European Commission, carried out by Rachael McIlroy and Paul Marginson of the Industrial Relations Research Unit (IRRU), University of Warwick, in the summer of 1999 and reported in February 2000, analyses the use and regulation at workplace level of new forms of employment and work