The law on social welfare, adopted in November 1995, included provisions on a
range of matters, such as: the submission of the social security budget to
parliamentary vote; the setting up of a new tax known as "social security
deficit clearance" (Remboursement de la dette sociale); the abolition of
pension funds relating to specific sectors, which sparked off the rail strike
in November and December 1995 and was finally withdrawn; and the setting up
of personal health record books. One of the provisions related to the
reduction of health expenditure and a reorganisation of the healthcare
system. Two types of redistribution in particular were provided for:
The Standing Committee for Social Dialogue (the Economic and Social Council's
tripartite committee) has approved new rules relating to family credits in
Portugal.
The German chemical industry enjoys a long tradition of successful
consensus-based industrial relations. In spring 1996, the bargaining partners
concluded a "solidarity pact" in the form of a package of regional and
national collective agreements. The agreements ran for 12 months and covered
590,000 employees in western Germany. The aim of the deal was to meet the
challenges of globalisation and structural change, as well as to extend the
competences of the social partners at enterprise and company level. The
implementation of the two most important elements of the solidarity pact -
the employment alliance and the collective agreement on part-time work for
older workers - has recently been reviewed.
An arbitration award delivered on 11 April 1997 has decided that blue-collar
employees who are members of trade unions affiliated to the largest union
confederation, the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO) will face a
reduction in sick pay entitlement.
HK, the largest affiliated trade union of the Danish Confederation of Trade
Unions (LO), with 357,000 members, has launched a two-month image and
recruitment campaign. DKK 4 million will be spent on newspaper advertisements
and bill boards, which will be followed up by local initiatives. The campaign
will aim to improve recruitment and visibility, initiate debates on
objectives, and explain the utility value of being a member.
From 1979, the economic policy of successive Conservative Governments was
based on a fundamental belief in the effectiveness of free markets. In the
case of the labour market, there was an emphasis on deregulation and the
importance of flexibility in creating employment and economic growth. The
Conservatives claimed that the UK's lack of regulation has reduced
unemployment, while the rest of Europe's higher social costs, greater
regulation and the adoption of the "social chapter" (the social policy
Protocol and Agreement attached to the Maastricht Treaty on European Union)
has caused unemployment and a lack of competitiveness. This prompted the
"opt-out" from the social chapter and a continuous resistance to other forms
European Union-level regulation - over working time, for instance.
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has published more information
about the activities to be launched as part of its "European Day of Action
for Employment", to take place all across the EU as well as in some Central
and Eastern European countries on 28 May 1997.
The next step in the Renault Vilvoorde saga (BE9703202F [1]) was probably not
initially foreseen by Renault senior management in Paris. Indeed, although
the Renault managing director, Louis Schweitzer, has already announced that
the tribunal decision to annul the closure of the Renault plant in Vilvoorde
will in no way interfere with the plans to close the plant, it has slightly
changed the dynamics and the timetable of the course of events.
"Territorial pacts" (patti territoriali) are an interesting and innovative
form of social dialogue that could change the Italian experience of "social
concertation", with important consequences. By developing the idea of these
pacts, the consultative National Council for Economic Affairs and Labour
(CNEL [1]), which had not previously played an important role in this field,
could assume a key position in social dialogue, particularly in the
preparation of agreements for the economic development of crisis-hit areas in
Southern Italy.
Currently the minimum wage in the tourism sector is ATS 54 net per hour. The
Hotel, Restaurant, Personal Services Workers (Gewerkschaft Hotel,
Gastgewerbe, Persönlicher Dienst,HGPD) is seeking an increase of the minimum
gross monthly full-time wage from ATS 11,440 to ATS 12,000 (payable 14 times
per year). This is a nominal increase of 4.9%. With current inflation
projections running at 1.9%, a real pay increase of 3.0% would result. The
minimum net monthly income would be increased by ATS 378.40 from ATS 9,358 to
ATS 9,736.40, a nominal increase of 4.0%. On the basis of 173 hours per
month, the net hourly rate would increase by ATS 2.18 from the current ATS
54.00.
This series reports on the new forms of employment emerging across Europe that are driven by societal, economic and technological developments and are different from traditional standard or non-standard employment in a number of ways. This series explores what characterises these new employment forms and what implications they have for working conditions and the labour market.
The European Company Survey (ECS) is carried out every four to five years since its inception in 2004–2005, with the latest edition in 2019. The survey is designed to provide information on workplace practices to develop and evaluate socioeconomic policy in the EU. It covers issues around work organisation, working time arrangements and work–life balance, flexibility, workplace innovation, employee involvement, human resource management, social dialogue, and most recently also skills use, skills strategies and digitalisation.
The European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) is carried out every four to five years since its inception in 2003, with the latest edition in 2016. It examines both the objective circumstances of people's lives and how they feel about those circumstances and their lives in general. It covers issues around employment, income, education, housing, family, health and work–life balance. It also looks at subjective topics, such as people's levels of happiness and life satisfaction, and perceptions of the quality of society.
This series brings together publications and other outputs of the European Jobs Monitor (EJM), which tracks structural change in European labour markets. The EJM analyses shifts in the employment structure in the EU in terms of occupation and sector and gives a qualitative assessment of these shifts using various proxies of job quality – wages, skill-levels, etc.
Eurofound's European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) examines both the objective circumstances of European citizens' lives and how they feel about those circumstances and their lives in general. This series consists of outputs from the EQLS 2016, the fourth edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 2003.
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 EWCS 2015, the sixth edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 1990.
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 EWCS 1996, the second edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 1990.
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 EWCS 2001, which was an extension of the EWCS 2000 to cover the then 12 acceding and candidate countries. The survey was first carried out in 1990.
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 EWCS 2000, the third edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 1990.
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 first edition of the survey carried out in 2004–2005 under the name European Establishment Survey on Working Time and Work-Life Balance.
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.