One of the keenest debates in industrial relations in Europe is the
relationship between the institutional structure of the labour market and
economic performance and, in particular, the contribution of the wage
determination process to national competitiveness. Considerable attention has
focused on European economies, like Germany and Sweden, whose traditionally
centralised and coordinated bargaining systems have come under significant
pressures in recent years. The case of Ireland has attracted less attention.
A current bill amending the 1971 Works Councils Act has focused attention on
the increasingly important role played by Dutch works councils in the
negotiation of terms of employment. However, although the function of the
trade unions is being somewhat eroded, even in the area of determining
primary terms of employment, the traditional division of roles between unions
and works councils has remained fundamentally intact.
The European Commission adopted its first annual report on equal
opportunities between men and women in the European Union at its meeting on 5
March 1997. The report: outlines the embodiment of equality principles in
European Union policies; examines gender differences in the EU labour market;
looks at Community actions to improve the interaction between work and family
life; explores initiatives to aimed at achieving a greater involvement of
women in decision-making bodies; outlines initiatives aimed a enabling women
to exercise their rights; and provides an update on the recommendations of
the 1995 Beijing Conference. Commenting on the publication of the report,
commissioner for social affairs Padraig Flynn said that this was the first in
what will be a series of annual reports covering the Union's policies on
equal opportunities as a whole. Commissioner Flynn stated that the aim of the
report was to give visible expression to EU policies on equal opportunities
between men and women, to encourage debate on the progress achieved and
policies to develop, and to act as a reference point for the Commission,
member states and countries applying for membership of the Union.
A demonstration took place in Rome on 22 March backed by the three biggest
trade union confederations, CGIL, CISL, and UIL, in support of the
enforcement of the "trilateral" agreement on employment signed in September
1996.
When the Social Democrat Government presented its bill on a new, general
unemployment insurance (prop 1996/97:107) on 13 March 1997 it had already
secured a parliamentary majority for the proposal through negotiations with
the Centre Party. It had also secured the support of the two major trade
union confederations,LO (Landsorganisationen) and TCO (Tjänstemännens
Centralorganisation) despite the fact that the two confederations were not
entirely enamoured with the proposals.
On 26 February 1997, the French Cabinet adopted a bill aiming at rebuilding
social cohesion, which is to be debated in the National Assembly some time in
April 1997.
On 27 February 1997, a company-wide employment alliance (Beschäftigungspakt)
was signed at the automobile manufacturer Mercedes Benz. A whole package of
instruments should boost competitiveness and save the jobs of the 134,000
employees working for Mercedes Benz in Germany. The background to the
agreement is the increasing international competition between different
potential production locations, and the resulting need to cut costs.
The campaign is the latest in a series of political initiatives aimed at
improving the Danish vocational training system. Throughout the second half
of the 1990s, the Danish Government has reformed the system by increasing its
market and demand orientation, accompanied by increased financial allowances
for employees attending training. In the 1997 Financial Act, expenditure to
support companies undertaking projects aimed at planning vocational training
activities was raised from DKK 40 million to DKK 65 million. A further sum of
DDK 105 million is available to support companies which wish to improve
working life.
Law 21/96, which aims to reduce the working week to 40 hours, has given rise
to labour disputes in certain sectors and some controversial statements. An
official communication released by the Secretary of State for Employment in
March attempts to shed light on the areas of concern.
To give impetus to Belgian employment policies, the Federal Government has
recently created a new body to advise on its decision-making and to speed up
the monitoring of employment trends.
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 2003, the first edition of the survey.
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 2007, the second edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 2003.
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 2012, the third 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 2005, the fourth 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 2010, the fifth edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 1990.
This publication series explores scenarios for the future of manufacturing. The employment implications (number of jobs by sector, occupation, wage profile, and task content) under various possible scenarios are examined. The scenarios focus on various possible developments in global trade and energy policies and technological progress and run to 2030.
Research into the transformative potential of the digital revolution tends to take a quantitative approach in an attempt to monitor changes in employment levels due to digitalisation. The fear of potential job losses and negative disruption brought about by digital technologies has permeated the policy debate on digitalisation. In contrast, this report, based on case study research, takes a more qualitative approach to exploring the impact of selected digital technologies (internet of things, 3D printing, and virtual and augmented reality) in the workplace.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the live performance sector. Their relative representativeness legitimises their right to be consulted, their role and effective participation in the European sectoral social dialogue and their capacity to negotiate agreements. The aim of this Eurofound study on representativeness is to identify the relevant national and European social partner organisations in the live performance sector in the EU Member States.
This joint publication with the European Environment Agency (EEA) presents the findings from complementary research carried out simultaneously by both agencies on the socioeconomic impacts of climate policies and measures. While Eurofound focuses particularly on the distributional effects of these policies based on the experiences of Member States, the EEA analyses scientific research about the monetary and non-monetary social impacts of climate mitigation policies and its outcome in terms of inequalities.
This report analyses and compares the industrial relations landscape in a number of sectors and activities that form a public service cluster. The report draws on Eurofound’s recent representativeness studies investigating the following sectors: education, human health, central government administration and local and regional government sector (including social services).
Building on Eurofound’s previous research on youth, this report examines the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on young people, in particular their economic and social situation, with a focus on employment. It will also estimate how the NEET population – young people not in employment, education or training – has changed in size and composition over the last decade, and how the current crisis might affect this.
This study presents policy-relevant findings on differential pay rates for men and women at occupational level. Previous research has underlined that the gender pay gap is biggest – and has been slowest to narrow – in well-paid jobs requiring professional qualifications. These are also jobs in which the female worker share is increasing relatively fast. The report maps the extent of the gender pay gap across the job-wage distribution, taking into account the shifting gender composition of specific sectors, occupations and jobs.
The European Jobs Monitor tracks changes in employment structure and contributes to the debate about whether European labour markets are polarising or upgrading. The European Jobs Monitor report in 2021 looks in particular at two dimensions of change in labour supply – increased female participation and population/workforce ageing – to show how they can contribute to an understanding of recent changes in employment structure.
While often considered staid, social partner organisations have developed different ways of using technology to communicate with their members, as well as to organise, mobilise and develop both internally, among staff, and externally, vis-à-vis members and the public. This topical update maps current practices in social partner organisations, describes developments in the use of technologies, and outlines the impact on social partner activities and organisation.
What have been the major trends and policy developments regarding digitalisation in Europe? What do we know about the deployment of automation, digitisation and the platform economy? This flagship publication provides an overview of developments in Europe in recent years, as well as mapping the observable or expected effects on employment and working conditions, as well as exploring the implications from a policy perspective.
The COVID-19 pandemic radically reshaped workplace practices and work organisation across the EU. This report explores changes that occurred as a result of or during the COVID-19 pandemic in areas such as technological transformation, decision-making and remote working. The research sets out to learn from company experiences and measures that have proved critical to keeping businesses running. It aims to inform policymakers, employers and trade unions on how to make businesses, workplaces and workers more resilient in the face of a crisis such as COVID-19.
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