Social partners at national level in the Netherlands have recently
recommended investment in the quality of the workforce. Alongside the
reduction of working time, the new spearhead for improving terms and
conditions of employment focuses on the education of workers. For the
Industrial Union affiliated to the Dutch Trade Union Federation
(Industriebond FNV), contracts with employers on investment in employment and
the education of workers will be a major item on the collective bargaining
agenda in the future. The potential significance of this is clearly
illustrated in the agreement concluded in June 1997 at Heineken.
The collective agreement recently approved in the insurance sector provides
for a reduction of 10 minutes in the working week in 1997 and a further 20
minutes in 1998. Henceforth, weekly working hours will be below the 36
established by law across this sector for many years. The agreement, however,
lays down two particular types of working pattern, relaxing a rather rigid
traditional system to adapt it to new commercial policies:
In his general policy statement to the National Assembly in June 1997,
France's new Prime Minister announced the decision to close the Superphoenix
fast breeder reactor, drawing protests from trade unions.
Almost 400 members of the Irish Airline Pilots Association (IALPA) in
Ireland's state-owned airline, Aer Lingus, are to receive a pay award
averaging 7% after accepting the findings of an independent pay review on 5
July 1997. The review, which means a restructuring of pilots' pay in the
airline, was carried out by Phil Flynn, the former general secretary of the
Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) and the current chair of the
state-owned ICC Bank.
Members of the finance trade unions BIFU and UNiFI who work at Barclays Bank
were balloted in July 1997 over whether to take industrial action. The ballot
took place after a consultative ballot concerning the bank's new pay
proposals showed overwhelming rejection by staff. Jim Lowe, the BIFU general
secretary, said that: "Staff are very angry ... If these proposals go through
as they stand, potentially over 25,000 staff face a wage freeze as well as
leaving pensions expectations in ruins. We believe this is totally immoral."
In its Communication on /People first - the next steps/, adopted on 23 July
1997, the European Commission argues that the social dimension of the
"information society" needs to be strengthened further if the European Union
is to take full advantage of the job-creation potential and improvements in
the quality of life potentially offered by new information and communication
technologies (ICT s). It sets out a strategy for achieving this objective at
national, European and international level.
On 15 July 1997, the collective bargaining parties in the east German
construction industry, the construction union IG Bauen-Agrar-Umwelt (IG BAU)
and the two employers' associations, Hauptverband der Deutschen Bauindustrie
(HDB) and Zentralverband des Deutschen Baugewerbes (ZDB), signed an agreement
which covers 360,000 employees and includes the following:
Tripartite negotiations over the reform of Italy's welfare and social
security system started in earnest in July 1997. Two main points of tension
have so far arisen - pensions and flexibility in recruitment and redundancy.
Under the terms of the collective agreements reached in the 1997 bargaining
round (DK9705110F [1]), from 1 January 1998 government institutions can
experiment with new forms of decentralised pay bargaining. From 1 April 1998,
56% of all local government employees and 60% of all regional government
employees will be covered by a new system of pay determination - consisting
of a centrally determined basic salary and three decentralised negotiated
allowances based on function, qualifications and results.
On 3 July 1997, 18 workers in the shipyards of Unión Naval de Levante in
Valencia died when a ship under construction caught fire. The causes of the
accident, Spain's most serious in recent years, have not yet been officially
established, but trade unions are alleging a breach of safety regulations.
The European Restructuring Monitor (ERM) has reported on the employment impact of large-scale business restructuring since 2002. This publication series include the ERM reports, as well as blogs, articles and working papers on restructuring-related events in the EU27 and Norway.
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 European Working Conditions Telephone Survey (EWCTS) 2021, an extraordinary edition conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey was first carried out in 1990.
This publication series gathers all overview reports on developments in working life, annual reviews in industrial relations and working conditions produced by Eurofound on the basis of national contributions from the Network of Eurofound Correspondents (NEC). Since 1997, these reports have provided overviews of the latest developments in industrial relations and working conditions across the EU and Norway. The series may include recent ad hoc articles written by members of the NEC.
Eurofound’s work on COVID-19 examines the far-reaching socioeconomic implications of the pandemic across Europe as they continue to impact living and working conditions. A key element of the research is the e-survey, launched in April 2020, with five rounds completed at different stages during 2020, 2021 and 2022. This is complemented by the inclusion of research into the ongoing effects of the pandemic in much of Eurofound’s other areas of work.
Eurofound's representativeness studies are designed to allow the European Commission to identify the ‘management and labour’ whom it must consult under article 154 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). This series consists of studies of the representativeness of employer and worker organisations in various sectors.
This series reports on developments in minimum wage rates across the EU, including how they are set and how they have developed over time in nominal and real terms. The series explores where there are statutory minimum wages or collectively agreed minimum wages in the Member States, as well as minimum wage coverage rates by gender.
The European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) launched in 1990 and is carried out every five years, with the latest edition in 2015. It provides an overview of trends in working conditions and quality of employment for the last 30 years. It covers issues such as employment status, working time duration and organisation, work organisation, learning and training, physical and psychosocial risk factors, health and safety, work–life balance, worker participation, earnings and financial security, work and health, and most recently also the future of work.
Eurofound’s Flagship report series 'Challenges and prospects in the EU' comprise research reports that contain the key results of multiannual research activities and incorporate findings from different related research projects. Flagship reports are the major output of each of Eurofound’s strategic areas of intervention and have as their objective to contribute to current policy debates.
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 ECS 2019, the fourth edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 2004–2005 as the European Survey on Working Time and Work-Life Balance.
This series reports on and updates latest information on the involvement of national social partners in policymaking. The series analyses the involvement of national social partners in the implementation of policy reforms within the framework of social dialogue practices, including their involvement in elaborating the National Reform Programmes (NRPs).
This report analyses the working conditions and job quality of different types of self-employed workers. Drawing on data from the European Working Conditions Survey, it looks into policies in Member States aimed at addressing the challenges and opportunities associated with specific types of self-employment.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the chemical 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’s study on representativeness is to identify the relevant national and European social partner organisations in the chemical sector in the EU Member States.
The focus of this report is on the role that human capital plays in determining inequalities across the EU, as well as within Member States. Using Cedefop’s work in this area, the report provides a comparative analysis of national trends in education and lifelong learning, including differences between educational groups in terms of income, living conditions and health.
The report maps trends in income inequality and examines the situation of the middle classes in the EU during 2020, the year most associated with the COVID-19 lockdowns. It charts developments in the size and composition of middle-class households across countries, identifies those that suffered disproportionately in 2020. Taking a longer lens, the report describes the evolution of income inequalities over the last 15 years, comparing the Great Recession (2007–2009) with the COVID-19 pandemic, and outlines the trends both between and within Member States.
This report explores the implications of the right of all EU citizens to live independently. It investigates the barriers faced by people who wish to live independently, and the situation of people at risk of living in institutional settings. It maps the various measures taken by EU Member States to foster independent living and autonomy. The report also includes policy pointers to support future decision-makers and provides a review of lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.
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