On 6 June 1997, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), the Union of
Industrial and Employers' Confederations of Europe (UNICE) and the European
Centre of Enterprises with Public Participation and of Enterprises of General
Economic Interest (CEEP) formally signed a European framework agreement on
part-time work, in the presence of social affairs Commissioner Padraig Flynn,
Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok and Dutch Social Affairs Minister Ad Melkert.
The agreement seeks to establish a general framework for the elimination of
discrimination against part-time workers, and hopes to contribute towards the
development of opportunities for part-time working on a basis which is
acceptable to employers and workers alike. The agreement is the result of
nine months of intense negotiation, during which success did not always
appear likely.
The new industry-wide agreement for the Italian construction sector, signed
in June 1997, includes provisions on pay, local bargaining, occupational
pensions and combating undeclared work.
The decision in May 1997 by Halivourgiki, the largest steel concern in
Greece, to introduce flexible working hours, reduce its workforce and close a
part of the production line has led to an industrial dispute. We examine the
factors behind Halivourgiki's decision and the reactions of employees and
their representatives.
With the agreement of 30 May between the Building Workers' Union and the
Employers' Federation of the Swedish Construction Industry, the last of
1997's major collective agreements was concluded. It gave 70,000 building
workers an increase of SEK 2.50 per hour and, for the first time, payment
during certain public holidays. According to the union, this represents an
overall pay increase of 3.1%, while the employers estimate its value to be
2.6%. Irrespective of who is right, the agreement is very much in line with
the 1997 average settlement.
On 3 June 1997, an agreement was finally reached between the Generalitat
(Catalonia's autonomous regional government) and the central Government in
Spain to transfer part of the management of the National Institute of
Employment (INEM) to the Catalan regional administration. A historic demand
that has been made for over 15 years has thus been satisfied. For the central
Government, the transfer of INEM to Catalonia is a "pilot scheme" that will
serve as a basis for the transfer of powers in this field to other autonomous
communities such as Galicia and the Basque Country.
A new collective agreement was concluded in May 1997 for Luxembourg's banking
sector. In contrast to the previous 1993 agreement, the accord was signed by
all the main trade unions in the sector.
On 10 June 1997, Renault management announced the appointment of an
independent expert who will evaluate, on an economic basis, the potential
measures envisaged to "compensate for the inefficiency involved in the
structure of Renault's production facilities".
The confederation of Critical Shareholders (Kritische Aktionäre) is an
alliance of about 35 small shareholders' groups and other non-governmental
organisations such as environmental, consumer and anti-militaristic groups.
Currently, the Critical Shareholders are active in about 40 German
corporations including the most important German banks as well as various
industrial corporations in the automobile, electronic, chemical and food
industries. They can call on up to 5% of the votes cast in some of the
companies.
On 4 June, Padraig Flynn, the European Commissioner responsible for social
affairs, employment and industrial relations, launched a consultation
document on "information and consultation of workers within the national
framework" (EU9706132F [1]). The document constitutes the first stage of
consultation of the European-level social partners under the Maastricht
social policy Agreement procedure, and could thus lead to a European-level
agreement and/or Community legislation. If the Commission's proposals bear
fruit, there would be minimum standards across Europe to ensure that workers
enjoy rights to be informed and consulted. These rights would apply to all
workers in enterprises above a certain size (50 employees has been suggested
as a possible threshold). The new measure would reinforce existing
requirements on national information and consultation over transfers of
undertakings, collective redundancies and health and safety issues.
The European Council meeting in Amsterdam on 16 and 17 June 1997 concluded
the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) with the agreement of a new draft
Treaty. The conclusion of the IGC leaves the path open for launching the
enlargement process, and the timetable for the single currency has equally
been reaffirmed. Economic stability, growth and employment also featured
prominently in talks between the governments of the 15 member states.
Reinforced by the participation of members from the two new left-of-centre
governments of France and the United Kingdom, the European Council agreed to
give fresh momentum to keeping employment firmly at the top of the European
Union's agenda.
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 2009, the second edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 2004–2005 as the European Establishment Survey on Working Time and Work-Life Balance.
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 2013, the third edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 2004–2005 as the European Establishment Survey on Working Time and Work-Life Balance.
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.
The use of artificial intelligence, advanced robotics and the Internet of Things technologies in the workplace can bring about fundamental changes in work organisation and working conditions. This report analyses the ethical and human implications of the use of these technologies at work by drawing on qualitative interviews with policy stakeholders, input from the Network of Eurofound Correspondents and Delphi expert surveys, and case studies.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the professional football 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 professional football sector in the EU Member States.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in European sectoral social dialogue taking place at cross-sectoral level. 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 at cross-sectoral level in the EU Member States.
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