In elections held in April 1997, a joint list of socialist and communist
trade unionists narrowly won control of Portugal's South and Islands Banking
Union (Sindicato dos Bancários do Sul e Ilhas, SBSI), which will continue to
be affiliated to the General Workers' Union (União Geral de Trabalhadores,
UGT).
"Negotiate a reduction of working time - or else public opinion will force
through legislation". That was the message in an article written jointly by
Prime MinisterGöran Persson and the chair of the Swedish Metal Workers'
Union, Göran Johnsson, and published in the evening paper /Aftonbladet/ on
28 April 1997. Considering that one of the authors is the Prime Minister of
Sweden, it could be seen as a veiled threat to the employers. In the 1997
bargaining round, several trade unions called for a cut in working hours, and
the employers consistently rejected them.
The first of the two recently-announced mergers, which is to take effect from
1 July 1997, is between the National and Provincial Building Society Staff
Association (NAPSA) and the Banking, Insurance and Finance Union (BIFU). The
National and Provincial Building Society was recently taken over by the Abbey
National, but NAPSA members voted to become part of BIFU rather than the
Abbey National's own staff association. Despite the strong support for BIFU
from NAPSA members, the company has refused to recognise the union. BIFU said
that "in the merger and conversion mania which is sweeping this country there
is little regard for the impact on staff. They are the casualties - that's
why it is important for unions to work together". BIFU, which has 115,000
members, hope that this will be the first of many mergers which will ensure
it a stronger role in the financial sector.
One of the most significant transformations of British industrial relations
in recent years has been the shift from national to enterprise-level
bargaining. Multi-employer bargaining arrangements have tended to be replaced
with multi-establishment, single employer bargaining, although there are also
signs of decentralisation within the individual firm. Similarly, within the
public sector (UK9702104F [1]), efforts have been made to fragment
traditional bargaining arrangements through the introduction of "Agency"
status and market-testing to the civil service and local authorities, and by
further institutional decentralisation through the promotion of National
Health Service (NHS) Trusts and local management of schools. These changes
have occurred alongside a dramatic decline in coverage of collective
bargaining, largely due to the decline of manufacturing employment and the
expansion of the service sector.
The first annual review of the social dialogue process at the European Union
level was adopted by the Commission on 6 May 1997. The review characterises
1996 as "a particularly fruitful and productive year" for the social dialogue
at European level. Despite this overall positive assessment, the review
highlights the fact that, despite endeavours towards the establishment of a
dialogue between the social partners, and in some cases, negotiation, this
represents only the background of a European-scale industrial relations
systems which is yet to take shape.
On 7 May 1997, a preliminary agreement (which requires ratification) was
signed for the renewal of the Italian national railworkers' contract. The new
contract, which comes into effect from January 1997 and will expire on 31
December 1999, deals with company recovery plans and pay.
The publication of an assessment commissioned by the National Assembly's
Finance Commission, and the campaign for the May/June 1997 general election,
have reopened the debate in France on the content and efficiency of the
Robien law, which seeks to encourage working time reductions and
reorganisation to create or save jobs. Politicians, economists, employers and
unions remain divided whilst the number of collective agreements at company
level based on the law is increasing.
Non-wage labour costs are those categories of the enterprise's total labour
costs comprising other than direct compensation. Today, non-wage labour costs
account for a very substantial and rising proportion of total labour costs.
Since increasing labour costs tend to encourage substitution away from labour
to more capital-intensive methods of production, rising non-wage labour costs
are an impediment to job creation. Furthermore, some non-wage labour costs -
such as social security contributions - drive a wedge between the labour
costs that companies pay and the money that workers receive, thus making
collective bargaining more difficult. Via unit labour costs - nominal labour
costs divided by real value added - non-wage labour costs are likely to have
some effect on companies' location decisions.
A frequently repeated statement in discussion on industrial relations is that
temporary employment will be much more common in the future. This assumption
is refuted in a recent report from the National Labour Market Board
(Arbetsmarknadsstyrelsen,AMS).
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.
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.
This policy brief will provide an update on upward convergence in the economic, social and institutional dimensions of the European Union, as outlined in the European Pillar of Social Rights and its accompanying Social Scoreboard.
The financial services sector is pertinent for studying the impact of digitalisation, as the main ‘raw material’ of the sector is digitally stored and processed. Process automation in the sector is likely to lead to significant job losses over the next 10 years, as the high street bank presence declines and the online bank presence increasingly accounts for a higher share of overall activity. Such trends have already been identified in bank restructurings captured in Eurofound’s European Restructuring Monitor.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the electricity 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 electricity sector in the EU Member States.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the gas 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 gas sector in the EU Member States.
The hospital sector has been deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Hospitals and their workers are on the frontline in the fight against the virus, and they face a number of significant challenges in terms of resources, work organisation and working conditions. This study will explore the role of social dialogue and collective bargaining in how the sector is adapting to the pandemic. What kinds of changes have been introduced, either through social dialogue or collective bargaining? Are the changes temporary or permanent?
Given that compliance with lockdown measures is a first line of defence against COVID-19, maintaining trust in institutions is vital to ensure a coordinated, comprehensive and effective response to the pandemic. This report investigates developments in institutional and interpersonal trust across time, with a particular emphasis on the COVID-19 pandemic period and its impact. It examines the link between trust and discontent and investigates the effect of multidimensional inequalities as a driver of distrust.
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.
Lockdown measures and the economic shift following the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a widening of the gender divide between men and women, putting at risk some of the gender equality gains that had been made in previous years. This report analyses changes in the distribution of paid and unpaid work, along with care and domestic responsibilities, among men and women during the crisis. It also explores the impact of the pandemic on the well-being of women and men.
The report provides an overview of the scale of teleworking before and during the COVID-19 crisis and gives an indication of ‘teleworkability’ across sectors and occupations. Building on previous Eurofound research on remote work, the report investigates the way businesses introduced and supported teleworking during the pandemic, as well as the experience of workers who were working from home during the crisis. The report also looks at developments in regulations related to telework in Member States and provides a review of stakeholders’ positions.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the food and drinks 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 food and drinks sector in the EU Member States.
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