The cause of the industrial unrest was the announcement by the ruling
Conservative-Liberal coalition Government that it was planning to scale back
annual subsidies for the - basically west - German hard coal (Steinkohle)
industry dramatically. During the ensuing protests, Germany saw a human chain
of more than 90 kilometres straight through the Ruhr coal heartland, and
sympathy demonstrations from east German brown coal miners. Miners in the
Ruhr and the Saar areas went on strike. Tens of thousands of miners took to
the streets, occupied pits and town halls, and blocked roads as well as the
Bonn headquarters of Chancellor Helmut Kohl's ruling Christian Democratic
Party (CDU) and its coalition partner, the Free Democrat Party (FDP). In the
days before the compromise, the protests of the rank and file seemed to get
out of control of the miners' union, IG Bergbau und Energie (IGBE), and its
chair, Hans Berger. For the first time in German post-war history, furious
miners even entered the restricted area surrounding government buildings in
Bonn where no public meetings or marches may be held. As an "act of
solidarity with miners fighting for their existence" the Social Democratic
Party (SPD) temporarily boycotted a meeting in which opposition and coalition
politicians were discussing the reform of the German tax system. When the
miners laid siege to Bonn, Chancellor Kohl temporarily put off talks with the
union leaders to avoid having to negotiate under duress.
The Government has published a working document, entitled "Maritime and ports
policy at the approach of the 21st Century", for public debate. In the
document it proposes a number of measures to deregulate dock work, and the
National Federation of Dockers' Unions has criticised the lack of prior
dialogue and is opposing the new proposals.
Workers in the performing arts have been protesting about threats to their
special unemployment benefit scheme arising from employers' positions in the
recent renewal of the agreement on the general UNEDIC scheme.
The phenomenon of illegal immigration in Greece has taken on an ever more
serious dimension. According to evidence from the Ministry of Public Order
the number of foreign workers without a work permit is now around 400,000,
and is expected to increase still further owing to the recent crises in
Albania and Bulgaria. The main countries of origin are Albania, Poland,
Bulgaria and Romania, as well as countries in Asia and Africa. However, there
are also around 30,000 additional foreign nationals who originate from EU
member states, and obtain a special written permit from the Ministry of
Labour.
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.
In recent years there has been increasing public concern over what is widely
viewed as the spiralling remuneration of company directors. At a time when
companies are keen to promote pay schemes based on performance, too often the
links between directors' pay and performance are viewed as non-existent. In a
report on director's remuneration publicised in March 1997, the IOD is keen
to set the record straight. It argues that, although it recognises that
directors' pay in the largest companies has been on average high, it has been
relatively modest for those directors who work for small to medium-sized
enterprises. In fact, the median pay increase for this group of directors in
1996 was 4%, the equivalent of the increase in average earnings for all
employees in that year.
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.
Intervention from the European Commission has compelled the Belgian
Government to amend its procedures for reducing social security costs (the
Maribel system) and to extend them across-the-board to all sectors of the
economy.
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.
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.
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.
The European Restructuring Monitor has reported on the employment impact of large-scale business restructuring since 2002. This series includes its restructuring-related databases (events, support instruments and legislation) as well as case studies and publications.
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 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 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.
There have always been workers who have worked at different locations, on site with customers or while on the move. Companies have also developed open-plan workspaces to cut costs and foster cooperation. Cloud computing allows workers to access internal data from anywhere, while digitalisation increases the use of automated decision-making and control based on (big) data. This report addresses the extent to which place of work determines job quality.