The ECJ's ruling on 11 March 1997 in the case of /Süzen v Zehnacher
Gebäudereinigung GmbH Krankenhausservice and another/ (Case C-13/95) made a
potential "U-turn" in the interpretation of the EU Directive on transfers of
undertakings, that has left a question mark over the way that the employment
rights of the employees of contractors are decided. The ruling stems from a
court case in Germany in which a school cleaner, Ayse Süzen, lost her job
when her employer failed to keep the cleaning contract at the school where
she worked. Ms Süzen challenged the decision of the new contractor not to
re-employ the cleaning workers dismissed by their original employer.
Meeting on 17 April 1997, the Labour and Social Affairs Council of Ministers
took stock of initiatives by the European Commission and the Council
Presidency aimed at improving information, consultation and participation
mechanisms for employees. Padraig Flynn, the commissioner responsible for
employment, industrial relations and social affairs, highlighted the
importance of such initiatives in the light of the Renault crisis (EU9703108F
[1]). He also reported on the current status of the work by the high-level
expert working group on worker involvement.
Under the terms of a new bill, announced in April 1997, employees in the
Netherlands will be entitled to benefits if they interrupt their careers for
care or study leave, on condition that the employer hires an unemployed
person for the same period
An agreement for Italy's first regional occupational pensions fund was signed
in March 1997 by the Veneto local organisations of Confindustria, the main
employers' organisation, and of the CISL trade union confederation. The
initiative has met with hostility from CGIL and uncertainty from UIL, the
other two main union confederations.
April 1997 saw the conclusion of the first collective agreement covering
Portuguese social welfare institutions, where conditions of employment were
previously governed by state regulations.
According to the Austrian Chamber of the Economy (Wirtschaftskammer
Österreich, WKÖ) there were 162,339 salaried employees in industrial
establishments in 1995. This was nearly 35% of total employment in industry.
(There were another 8,605 in industrial enterprises in the construction
industry where they accounted for 23% of employment). The pay scales applying
to these employees have been changed from 1 May 1997, affecting 84% of the
total in industry. The changes come in the form of a collective agreement
concluded between the Federal Section Industry (Bundessektion Industrie) of
the WKÖ and the Industry and Crafts Section (Sektion Industrie und Gewerbe)
of the Union of Salaried Employees (Gewerkschaft der Privatangestellten,
GPA). The negotiations started in May 1995 and were concluded on 28 October
1996.
A recent study published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) on the Belgian labour market and social climate has
recommended drastic changes to the country's institutional and socio-economic
structure. The most notable recommendations include a plea for greater
flexibility, less government intervention in industrial relations, lower
unemployment benefits, abolition of the indexation of pay to consumer prices
and easier procedures for recruitment and especially dismissal. In summary,
it may be said that the OECD largely advises Belgium to adopt the "American
model". This study was to a certain extent reinforced by a report from
European Commissioner Yves-Thibault de Silguy who also pleads for higher wage
differentials, lower employment costs and greater flexibility. Both studies
also stress the importance of low labour costs and high returns on
investment.
On 29 April 1997, the management and works council at Mohn GmbH, a subsidiary
of one of Germany's biggest media corporations, Bertelsmann, signed a works
agreement [1]- known as the "Pact for partnership 1997" - for the 1,700 or so
employees at the Mohn printing works in Gütersloh.
In a previous EIRO review of the industrial relations consequences of the new
Labour Government (UK9704125F [1]) it was suggested that it was unlikely that
the Government would produce an all-embracing employment bill in its first
term of office, and this has proved correct. However, the social partners
were still relatively pleased with announcements made on measures to tackle
unemployment and low pay.
The recent Commission Communication on /Modernising and improving social
protection in the European Union/ (COM (97)102 of 12 March 1997- EU9703113N
[1]) is merely the latest step in a long process of debate revolving around
the question of how systems of social protection can best be adapted to
today's changing economic, social and demographic situation. It is a debate
which has in the past clearly been influenced by the limited nature of
Community legal competence in this area. This is restricted to the
coordination of national social security schemes in cases where citizens
exercise their rights to free movement within the Union. Member states have
long resisted any attempts at a harmonisation of social protection systems,
which have developed very differently as a result of every country's
socio-economic, political and cultural heritage.
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.
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.
This report explores the association between skills use and skills strategies and establishment performance, and how other workplace practices, in terms of work organisation, human resources management and employee involvement, can impact on this. It looks at how skills shortages can be addressed, at least in part, by creating an environment in which employees are facilitated and motivated to make better use of the skills they already have. This further supports the business case for a more holistic approach to management.
In 2022, the European Semester was streamlined to integrate the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) established on 19 February 2021 (Regulation (EU) 2021/241). While facing the geopolitical and economic challenges triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Member States have been implementing the national Recovery and Resilience Plans (RRPs) for more than one year and around 100 billion euro in RRF funds have already been disbursed.
As economies emerge from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, labour shortages are becoming increasingly evident. These include shortages exacerbated by the crisis in some sectors and professions where they had been endemic for some time. This report will look at measures implemented at national level to tackle labour shortages in the health, care and information and communications technology sectors, as well as those arising from the twin digital and green transitions.
As part of its response to Russia’s war on Ukraine, the EU swiftly activated its Temporary Protection Directive for those fleeing the conflict in Ukraine – enabling displaced persons to settle in the EU and have access to the labour market and basic public services. This policy brief highlights the main barriers encountered by these refugees (over 5 million people to date) when seeking a job and provides suggestions on how to facilitate their integration.
With the expansion of telework and different forms of hybrid work as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important for policymakers to consider both the opportunities and the negative consequences that may result. This report will explore potential scenarios for such work. In doing so, it will identify trends and drivers, and predict how they might interact to create particular outcomes and how they are likely to affect workers and businesses. Policy pointers will outline what could be done to facilitate desirable outcomes and to avoid undesirable ones.
Living and working in Europe, Eurofound’s 2022 yearbook, provides a snapshot of the latest developments in the work and lives of Europeans as explored in the Agency’s research activities over the course of 2022. Eurofound’s research on working and living conditions in Europe provides a bedrock of evidence for input into social policymaking and achieving the Agency’s vision ‘to be Europe’s leading knowledge source for better life and work’.
The term ‘hybrid work’ became popular due to the upsurge of telework during the COVID-19 pandemic. The term has been increasingly used to refer to situations in which (teleworkable) work is performed both from the usual place of work (normally the employer’s premises) and from home (as experienced during the pandemic) or other locations. However, the concept of hybrid work is still blurry, and various meanings are in use. This topical update brings clarity to this concept by exploring available information from recent literature and the Network of Eurofound Correspondents.
Housing affordability is a matter of great concern across the EU. Poor housing affordability leads to housing evictions, housing insecurity, problematic housing costs and housing inadequacy. These problems negatively affect health and well-being, create unequal living conditions and opportunities, and come with healthcare costs, reduced productivity and environmental damage. Private market tenants face particularly large increases in the cost of housing.
Eurofound's annual review of minimum wages reports on the development of statutory and collectively agreed minimum wages across the EU and the processes through which they were set. The focus of this year’s report is on the impact of high inflation on the setting of minimum wage rates. In addition, new figures on the net value of minimum wages are presented, along with the latest policy-relevant research in the EU Member States and Norway.
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