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Industrial action

Industrial action is one of the fundamental means available to workers and their organisations to solve labour disputes and promote their economic and social interests. It can take many forms, from the complete withdrawal of labour for an indefinite period to more restricted forms of collective action in which there is no cessation of work. The right to strike is explicitly recognised in the constitutions and/or laws of many countries. At EU level, the right to strike is enshrined in Article 28 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The right to collective action by the social partners is also included in the European Pillar of Social Rights.  Eurofound is currently exploring the feasibility of an industrial action monitor. 

Topic

Eurofound research

Eurofound has analysed data collected in 2018–2019 during the piloting of its Industrial Action Monitor (IAM) database. Using cluster analysis, the research classified industrial action in Europe into five categories: 

  • national disputes of interest and rights, sometimes involving different forms of employment
  • extended disputes about collective pay agreements
  • localised disputes about employment problems, working time and restructuring, with short work stoppages
  • localised disputes about workers’ rights and grievances over company policies
  • disputes concerning public policies

Recent updates

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This publication consists of individual country reports on working life during 2021 for 28 countries – the 27 EU Member States and Norway. The country reports summarise evidence on the...

19 mai 2022
Publication
Other
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Ces dernières années, hormis quelques pics occasionnels, il a été constaté une baisse générale des actions syndicales dans tous les États membres de l’Union. Pendant la pandémie de Covid-19, cette...

7 février 2022
Publication
Research report

Key outputs

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In recent years, apart from some intermittent spikes, there has been a general decrease in industrial action across the EU Member States. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this trend has continued...

7 février 2022
Publication
Research report
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Relative calm on the industrial action front in 2020

Despite the economic turmoil that led to large-scale restructuring in many EU Member States and changes in working conditions for many occupational groups, 2020 seems to have been a quiet...

Article
Publications results (18)

This publication consists of individual country reports on working life during 2021 for 28 countries – the 27 EU Member States and Norway. The country reports summarise evidence on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on working life based on national research and survey results during 2021. They

19 May 2022

Ces dernières années, hormis quelques pics occasionnels, il a été constaté une baisse générale des actions syndicales dans tous les États membres de l’Union. Pendant la pandémie de Covid-19, cette tendance s’est poursuivie; sans surprise, les conflits de travail les plus importants se sont produits

07 February 2022

This report – the latest in an annual series – describes the main developments in industrial relations and the regulations affecting working conditions at EU level and in the EU Member States and Norway during 2018. Based on data from the Network of Eurofound Correspondents, it presents information

02 October 2019

Annual review of working life 2017 is part of a series of annual reviews published by Eurofound and provides an overview of the latest developments in industrial relations and working conditions across the EU and Norway. The annual review collates information based on reports from Eurofound’s

22 October 2018

Teachers across Europe have been protesting about their working conditions. Pay levels and pay inequalities, working time and workload, recruitment procedures and staffing at schools have been the main focus of social dialogue and collective action. Several of the reported cases are set in the

09 January 2017

Smartphone car service Uber, a successful company example of the sharing economy, has spread to many EU Member States in recent years. However, many employers and unions are concerned about its challenge to fair competition for other businesses in the sector and about the erosion of working

25 January 2016

Air transport has been in the news in recent months as strikes and difficulties in social dialogue across the European Union have strained relations between the sector’s unions and companies. Disputes in the different countries have revolved around pay and working conditions, restructuring and

09 December 2015

Strike activity across the EU dropped in 2014 following a crisis-related peak in 2010. However, evidence from EurWORK correspondents suggests that the more highly unionised public sector has been a focus of industrial action recently. In general, strikes have been triggered by pay freezes and cuts

24 November 2015

Collective bargaining systems in the EU have undergone a steady change since the end of the 1990s. But as businesses across Europe struggle to respond to intensifying global competition, pressure from employers for greater flexibility in collective bargaining is increasing, especially since the 2008

04 November 2015

This article presents some of the key developments and research findings on aspects of dispute resolution in the EU between the first and third quarters of 2014. Changes in the EU Member States’ collective and individual dispute resolution mechanisms are the main focus. The section on 'Extensions of

18 February 2015

Online resources results (504)

More collective agreements and less conflict in 2012

The French Labour Ministry’s annual report, Collective Bargaining 2012 (in French, 4.3MB PDF) [1], was published on 2 July 2013 at the National Commission of Collective Negotiations. The report shows that the number of collective agreements has increased at all levels except the national inter

Teachers suspend strike action after offer of talks

The two largest UK teachers’ unions – the National Union of Teachers (NUT [1]) and the National Association of Schoolmasters/ Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT [2]) are in dispute with the government over their workload, bureaucracy, pay cuts, changes to their pensions, and job cuts. Beth Farhat

Postal workers’ protest ends in victory

Bulgaria's state-owned postal company, Bulgarian Posts Plc (BG Posts [1]), provides universal and non-universal postal services and delivers some social functions including payment of unemployment benefits, social assistance and pensions. It is the largest state-owned company in Bulgaria, employing

Collective agreement in construction sector finally renewed

On 10 July 2013, unions and employer organisations in Luxembourg’s construction industry agreed to renew a sectoral collective agreement which covers about 14,000 people.

IT workers lose battle for collective agreement

On 29 April 2013, a group of 80 Norwegian workers began a strike in a dispute with their employer, the IT company Atea [1]. The workers were all members of the Electricians’ and IT Workers’ Union (EL&IT [2]), a trade union affiliated to the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO [3]). [1] http

Protesters demand rise in minimum wage and decent public services

On 1 October 2013, Romania's National Trade Union Confederation (CNS Cartel Alfa [1]) announced on its website that daily protests would be staged by workers across the country for an indefinite period. This decision was made in response to the government’s failure to engage in true social dialogue

Bidder sought to rescue troubled chemical company

The chemical company Oltchim Râmnicu Vâlcea was, until 2012, the flag bearer of the Romanian chemical and petrochemical industry. It had a reputation as a national brand and had a workforce of 3,200, some based at the primary site in Râmnicu Vâlcea and the rest 60 kilometres away at the

Unions decry abrupt ending of banking sector agreement

The banking sector’s national collective agreement was renewed on 19 January 2012 (*IT1202039I* [1]), just over a year after the expiry of the previous one in December 2010. Negotiations were concluded quickly and with little difficulty, and were signed by the Italian Federation of Insurance and

Controversy over appointment of new industrial tribunal

When Malta’s Labour Party, the Partit Laburista [1], took power after the March 2013 general election, the chairs of the country’s Industrial Tribunal [2] panel were asked to resign by the Ministry for Social Dialogue [3]. The Minister, Helena Dalli, stressed that the request for the resignations

Zero hours contracts in the spotlight

The absence of any general legal regulation of working time in the UK, together with employers’ freedom in contract formation, provides the context for a variety of forms of flexible working hours. A long-running political debate in the UK has focused on the use of so-called zero hours contracts


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