On Thursday 27 February 1997 Renault announced - completely unexpectedly -
the closure of its Belgian production plant in Vilvoorde by July of this
year. As a result, more than 3,000 Renault employees and an estimated 1,500
employees in direct supply companies will lose their jobs. There is a general
consensus that the decision ignored all legal rules and procedures concerning
factory closures. This includes ILO and OECD procedures as well as national
codes of conduct, and European Union and national legislation on collective
redundancies and works council rights. These regulations lay down that
employees have to be notified before a decision about a factory closure is
made and informed about the ways in which the company plans to deal with the
consequences for the employees.
A protest march on the Dail by rank-and-file members of the Irish police
force, the Garda Siochana, was due to take place on 16 April to highlight
their demand for the first independent review of police pay since 1981.
Akzo Nobel has announced that it will not observe its 1995 collective
agreement and that it will abandon the introduction of a standard 36-hour
week as of 1 July 1997. Its new proposals have divided the unions.
Over the past decade there has been increasing concern among the institutions
of the European Union about the rising tide of racism across the member
states. In a recent address to a conference on combating racism organised by
the ETUC, social affairs commissioner Padraig Flynn highlighted the
importance of the fight against racism in "achieving improved working
conditions, creating jobs, improved industrial relations, the use of human
resources to the best possible effect, social justice, equal opportunities,
wealth and tolerance".
In an ongoing industrial dispute, trade unions have accused the public sector
corporation, EPI (the Italian Postal Organisation), of not respecting
collective agreements and commitments on employment.
On 13 March, after long debate between ministries, trade unions, and
provincial governments, the national Government submitted a reform package
covering the Arbeitslosenversicherungsgesetz(Unemployment Insurance Act), the
Fremdengesetz(Aliens Act), the Aufenthaltsgesetz(Residence Act), the
Ausländerbeschäftigungsgesetz(Aliens Employment Act), and the
Asylgesetz(Asylum Act). The aim is to homogenise the laws, to reduce
immigration to an absolute minimum compatible with human rights and the
Geneva Convention on the Rights of Refugees, and to improve the integration
of the resident foreign population. The reform package is now open to public
debate, and will be submitted to Parliament before the summer. Changes are
intended to take effect as of 1 January 1998.
Prior to the election of industrial tribunal members in December 1997, five
trade union confederations have requested an overhaul of the voting system in
order to prevent the election of judges from the far Right.
On 13 March 1997, the readers of Sweden's leading morning paper /Dagens
Nyheter/ learnt about an unusual appeal, drawn up jointly by the pugnacious
chair of Handelsanställdas förbund (Commercial Employees' Union), the
leaders of the two employers' organisations in commerce and the managing
directors of three leading retail chains.
Since the beginning of the 1990s, the German system of centralised sectoral
collective bargaining (Flächentarifvertrag), which guarantees all employees
in a certain sector more or less the same basic income and working
conditions, has been under increasing pressure. With growing
internationalisation of capital and markets and an increasing pressure of
international competition, more and more employers and economic experts have
been demanding a more decentralised and company-related collective bargaining
system. German unification in 1990 brought a further dynamism to the debate.
Originally, all the relevant social partners agreed to transfer the western
collective bargaining system to eastern Germany, but because of the
continuing immense economic problems. more and more eastern employers became
dissatisfied with that decision. For instance, in the eastern metal industry
the proportion of employers who are members of an employers' association
decreased from 60% in 1991 to 36% in 1994 - though still covering between 55%
and 65% of the employees ("Ostdeutsche Tariflandschaften", Ingrid Artus and
Rudi Schmidt, in Die Mitbestimmung No. 11, p. 34-36 (1996)).
According to the study/, Analysis of the prevalence of home-based telework in
Denmark,/ carried out by Andersen Management International for the Ministry
of Research and Information Technology, it is estimated that the potential
number of people carrying out home-based telework will increase over the next
decade, from 9,000 at present to 250,000. The study defines home-based
telework as situations where 20% or more of work is carried out from a
home-based workplace using information technology. Home-based telework is
expected to be more efficient if it is limited to two to three working days a
week.
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.
This report will map the existing regulations on telework in European Union Member States, including in legislation and collective agreements. It will present the most recent changes to these regulations and shed light on how the future of (tele)work could be regulated at both national and EU level, in order to improve working conditions in telework arrangements and reduce the risks associated with telework and with specific ways of working remotely.
As part of a process to collect information on essential services, the European Commission (DG EMPL) requested Eurofound to provide input on certain aspects of existing and planned measures in the Member States to improve access to essential services, in reference to Principle 20 of the European Pillar of Social Rights. The scope of the exercise included energy services, public transport and digital communications, and the focus was on people at risk of poverty or social exclusion (in practice, people on low incomes in most cases).
The civil aviation sector has been deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is one of the most severe crises the sector has ever experienced, giving rise to a number of significant challenges for companies and workers alike. 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?
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.
This report focuses on trends and developments in collective bargaining that were evident from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It examines potential new strategic approaches and priorities incorporated in negotiation agendas, as well as collective bargaining practices and coordination at sector and company levels in the private sector.
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.
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.
This report investigates the practical implementation of the European Works Council (EWC) Directive at company level. It explores the challenges faced by existing EWCs and provides examples of identified solutions and remaining issues from the point of view of both workers and management. The report looks at the way that EWCs meet the requirements of the EWC Directive in terms of establishing processes of information and consultation.
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?
13 Deireadh Fómhair 2020
MEMBER OF THE NETWORK OF EU AGENCIES
Gníomhaireacht de chuid an Aontais Eorpaigh is ea Eurofound