Publications

Recommendations to position Denmark as a digital frontrunner in Europe, legislative proposals for health and safety and the terms of reference of the working environment committee are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in Denmark in the second quarter of 2017.

In order to help combat Hungary’s labour shortage and to balance the working time of employees in companies where periods of productivity can often fluctuate, changes to the Labour Code by the Parliamentary Committee on Economics have been recently introduced, allowing employers to ‘bank’ working time so that it can be offset against quiet periods. However, the change has not been well received.

The 2017 National General Collective Employment Agreement covers important institutional issues, such as the fight against undeclared work and discrimination, and health and safety at work, in an attempt to revive national social dialogue following the financial crisis of 2008 and in the context of the international loan mechanism of the Greek economy.

The Great Recession had lasting effects on European labour markets, both in terms of employment levels and structure. Not only did employment rates drop significantly – taking years to return to pre-crisis levels, with some countries not fully recovered yet – but the crisis also accelerated structural change and generalised a pattern of job polarisation across Europe. In other words, we witnessed a relative decline in mid-paid jobs compared to those at the top and bottom of the occupational structure.

The process of building Portugal’s tripartite commitment for a mid-term concertation agreement, negotiated at the beginning of 2017, shows the challenges the social partners are facing in the new political cycle of organising tripartism given the government’s commitments to the left-wing parties, and the nation’s hopes of ending the period of austerity.

Italy’s parliament has approved new legislation giving protection to self-employed workers and regulating ICT-based mobile work. Employer organisations have generally welcomed it, but unions criticise the legislation for its weak wording, the limited leeway left to collective bargaining, and for the lack of financial resources to back it.

Increase in employment figures and childcare facilities, a rise in the number of accidents in the workplace, initiatives to boost youth employment and new collective agreements are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in the Netherlands in the second quarter of 2017.

Restrictions on extended working hours and tax reforms in the healthcare sector, strike action by family doctors, and social partner discussions on the national minimum wage are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in Latvia in the second quarter of 2017.

Publication of a study on the minimum wage, the introduction of pensioners’ cooperatives to reduce labour and skill shortages, and a proposal to extend working time are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in Hungary in the second quarter of 2017.

Difficulties in collective bargaining, industrial action in the education and forestry sectors, discussions on the national agreement and enactment of the new Labour Code are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in Lithuania in the second quarter of 2017.