Micro and small companies constitute the backbone of private business in Europe, accounting for nearly 99% of all enterprises, more than half of total employment in the private sector and an even greater proportion of new jobs. Despite their crucial place in the economy, there has been little
Quality of work and employment is a priority in the European Union. The annual review of working conditions in the EU 2009-2010 focuses on four critical dimensions: career development and employment security, health and wellbeing, skills and competence development, and work–life balance. It outlines
Quality of work and employment is a major policy issue in the European Union. This sixth annual review of working conditions in the EU outlines relevant legislative and policy developments during the period 2008–2009 in the context of labour market mobility and demographic change. It also explores a
On 11–12 October 2007, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working conditions (Eurofound), in cooperation with the Portuguese EU Presidency, held a conference on musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in Portugal’s capital city of Lisbon. In his concluding remarks at the conference
The EU Member States take a variety of approaches to continuing vocational training (CVT), and the social partners are involved in CVT governance and implementation to varying degrees. The European ‘Copenhagen Process’ aims to increase participation in adult education by enhancing cooperation in
Quality of work and employment is a key priority in the European Union. This fifth annual review of working conditions in the EU examines a range of issues and challenges related to working life and the workplace. It focuses in particular on four critical dimensions: career development and
The preliminary results of the second Quality of Work in Italy Survey, carried out in 2006 by the National Training Agency, show that working conditions have tended to decline since the 2002 survey, although overall job satisfaction is still high. Italian workers seem to be less satisfied with their
This fourth annual review from the European Working Conditions Observatory puts the spotlight on four key dimensions of working conditions and quality of work and employment: career and employment, health and well-being at work, skills development and work–life balance. The report outlines relevant
The report, /Health and social risks: Young workers’ working conditions in Italy/, published in May 2011 by the Institute for Economic and Social Research (Ires [1]) the research institute related to the main Italian trade union, the General Confederation of Italian Workers (Cgil [2]), summarises
The report on harassment at work (Il disagio nelle relazioni lavorative [1]) published in September 2010 by the Italian National Institute of Statistics (Istat [2]) on behalf of the Equal Opportunities Department, summarises findings from the ad hoc module of the 2008–2009 Istat survey on citizens’
In April 2011, the trade-union related Institute for Economic and Social Research (IRES [1]), published a report on the quality of work of workers in knowledge professions (in Italian, 1.66Mb PDF) [2]. The report presents the findings of a survey of knowledge professionals carried out on behalf of
As found by a survey (5.11Mb PDF) [1] carried out by the National Institute of Statistics (Istat [2]), Italian women spend almost four hours a day in domestic tasks and also care for children and elderly relatives. A working paper (341Kb PDF) [3] published by Banca d’Italia in July 2010 examines
A report (in Italian, 3.73Mb PDF) [1] on the activities of Forma.Temp [2] (the bipartite training fund for the temporary agency sector, IT0807019Q [3]) in 2009 was published jointly by Forma.Temp and Ebitemp [4] (the bipartite body for temporary work) in July 2010. The report summarises trends in
According to the March 2010 newsletter (in Italian, 60Kb PDF) [1] of the Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority (Inail [2]), the average number of insured workers in the health and social care sector in Italy increased by 4% between 2004 and 2008 (from over 845,000 in 2004 to over 873,000 in 2008)
In his recent book, /Lavorare al tempo del cliente nel post-fordismo/ (‘Working at the customer’s pace in post-Fordism’), Giancarlo Cerruti summarises the changes in working time arrangements at a hypermarket on the outskirts of Turin between 1991 (three years after its opening) and 2009. The
The report, Un fenomeno complesso: il lavoro femminile immigrato (in Italian, 1.15MB, PDF) [1] (‘Migrant women at work: a complex phenomenon’), from the Italian National Social Security Institute (INPS [2]) examines the type of work carried out by women migrants to Italy and their pay relative to
In the autumn of 2009, the Economic and Social Research Institute (Istituto di Ricerche Economiche e Sociali, Ires [1]) presented the results of the project ‘In regola [2]’ [According to the rules]. It was carried out on behalf of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (Ministero del Lavoro e
The study /Gender wage gap and typically female-dominated jobs/ (Differenziale salariale di genere e lavori tipicamente femminili (1.2Mb PDF) [1]) is part of a conclusive report of a three-year project carried out by the Italian Vocational Training Development Agency (Istituto per lo Sviluppo della