On 17 April 1997, the Spanish Parliament endorsed the new convergence
programme released by the Government, the /1997-2000 Stability Plan/.
Employers and unions have expressed certain doubts about this programme: the
employers' associations consider that it is feasible, but do not rule out the
possibility that a severer adjustment will be necessary than expected; the
trade unions suspect that the programme may involve cuts in social
expenditure and have expressed their disagreement with the privatisation plan
that accompanies it.
Some 25,000 blue-collar workers are covered by the agreement between the
Employers' Association of the Swedish Wood Products Industry and the Swedish
Wood Industry Workers' Union, reached on 4 April 1997. All employees receive
across-the-board minimum pay increases of SEK 1 per hour. In addition, the
local parties have SEK 0.95 an hour per worker at their disposal to allocate
on an individual basis. The settlement represents an overall increase in pay
of 3.1%.
/The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
is currently conducting a major research project on Equal opportunities and
collective bargaining in Europe, co-funded by DG V of the European
Commission. The aim is to assist in the complicated task of promoting equal
opportunities for women and men by means of collective bargaining. The
continuing project has at present reached the stage where the issues have
been defined, and national reports drawn up by a network of correspondents,
exploring the context of the issue in each of the 15 EU member states. A
consolidated report on stage one of the project has been prepared by Yota
Kravaritou of the European University Institute. /
For the first time in many years, six trade unions in the Paris region have
decided to take part in a single demonstration for Labour Day, 1997,
protesting against racism and xenophobia.
On 22 April 1997, the management board at Ford Germany and the company works
council (Gesamtbetriebsrat) signed a new works agreement to secure
investment. In the agreement, Ford management promises new investments at the
five German Ford plants at Cologne, Düren, Berlin, Wülfrath and Saarlouis.
Although the exact figures have not been published it is estimated that
investments will total about DEM 10 billion in the next few years.
After 10 months of discussions and three months of intense negotiations, in
April 1997 the main trade unions and employers' associations in Spain for the
first time reached an agreement on labour market reform. This is a bipartite
agreement which reduces the cost of dismissal and attempts to promote secure
employment. The Government is likely to introduce legislation to support the
reform.
On 15 April 1997, the Almega Industrial and Chemical Association and the
Industrial Union concluded a new collective agreement on wages and general
terms and conditions of employment for blue-collar workers in the
pharmaceutical, rubber, plastic and paint industries. It runs from 1 June
1997 to 30 April 1998.
A new pay award announced in April by the Agricultural Wages Board (AWB) for
England and Wales after two days of talks, gives farm workers a minimum wage
of GBP 4.12 per hour. The AWB is the only wages council - setting statutory
minimum pay rates for a particular sector - left in the UK after the rest
were abolished in 1993 (UK9703112F [1]). When the Conservative Government was
originally looking at abolishing the wages councils in 1986, the proposal was
delayed because employers were not in favour of them being abolished, as they
at least set some minimum floor of standards with which employers could work.
The case for this was made most strongly by agricultural employers, and this
was why the AWB was left in place after 1993.
On 6 April 1997, the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) and the
Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO) agreed on a proposal
for an agreement which they could recommend to their members in this year's
bargaining round. LO won acceptance for its demands on the extension of the
voluntary early retirement scheme, while the pay increases agreed centrally
may be described as moderate.
The President of the French Republic's decision to dissolve the National
Assembly and to call early legislative elections in May-June 1997 has
prompted numerous reactions from the unions, which fear the beginning of a
shift towards liberal economic policies.
The European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) is carried out every four to five years since its inception in 2003, with the latest edition in 2016. It examines both the objective circumstances of people's lives and how they feel about those circumstances and their lives in general. It covers issues around employment, income, education, housing, family, health and work–life balance. It also looks at subjective topics, such as people's levels of happiness and life satisfaction, and perceptions of the quality of society.
This series brings together publications and other outputs of the European Jobs Monitor (EJM), which tracks structural change in European labour markets. The EJM analyses shifts in the employment structure in the EU in terms of occupation and sector and gives a qualitative assessment of these shifts using various proxies of job quality – wages, skill-levels, etc.
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 2016, the fourth 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 2015, the sixth 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 1996, the second 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 2001, which was an extension of the EWCS 2000 to cover the then 12 acceding and candidate countries. 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 2000, the third edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 1990.
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 first edition of the survey carried out in 2004–2005 under the name 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 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.
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?
Given that compliance with lockdown measures is a first line of defence against COVID-19, maintaining trust in institutions is vital to ensure a coordinated, comprehensive and effective response to the pandemic. This report investigates developments in institutional and interpersonal trust across time, with a particular emphasis on the COVID-19 pandemic period and its impact. It examines the link between trust and discontent and investigates the effect of multidimensional inequalities as a driver of distrust.
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.
Lockdown measures and the economic shift following the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a widening of the gender divide between men and women, putting at risk some of the gender equality gains that had been made in previous years. This report analyses changes in the distribution of paid and unpaid work, along with care and domestic responsibilities, among men and women during the crisis. It also explores the impact of the pandemic on the well-being of women and men.
The report provides an overview of the scale of teleworking before and during the COVID-19 crisis and gives an indication of ‘teleworkability’ across sectors and occupations. Building on previous Eurofound research on remote work, the report investigates the way businesses introduced and supported teleworking during the pandemic, as well as the experience of workers who were working from home during the crisis. The report also looks at developments in regulations related to telework in Member States and provides a review of stakeholders’ positions.
The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have varied across sectors, occupations and categories of worker (for instance, according to gender, age or employment status). Hours worked have declined the most in sectors such as accommodation services and food and beverage services, and in occupations heavily reliant on in-person interaction, such as sales work. At the same time, it’s in these sectors that labour shortages have become increasingly evident as labour markets have begun to normalise.
The COVID-19 crisis has increased inequality between social groups in health, housing, employment, income and well-being. While a small part of society was able to hold on to or increase its wealth, other groups such as women, young people, older people, people with disabilities, low- and middle-income earners and those with young children were acutely affected by the pandemic. Drawing on current research on how to best measure multidimensional inequality, this report highlights recent trends in inequality in the context of the COVID-19 crisis.
The financial services sector is pertinent for studying the impact of digitalisation, as the main ‘raw material’ of the sector is digitally stored and processed. Process automation in the sector is likely to lead to significant job losses over the next 10 years, as the high street bank presence declines and the online bank presence increasingly accounts for a higher share of overall activity. Such trends have already been identified in bank restructurings captured in Eurofound’s European Restructuring Monitor.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the textiles and clothing 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.