Pedersini, Roberto

Fiat began negotiations with unions in 2010 to implement its 2010–2014 industrial plan to reorganise plant utilisation rates and work organisation patterns. However, although it reached a deal at the Pomigliano plant, near Naples, in June 2010, a trade union split created uncertainty about the enforceability of the agreement and pushed the company to adopt a new strategy of seeking single-employer agreements. This began with the negotiation of the Mirafiori agreement (25Kb PDF) [1] of late 2010 and, according to Fiat, it should ensure better enforcement of the accords’ provisions. [1] http://www.fiatspa.com/en-US/media_center/FiatDocuments/2011/January/Statement_from_Fiat_CEO_Sergio_Marchionne.pdf

An estimated 14 million workers across Europe rely on the automotive sector for work. When the current economic downturn began to affect vehicle production, profound changes were already underway in the sector, triggered by the emergence of new markets and the search for lower production and labour costs. This report seeks to illuminate the effects of recession and restructuring on social dialogue within the automotive sector in eight EU countries. A report focusing on emerging markets (Brazil, China, India) is also available.

This analysis of recent developments in the automotive sector in the countries covered by this report seems to support the idea that the sector’s expansion will – in the medium term – depend on the growth of emerging markets (Brazil, China and India). In these countries, the potential for growth in the automotive market is high and government support initiatives do not necessarily encourage the replacement of older vehicles, as is often the case in the mature, saturated Western markets. In emerging economies, public support tends to favour the development of the overall market and this means that the potential negative medium-term consequences of support schemes are not likely to materialise in these markets. A report focusing on 8 EU countries is also available.

This report examines the extent of the phenomenon of the posting of workers, the roles played both by European and national-level legislation in determining the employment and working conditions of posted workers and the roles played by legislation and collective bargaining – and how these two domains interplay. The report is in part an update of earlier work carried out in 2003 by Eurofound into the issue – not least, updating the findings with data from the new Member States, which had not joined the Union at that time. Importantly, the research looks at the possible implications of a number of high-profile decisions taken by the European Court of Justice in cases of posting of workers, which highlighted the at times tense relationship between the twin EU goals of economic freedom and social cohesion.

The July 1993 agreement has been regarded as a sort of ‘basic agreement’ for Italian industrial relations, since it ended more than two decades of under-institutionalisation of collective labour relations. The tripartite agreement introduced a number of rules on the coordination of collective bargaining [1], the introduction of strike-free periods during the renewal of collective agreements and plant-level trade union structures. Since the early 2000s, however, the agreement has been at the centre of a wide debate on the opportunity to introduce substantial amendments, which has eventually led to the experimental reform of January 2009 agreed by the social partners, with the notable exception of the General Confederation of Italian Workers (Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro, Cgil [2]) (*IT0902059I* [3]). [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/collective-bargaining [2] http://www.cgil.it/ [3] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/cgil-refuses-to-sign-agreement-on-collective-bargaining-reform

On 22 January 2009, a number of employer associations signed an agreement on the reform of the Italian collective bargaining system, including the Confederation of Italian Industry (Confederazione Generale dell’Industria Italiana, Confindustria [1]), the major Italian employer organisation. On the trade union side, signatories included the Italian Confederation of Workers’ Trade Unions (Confederazione italiana sindacati lavoratori, Cisl [2]) and the Union of Italian Workers (Unione italiana del lavoro, Uil [3]). However, the General Confederation of Italian Workers (Confederazione generale italiana del lavoro, Cgil [4]) refused to sign the agreement. Some employer organisations that initially had not signed the agreement opted at a later stage to adhere to the accord, after internal consultations. The latter group included the Italian Banking Association (Associazione bancaria italiana, Abi [5]) and the Italian Association of Insurance Companies (Associazione nazionale fra le imprese assicuratrici, Ania [6]). The government, besides acting as ‘facilitator’ of the agreement, has also signed it to represent the state as an employer. Thus, the rules defined in the protocol should apply both to the private and the public sectors. [1] http://www.confindustria.it/ [2] http://www.cisl.it/ [3] http://www.uil.it/ [4] http://www.cgil.it/ [5] http://www.abi.it/ [6] http://www.ania.it/

Globalisation is having a profound impact on economies and industrial relations systems all around the world. In the context of global competition, it is increasingly relevant to look at Europe's economic development in a wider perspective. This report explores the main industrial relations developments in the European Union, Japan and the US in the period 2006-2007. It charts the similarities and trends in industrial relations as well as the differences in basic structures and developments between these three major economies.

In the context of global competition, it is increasingly relevant to look at Europe’s economic development in a wider perspective. This report gives an overview of the main industrial relations developments in the European Union, Japan and the US in 2005 and 2006. It charts the similarities and trends in industrial relations as well as the differences in basic structures and developments between these three major economies.

In recent years, the railway sector in the European Union has undergone a huge process of change, triggered by market liberalisation which came about as a result of EU legislation in the area. Increased restructuring and reorganisation within the sector has also led to conflicts in industrial relations, as new challenges arise, while workers, employers and their representative organisations are faced with increasing demands in a sector that is in the midst of a period of dramatic transition. Against this backdrop, this thematic feature provides a snapshot of industrial relations in the railway sector in 26 countries: in the EU25 (excluding Cyprus and Malta) and Norway, and in the acceding countries, Bulgaria and Romania. It is based on and updates an EIRO comparative study conducted in 2000 on 15 EU member states and Norway.

June 2004 saw the conclusion of a national interconfederal agreement that implements in Italy the European framework agreement on telework concluded by the EU-level social partners in July 2002. The Italian agreement was signed by 21 employers’ associations and the three largest trade union confederations, Cgil, Cisl and Uil.