Fondazione europea per il miglioramento delle condizioni di vita e di lavoro
L’agenzia tripartita dell’UE che fornisce le conoscenze per contribuire allo sviluppo di migliori politiche sociali, occupazionali e relative al lavoro
L’agenzia tripartita dell’UE che fornisce le conoscenze per contribuire allo sviluppo di migliori politiche sociali, occupazionali e relative al lavoro
The European Commission has published its amended proposal for a Council
Directive amending Directive 77/187/EEC on the safeguarding of employees'
rights in the event of transfers of undertakings. The amended proposal
reflects the Opinions submitted by the Economic and Social Committee and the
Committee of the Regions, as well as the many amendments put forward by the
European Parliament. Soon after the publication of the amended draft, the
Commission also issued a Memorandum on the interpretation of the Directive
(Record EU9703109F [1])
A "national agreement" between the Italian Government and trade unions,
signed in March 1997, has established harmonised rules for almost all
employment in the public and private sectors.
Negotiations to revise the important collective agreement in Portugal's
banking sector are deadlocked. The industry's largest trade union will soon
hold its elections, but its socialist members are divided, while substantial
workforce reductions have been announced for the coming years.
Two separate strikes have been hitting the French hospital sector over
February and March 1997. On the one hand, certain unions are campaigning
against cuts in hospital budgets while, on the other hand, numerous trainee
doctors and senior consultants are on strike, demanding the revision of the
medical agreement co-signed by the health insurance office (CNAM) and the
medical profession, which in their opinion hinders the practicing of
professional medicine.
On 19 March 1997, the general meeting of the Fachgemeinschaft Bau Berlin und
Brandenburg, the regional industry and employers' association for the
building industry in the federal states of Berlin and Brandenburg, decided to
quit the Zentralverband des Deutschen Baugewerbes (Central Association of the
German Building Trade, ZDB) and the Hauptverband der Deutschen Bauindustrie
(Federal Association of the German Building Industry, HDB). In future, the
regional association will no longer participate in the highly centralised
collective bargaining system of the building industry, which includes central
framework agreements (Manteltarifverträge) and national wage agreements
(Lohntarifverträge).
On 13 March 1997, Handelsanställdas förbund (Commercial Employees' Union)
sued the company behind the 7-Eleven chain of shops for SEK 1 million
compensation for breach of the collective agreement. The agreement in
question is in fact a combination of two, which were agreed last summer in an
attempt to settle a dispute concerning the unsocial hours bonus.
According to the yearly wage statistics from the Danish Employers'
Confederation (DA), 1996 was the most conflict-free year for the private
sector labour market in the 1990s. From 1995 to 1996, the number of
unofficial strikes - defined as those in contravention of a collective
agreement - fell from 1,740 to 791 and the number of working days lost
decreased by 70% to 52,808 in 1996. Although there was an overall decrease in
working days lost, the proportion of working days lost due to wage
disagreements increased from 45% to 52% and conflicts related to redundancies
and dismissals increased from 5% to 13%. Between 1995 and 1996 secondary
action fell drastically, from 34% to 9% of the total number of working days
lost. This can be attributed to the 1995 bus conflict ("RiBus-konflikten"),
one of the longest disputes in post-war Danish industrial relations.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This report analyses how working conditions, job quality and working life outcomes – such as work–life balance, health and well-being, and sustainability of work – changed between February 2020 and spring 2021. Following up on responses to the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) 2020, it explores the differences between three distinct groups of workers: those teleworking during the COVID-19 pandemic, those who continued to work on their employers' premises as frontline staff, and those who were furloughed or worked reduced hours.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in European sectoral social dialogue taking place at cross-sectoral level. 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 at cross-sectoral level 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 civil aviation 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.
This report offers a backward look at the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the work and life of Europeans. The main focus is on Eurofound’s e-survey ‘ Living, working and COVID-19’ which was launched on 9 April 2020 just after the onset of the crisis. Through four rounds of the survey (two in 2020 and two in 2021), the range of questions changed to match the evolving situation and to understand the effects on the everyday lives of citizens and workers. A fifth round of the e-survey is planned for March–May 2022, with initial findings available in July.
This report explores the drivers of economic and social convergence in Europe, using a selected set of economic and social indicators to examine trends in the performance of individual Member States. It also investigates what role the Economic and Monetary Union plays in convergence, particularly in southern and eastern Member States. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on convergence is analysed and initial conclusions are drawn about the impact of EU recovery packages and their ability to prevent divergence.
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered an extraordinary level of provision of social services across the EU. Healthcare and care providers carried much of the burden and, together with essential services, played a crucial role in getting citizens through the crisis. This report explores how public services adapted to the new reality and what role was played by the digital transformation of services. The aim is to contribute to the documentation and analysis of changes in funding, delivery and use of healthcare and social services during the pandemic.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the professional football 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 professional football sector in the EU Member States.
Building on previous work by Eurofound, this report will investigate intergenerational dynamics over time. During the 2008 double-dip recession, worrying intergenerational divides appeared in many Member States, and while some of the economic and social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is universal, early data suggests disparities across demographic cohorts. Eurofound will examine how different age groups may have been affected in terms of their health, labour market participation, quality of life and financial needs, both in the short term and in the long term.
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