Broughton, Andrea

This report maps the impact of the global financial, economic and public debt crisis on industrial relations and working conditions at national level in the EU Member States from 2008 to end 2012. The impact of the crisis on industrial relations is mapped with regard to the actors, processes and outcomes. Working conditions, covering the EU27 and Norway, maps the impact on employment conditions, working time arrangements and work–life balance, work organisation and psychosocial risks and on health and well-being at work. It uses comparative national-level information and data from Eurofound’s European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) and European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS), the European Social Survey (ESS) and the EU Labour Force Surveys (EU LFS).

In January 2012, the European Commission published a Green Paper on restructuring and anticipation of change (*EU1201041I* [1]). It led to the publication of a report drawn up by Spanish socialist member Alejandro Cercas, known as the Cercas Report, which was endorsed by a large majority of MEPs and led to a call from the European Parliament in January 2013 for action from the Commission (*EU1301021I* [2]). On 13 December 2013, the European Commission responded by issuing a Communication on an EU Quality Framework for anticipation of change and restructuring (164KB PDF) [3]. [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/undefined-industrial-relations/european-commission-launches-new-consultation-on-restructuring [2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/undefined/european-parliament-calls-for-eu-legal-act-on-restructuring [3] http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=11270&langId=en

The European Commission (EC [1]) has been looking at the issue of posted workers for some time. In March 2012, the Commission issued a proposal for a new Directive on the enforcement of the posted workers Directive 96/71/EC (240 KB PDF) [2]. [1] http://ec.europa.eu/index_en.htm [2] http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=7479&langId=en

The European Commission (EC [1]) has published a report, Women and men in leadership positions in the European Union 2013 (1.26 MB PDF) [2]. Drawing on data up to the end of June 2013, it reviews the current situation and reports on recent progress. [1] http://ec.europa.eu/index_en.htm [2] http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender-equality/files/gender_balance_decision_making/131011_women_men_leadership_en.pdf

The European Commission says it is determined to continue its efforts to streamline its legislation. On 2 October 2013 it issued its Communication (COM (2013) 685 (150KB PDF) [1]) on the Regulatory Fitness and Performance (REFIT): Results and Next Steps. [1] http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/president/news/archives/2013/10/pdf/20131002-refit_en.pdf

The European Union’s Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO [1]) is composed of Member States’ ministers for employment, social protection, consumer protection, health and equal opportunities. They meet around four times a year. [1] http://www.consilium.europa.eu/policies/council-configurations/employment,-social-policy,-health-and-consumer-affairs?lang=en

As part of the European Commission’s (EC [1]) better regulation policy, it issued a ‘Fitness Check’ report in July 2013 focusing on worker involvement issues in EU law. It examines the directives that cover worker information and consultation at national level (*EU1308011I*). [1] http://ec.europa.eu/index_en.htm

A joint study, An analysis of the working conditions of professional sports players (4.31MB PDF) [1], has been carried out by social partners in the sector, including the European Elite Athletes Association (EU Athletes [2]) and UNI Sport PRO, the professional athletes’ branch of the Uni Europa [3] union. The study examines the working conditions of professional players of basketball, hockey, handball and rugby in the Member States of Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. [1] http://www.euathletes.org/uploads/media/FINAL_Syndex_Sports_Report.pdf [2] http://www.euathletes.org [3] http://www.uniglobalunion.org/contact/uni-europa

The 2013 annual report from the European Restructuring Monitor (ERM) presents a retrospective of over a decade of measuring the impact of large-scale restructuring activity in Europe. Based on a database containing details of over 16,000 large-scale restructuring events– each generally involving at least 100 job losses or gains – it paints a picture of restructuring trends across the EU Member States. The report sets out to compare activity in the period leading up to the economic and financial crisis (2003–2008) with the post-crisis period (2008–2013), in order to identify changes in restructuring practices and to pinpoint the sectors that have been disproportionately affected, in employment terms, by the global recession. Also included is a critical assessment of all ERM activities, including the two newer policy-oriented databases: public support instruments and restructuring legislation. Finally, the report places the spotlight on the phenomenon of offshoring, charting the decline in offshoring activity by European firms since the onset of the crisis.

In April 2012 the social partners in the EU hairdressing sector, the employers’ organisation Coiffure EU [1] and employees’ union UNI Hair & Beauty [2], signed a framework agreement on health and safety in hairdressing (4.6MB PDF) [3] (*EU1205031I* [4]). The social partners asked the European Commission, under Article 155 [5] of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to make the agreement legally binding in all EU Member States, by issuing an EU Directive. [1] http://www.coiffure.eu [2] http://www.uniglobalunion.org/sectors/hair-beauty/news [3] http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=7697&langId=en [4] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/industrial-relations-undefined/hairdressing-sector-devises-health-and-safety-pact [5] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/european-social-dialogue-via-articles-154-155-tfeu