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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 urban-rural divide in EU countries has grown in recent years, and the depopulation of certain rural areas in favour of cities is a challenge when it comes to promoting economic development and maintaining social cohesion and convergence. Using data from Eurofound and Eurostat, this report will investigate the trends and drivers of the urban-rural divide, in various dimensions: economic and employment opportunities, access to services, living conditions and quality of life.
Adequate, affordable housing has become a matter of great concern, with an alarming number of Europeans with low or lower household incomes unable to access any, especially in capital cities. Housing was a key factor in people’s experience of the COVID-19 pandemic: its quality and level of safety significantly affected how lockdowns and social distancing measures were experienced, with those who had no access to quality housing at higher risk of deteriorating living conditions and well-being.
The use of artificial intelligence, advanced robotics and the Internet of Things technologies in the workplace can bring about fundamental changes in work organisation and working conditions. This report analyses the ethical and human implications of the use of these technologies at work by drawing on qualitative interviews with policy stakeholders, input from the Network of Eurofound Correspondents and Delphi expert surveys, and case studies.