EurWORK European Observatory of Working Life
Articles
EurWORK articles cover working life in Europe, in particular the fields of industrial relations and working conditions. The articles are based on quarterly reporting provided by the Network of Eurofound Correspondents.
- Topical updates summarise and update developments around selected topics, which are relevant across a number of Member States at the same time
- Spotlight reports cover in more depth country-level events, debates and changes in regulation related to working life, aiming to provide a balanced view of all parties’ positions
- Research in Focus articles report on important research findings (including surveys) from the national level, often, but not exclusively, in the area of working conditions
- In brief articles are short news items drawn from the correspondents' quarterly reports
- Country updates summarise developments at national level and are published 4 times a year
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European Parliament debates employee consultation measures
At its plenary session of 13-17 January 1997, the European Parliament debated two important measures relating to employee consultation in European companies. After the European Works Councils (EWCs) Directive was passed in 1994, the Commission published a Communication on the future of employee consultation in November 1995, in order to revive a legislative issue which has been under discussion in various forms for over 15 years. Its aim was to explore whether the model used for determining the structure and operation of EWCs could be used in a wider context as a basis for making progress with the long-delayed European Company Statute. -
Social partners start discussions on reform of the July 1993 agreement
The issue of wage flexibility as a means of promoting employment growth was initially put forward by the ex-president of Confindustria (the most important Italian employers' association), Luigi Abete, as a problem which had not been adequately dealt with in the 1993 income policy agreement. CISL, one of the three main trade union confederations, later took up the wage flexibility issue and proposed flexibility in starting wages (the so-called "entrance salary") as a means of tackling the extremely serious employment crisis in some southern regions of Italy. -
Reform of the apprenticeship system agreed
The Austrian Trade Union Federation (Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund, ÖGB) and the Austrian Chamber of the Economy (Wirtschaftskammer Österreich, WKÖ) agreed the outlines of a reform of the apprenticeship system on 1 March 1997. The precise details are to be agreed in a working group comprising officials of the social partners, the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of the Economy, and experts from other, as yet unspecified, organisations. -
Two-fold increase in the minimum wage
The statutory minimum wage in Luxembourg has been increased by 3.2% from 1 January 1997, as a result of legislation, and additionally by 2.5% from 1 February 1997, under the terms of an index-linked mechanism. -
Controversial changes in Employment Security Act provide for more bargaining at company level
Late in 1996, Parliament passed legislation providing for changes in the Employment Security Act that aroused the anger of the trade unions. Although most of the new provisions apply from 1 January 1997, the most controversial modification, in Section 2 of the Act, will not come into force until 1 July. This will give trade unions and employers more time to adapt to the new rule in the legislation which deals with the level of central bargaining and collective agreements. -
The future of the social dialogue at Community level
On 18 September 1996, the European Commission adopted a /Communication Concerning the Development of the Social Dialogue Process at Community Level/ (COM(96) 448 final). Launching the Communication, the commissioner responsible for social affairs, Padraig Flynn, said that the time had come to reform and adapt the social dialogue in view of the new challenges facing the European Union in years to come. The Commission was" aiming at a rationalisation of structures and an optimal allocation of the resources available". -
Employers and unions disagree on the duration of new collective agreements
1997's collective bargaining in the private sector is concentrating on three main issues: 100% wage compensation during maternity leave; further negotiations over the pension scheme initiated in 1991; and a limited wage increase to allow for inflation. The social partners in the different bargaining areas are largely in agreement on the content of the new collective agreements, but the central social partner organisations - the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) and the Danish Employers' Confederation (DA) - still cannot agree whether the new collective agreements should be of two or three years' duration. -
New collective agreements in printing
On 6 February 1997, the Bundesverband Druck employers' association and the Industriegewerkschaft Medien trade union signed two new nationwide collective agreements for the 130,000 manual workers in the German printing industry. The first agreement covers the general developments of wages, and the second agreement is a renewal of the sector's general framework agreement on employment conditions [1] (Manteltarifvertrag). [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/efemiredictionary/framework-agreement-on-employment-conditions -
Legislation increases national minimum wage
A recent decree-law issued by the Government has increased the national minimum wage from 1 January 1997. The monthly rates have risen by up to 5%. We review Portugal's minimum wage system and the reactions to, and implications of, the 1997 increase. -
Legal barriers to European-level collective bargaining
Judging from a recent exchange of letters between a Dutch trade unions and the Department of Justice, it would appear that cross-border cooperation between unions, let alone their international merger, is beset with legal difficulties.
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