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 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.
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.
Over the past decade there has been increasing concern among the institutions
of the European Union about the rising tide of racism across the member
states. In a recent address to a conference on combating racism organised by
the ETUC, social affairs commissioner Padraig Flynn highlighted the
importance of the fight against racism in "achieving improved working
conditions, creating jobs, improved industrial relations, the use of human
resources to the best possible effect, social justice, equal opportunities,
wealth and tolerance".
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.
In an ongoing industrial dispute, trade unions have accused the public sector
corporation, EPI (the Italian Postal Organisation), of not respecting
collective agreements and commitments on employment.
On 13 March, after long debate between ministries, trade unions, and
provincial governments, the national Government submitted a reform package
covering the Arbeitslosenversicherungsgesetz(Unemployment Insurance Act), the
Fremdengesetz(Aliens Act), the Aufenthaltsgesetz(Residence Act), the
Ausländerbeschäftigungsgesetz(Aliens Employment Act), and the
Asylgesetz(Asylum Act). The aim is to homogenise the laws, to reduce
immigration to an absolute minimum compatible with human rights and the
Geneva Convention on the Rights of Refugees, and to improve the integration
of the resident foreign population. The reform package is now open to public
debate, and will be submitted to Parliament before the summer. Changes are
intended to take effect as of 1 January 1998.
Prior to the election of industrial tribunal members in December 1997, five
trade union confederations have requested an overhaul of the voting system in
order to prevent the election of judges from the far Right.
Eurofound’s European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) examines both the objective circumstances of European citizens' lives and how they feel about those circumstances and their lives in general. This series consists of outputs from the EQLS 2003, the first edition of the survey.
Eurofound's European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) examines both the objective circumstances of European citizens' lives and how they feel about those circumstances and their lives in general. This series consists of outputs from the EQLS 2007, the second edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 2003.
Eurofound's European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) examines both the objective circumstances of European citizens' lives and how they feel about those circumstances and their lives in general. This series consists of outputs from the EQLS 2012, the third edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 2003.
Eurofound’s European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) paints a wide-ranging picture of Europe at work across countries, occupations, sectors and age groups. This series consists of findings from the EWCS 2005, the fourth edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 1990.
Eurofound’s European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) paints a wide-ranging picture of Europe at work across countries, occupations, sectors and age groups. This series consists of findings from the EWCS 2010, the fifth edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 1990.
This publication series explores scenarios for the future of manufacturing. The employment implications (number of jobs by sector, occupation, wage profile, and task content) under various possible scenarios are examined. The scenarios focus on various possible developments in global trade and energy policies and technological progress and run to 2030.
This report will map the existing regulations on telework in European Union Member States, including in legislation and collective agreements. It will present the most recent changes to these regulations and shed light on how the future of (tele)work could be regulated at both national and EU level, in order to improve working conditions in telework arrangements and reduce the risks associated with telework and with specific ways of working remotely.
As part of a process to collect information on essential services, the European Commission (DG EMPL) requested Eurofound to provide input on certain aspects of existing and planned measures in the Member States to improve access to essential services, in reference to Principle 20 of the European Pillar of Social Rights. The scope of the exercise included energy services, public transport and digital communications, and the focus was on people at risk of poverty or social exclusion (in practice, people on low incomes in most cases).
This report focuses on trends and developments in collective bargaining that were evident from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It examines potential new strategic approaches and priorities incorporated in negotiation agendas, as well as collective bargaining practices and coordination at sector and company levels in the private sector.
This report explores the association between skills use and skills strategies and establishment performance, and how other workplace practices, in terms of work organisation, human resources management and employee involvement, can impact on this. It looks at how skills shortages can be addressed, at least in part, by creating an environment in which employees are facilitated and motivated to make better use of the skills they already have. This further supports the business case for a more holistic approach to management.
This policy brief will provide an update on upward convergence in the economic, social and institutional dimensions of the European Union, as outlined in the European Pillar of Social Rights and its accompanying Social Scoreboard.
The financial services sector is pertinent for studying the impact of digitalisation, as the main ‘raw material’ of the sector is digitally stored and processed. Process automation in the sector is likely to lead to significant job losses over the next 10 years, as the high street bank presence declines and the online bank presence increasingly accounts for a higher share of overall activity. Such trends have already been identified in bank restructurings captured in Eurofound’s European Restructuring Monitor.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the electricity 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 study on representativeness is to identify the relevant national and European social partner organisations in the electricity sector 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 gas 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 gas sector in the EU Member States.
This report investigates the practical implementation of the European Works Council (EWC) Directive at company level. It explores the challenges faced by existing EWCs and provides examples of identified solutions and remaining issues from the point of view of both workers and management. The report looks at the way that EWCs meet the requirements of the EWC Directive in terms of establishing processes of information and consultation.
The hospital sector has been deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Hospitals and their workers are on the frontline in the fight against the virus, and they face a number of significant challenges in terms of resources, work organisation and working conditions. This study will explore the role of social dialogue and collective bargaining in how the sector is adapting to the pandemic. What kinds of changes have been introduced, either through social dialogue or collective bargaining? Are the changes temporary or permanent?
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