After three weeks of industrial action, which forced the closure of the major
national museums and historic sites, staff at France's Ministry for Culture
protesting at job insecurity called a halt to their strike in early June
1999, until the forthcoming budget negotiations. They accepted a protocol
agreement, which provides for a five-year plan to turn temporary jobs into
stable employment.
According to an Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC) survey,
published on 22 June 1999, Irish companies are introducing a range of
"partnership"-type measures in cooperation with their employees (IE9811264N
[1]). The survey was based in a sample of 400 enterprises - all with 50 or
more employees - and employing a total of 207,847 workers between them. The
vast majority are private sector companies but there is also an unspecified
number of commercial semi-state and non-commercial state organisations.
Unionised and non-unionised companies are both included, across all regions,
sectors and sizes.
Since coming to power in May 1997 (UK9704125F [1]), the Labour government has
placed a strong emphasis upon skills policies. The government sees
"upskilling" not only as an answer to problems of economic competitiveness
and the UK's generally poor record on productivity (UK9902182F [2]), but also
as a means of engendering greater social inclusion and cohesion. The main
thrust of the government's skills policies over the past two years has
centred on the education system, with further reform of the national
curriculum in schools, a policy of "naming and shaming" schools that are seen
to be failing, additional growth in student numbers in further and higher
education, and an increase in educational spending. In the field of training,
the scope and scale of changes has been more limited, but many of the
developments here have significant implications for the social partners. Here
we provide an overview of the most significant of these developments as they
relate to the employed workforce (as distinct from the range of measures
being pursued under the banner of "welfare to work" which aim to help
unemployed people back into work via jobs, education, training or work
experience).
In June 1999, the social partners in the woodworking and furniture sector of
Italy's north-eastern regions signed an agreement which aims at modifying the
pay system through a lower tax levy, and at introducing flexible working
hours. This new inter-regional collective bargaining level represents a
further development of the Italian bargaining process.
In April 1999, the Dutch social partners reached agreement within the Labour
Foundation on a framework for the further individualisation of terms of
employment. Whilst the essential lines of collective agreements will be
retained under the Foundation's recommendations, certain conditions of
employment may be swapped within a company on a "multiple-choice" basis.
Over the two-year period 1997-9, the social partners in Vienna and its city
government have joined forces to develop a more innovative approach to
Austria's most problem-ridden and least responsive labour market. In 1997 it
contained more than half of the unemployed people whose unemployment lasted
longer than 12 months and 42% of those whose unemployment lasted more than
six months. The number of people registered as unemployed at some time over
the year had risen by 1.4% over the 1996 level and made up 23% of the
Austrian total, roughly equivalent to the capital's share in employment.
However, the average number of people registered as unemployed stood at 29%
of the Austrian total. Employment kept being created outside the city limits,
centred in particular on the airport and the shopping and business parks.
Industrial employment was continually being relocated to "greenfield" sites.
No end to these structural disadvantages seemed in sight.
On 2-6 May 1998, industrial action was organised at Arlanda airport, near
Stockholm, by the Swedish Transport Workers' Union (Svenska
Transportarbetareförbundet, Transport) in support of Danish workers who were
then engaged in a major nationwide strike (DK9805168F [1]). In a blockade,
the union's members at the airport refused to load and unload luggage, reload
food supplies and refuel aircraft which had been diverted to Arlanda from
Denmark (SE9805186F [2]). On 19 May 1999, the Swedish Labour Court held
(/1999/65/) that the industrial action had been entirely in line with trade
union procedures.
In May 1999, in response to a request from the Greek government,
representatives of trade unions and employers' organisations lodged their
proposals for the 1999 National Action Plan (NAP) on employment to implement
the EU Employment Guidelines. Here we focus on the proposals aimed at
encouraging the adaptability of businesses and their employees.
In June 1999, Spanish unions called a strike to demand the implementation of
the 1998-2005 coal mining plan, signed in July 1997. The strike received
massive support among the 20,000 coal miners, but the government criticised
the unions for exaggerating the problems.
On 4 June 1999, CGT and CFDT, the majority trade unions at France's SNCF rail
network, signed an agreement with the management on the reduction of working
time. This agreement, rejected by the other unions, had been the subject of a
referendum among the company's staff organised by management and the two
largest unions.
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.
The European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) launched in 1990 and is carried out every five years, with the latest edition in 2020. 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.
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 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, conducted in two rounds – in April and in July 2020. 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 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.
Eurofound's representativness 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 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 European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) is carried out every four to five years since its inception in 2003, with the latest edition in 2016. It examines both the objective circumstances of people's lives and how they feel about those circumstances and their lives in general. It covers issues around employment, income, education, housing, family, health and work–life balance. It also looks at subjective topics, such as people's levels of happiness and life satisfaction, and perceptions of the quality of society.
How can working conditions be improved to make work more sustainable over the life course? This question has been the guiding principle for analysis of the 2015 European Working Conditions Survey data during the period of Eurofound’s work programme for 2017–2020. This flagship report brings together the different research strands from this work and gives a comprehensive answer to the question. It includes an analysis of trends in working conditions, examining whether these are the same for all workers or whether inequalities between different groups of workers are increasing.
Access to key social services, especially education and healthcare, as well as stable family life and decent housing are necessary for the well-being and development of children. Ensuring that all children have these resources is an EU priority; the European Commission is currently undertaking to recommend a Child Guarantee to address the situations of children in need. Service provision has been complicated by the COVID-19 outbreak, however, and the pandemic has put psychological and material strains on families.
This report builds on Eurofound's existing research on social mobility, assessing the distribution and transmission of wealth in Member States. It examines the roles of inheritance and household debt in explaining the transmission of advantage or disadvantage between the generations across Member States. The analysis is based on Eurosystem's Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS).
This report analyses the involvement of the national social partners in the implementation of policy reforms within the framework of social dialogue practices, and their involvement in elaborating the National Reform Programmes (NRPs) and other key policy documents of the European Semester cycle.
This report will focus on assessing the employment impact of the COVID-19 crisis, including its effects across sectors and for different categories of workers. It will also be looking at measures implemented to limit negative effects following the Coronavirus outbreak in Europe.
This report examines the contribution of social and employment services in EU Member States to the inclusion of people with disabilities, specifically in relation to the impact these have on labour market integration – in line with the 2006 UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The report includes a discussion of the costs and benefits of different approaches.
This report examines people's optimism about the future, for themselves and for others, and the extent to which it varies depending on one's social situation and perceptions of the quality of society. The study includes an analysis of the relationships between people’s perceptions of fairness and objective indicators of their social and economic situation and living standards.
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 (flight crew) 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 European Green Deal is at the very top of Member State agendas across the EU. This topical update maps the national discussions – in policy, public and research debates – on the potential, ongoing or already felt impact on work and employment of the transition to a low-carbon economy. It attempts to identify the most active actors involved in these discussions (governments, social partners, NGOs and so on) and their perspectives.
This report will draw from case studies of establishments across the EU that have introduced advanced digital technologies in the workplace. The technologies in focus are the Internet of Things, 3D printing and virtual and augmented reality. Each case study – illustrated in the report - will explore the approach or strategy taken by the establishment to manage the digital transition and the impact of the deployment of the technology on the work organisation and job quality.
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