This report describes the current situation in relation to employee financial participation (EFP) in the new Member States of the European Union. It provides a summary of the main findings regarding the incidence of the different forms of EFP and their implementation. It also describes the
Reform of the pension system is again one of the Italian government's top priorities in September 2003, in the context of discussions on the 2004 state budget law. In order to curb spending on pensions, the government intends to modify key aspects of the system. It proposes to: raise the retirement
In June 2003, the Italian government approved a draft decree enacting the recent 'proxy law' on employment and the labour market. The decree envisages numerous measures and innovations in terms of employment services and contracts - such as staff leasing, on-call work, project work and work/training
After lengthy negotiations, the first sectoral agreement for the Italian railway industry was signed in April 2003. The most important aspect of this deal is the extension to the railway sector of the two-tier collective bargaining structure (sectoral and decentralised), which was introduced in most
In May 2003, after four months of intense negotiations, a draft deal on the renewal of the Italian metalworking sector collective agreement for the period 2003-6 was signed by the Federmeccanica employers' organisation and the Fim-Cisl and Uilm-Uil trade unions. However, the Fiom-Cgil union did not
In February 2003, a new collective agreement for the 280,000 employees of Italian ministries was signed, concluding negotiations which had lasted for 14 months. The deal complies with a framework agreement on public sector bargaining reached in February 2002 in terms of its pay provisions. It also
In January 2003, taxi drivers in Milan staged a series of protests against the city council’s plan to increase the number of cab licences. The regional and provincial governments intervened in the dispute in an attempt to find a solution. The Guarantee Commission which oversees application of the