According to the study/, Analysis of the prevalence of home-based telework in
Denmark,/ carried out by Andersen Management International for the Ministry
of Research and Information Technology, it is estimated that the potential
number of people carrying out home-based telework will increase over the next
decade, from 9,000 at present to 250,000. The study defines home-based
telework as situations where 20% or more of work is carried out from a
home-based workplace using information technology. Home-based telework is
expected to be more efficient if it is limited to two to three working days a
week.
At the end of February 1997, the social partners in Luxembourg's hospital
sector concluded a new collective agreement in a "cooperative" atmosphere.
The deal provides for pay increases and a reduction and reorganisation of
working hours for 5,000 employees.
On 5 March 1997, the Italian Prime Minister, Romano Prodi, informed the
political parties and social partners about the report drawn up by the
"Commission for macroeconomic compatibility of social expenditure", a
committee of experts established by the Government and chaired by Professor
Paolo Onofri. The proposals for reform deal with all the key elements of
public spending: healthcare, public assistance, and, of particular interest
for the industrial relations system, pensions and labour market policies.
This document drew critical reactions from the trade union confederations,
while the evaluation from the Confindustria employers' confederation was
fairly positive.
Stockauto, a vehicle storage and distribution firm, has signed a collective
agreement on some of the most controversial issues in the current debate on
reform of the Spanish labour market: the creation of secure employment, the
definition of the objective reasons for dismissal and the search for
procedures to make working time more flexible
On 18 March 1997, eight trade unions and 12 employers' organisations in
industry concluded an agreement on cooperation and the regulation of pay. Its
aim is to promote growth, profitability and competitiveness in industry. As
such, claim the parties, it will provide the necessary prerequisite for a
reduction of unemployment and form the basis for improvements in pay and good
working conditions.
On 18 March, the Government submitted a reform package to Parliament
addressing five civil service issues, among them the implementation of EC
Directive on working time (93/104/EC) in the civil service and more flexible
working time rules. Here we focus on the latter point. The new regulations
are expected to be voted on by Parliament in time to take effect on 1 June
1997.
The Institute of Management's recent survey of their male and female members
(A question of balance? A survey of managers' changing professional and
personal values", K Charlesworth, Institute of Management, London, (1997))
reports 52% of men as saying that their style is participative (compared with
60% of women respondents) with the same proportion of men and women (30%)
claiming to have a consensual approach. Their employing organisations seem to
have taken less notice of the Institute: only 15% of respondents described
their company culture as participative.
On 3 March 1997 the UK's second largest general trade union, GMB, and the
German chemical workers' union IG Chemie-Papier-Keramik signed a unique
agreement on joint union membership. The agreement offers members of both
organisations, when working in each other's countries, the same support and
advice enjoyed by their own members.
At the beginning of 1997, the total privatisation of Telefónica, the largest
Spanish telecommunications firm, was completed. The trade unions in the
company, led by CCOO and UGT, have applied for a judicial review of this
measure, demanding its suspension until the new regulatory framework for the
sector is defined, and a public, universal and quality service is guaranteed
in the area of telecommunications. The Supreme Court has agreed to consider
the appeal but has not suspended the privatisation.
The shock announcement by French motor manufacturer Renault, on 28 February
1997, of the closure of its plant at Vilvoorde, led to an unprecedented
public display of condemnation among the political establishment of the
European Union (EU). The closure of the plant, in the Belgian Prime
Minister's constituency near Brussels, with the loss of 3,100 jobs, was
apparently announced without prior consultation with worker representatives.
The move was justified by Renault as being part of a wider reorganisation
aimed at making savings of over FRF 825 million per year. The closure of the
only Renault production site in Belgium is likely to lead a further 1,000
redundancies among suppliers and subcontractors; jobs which, in the current
economic climate in Belgium, are unlikely to be replaced in the near future.
The announcement came as a particularly heavy blow to a workforce who had
thought their jobs safe, having negotiated a major flexibility and investment
package only four years previously. The plant is generally regarded as being
highly productive and achieving high levels of quality. The decision by
Renault to close this plant in July 1997 has been interpreted by many workers
as a warning that even a willingness to accept more flexible working
practices can in future no longer be regarded as a guarantee for job
security. The predicament of the workers at Vilvoorde has led to an
unprecedented display of worker solidarity, not only among employees at other
Renault production sites in Europe, but also among workers in other troubled
European industries.
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 2009, the second edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 2004–2005 as the European Establishment Survey on Working Time and Work-Life Balance.
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 2013, the third edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 2004–2005 as the European Establishment Survey on Working Time and Work-Life Balance.
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 paper provides an analytical summary of state of the art academic and policy literature on the impact of climate change and policies to manage transitions to a carbon neutral economy on employment, working conditions, social dialogue and living conditions. It maps the key empirical findings around the impact of climate change and the green transitions on jobs, sectors, regions and countries in Europe, identifying the opportunities and risks that climate change policies bring to European labour markets.
As part of its response to Russia’s war on Ukraine, the EU swiftly activated its Temporary Protection Directive for those fleeing the conflict in Ukraine – enabling displaced persons to settle in the EU and have access to the labour market and basic public services. This policy brief highlights the main barriers encountered by these refugees (over 5 million people to date) when seeking a job and provides suggestions on how to facilitate their integration.
With the expansion of telework and different forms of hybrid work as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important for policymakers to consider both the opportunities and the negative consequences that may result. This report will explore potential scenarios for such work. In doing so, it will identify trends and drivers, and predict how they might interact to create particular outcomes and how they are likely to affect workers and businesses. Policy pointers will outline what could be done to facilitate desirable outcomes and to avoid undesirable ones.
Living and working in Europe, Eurofound’s 2022 yearbook, provides a snapshot of the latest developments in the work and lives of Europeans as explored in the Agency’s research activities over the course of 2022. Eurofound’s research on working and living conditions in Europe provides a bedrock of evidence for input into social policymaking and achieving the Agency’s vision ‘to be Europe’s leading knowledge source for better life and work’.
The term ‘hybrid work’ became popular due to the upsurge of telework during the COVID-19 pandemic. The term has been increasingly used to refer to situations in which (teleworkable) work is performed both from the usual place of work (normally the employer’s premises) and from home (as experienced during the pandemic) or other locations. However, the concept of hybrid work is still blurry, and various meanings are in use. This topical update brings clarity to this concept by exploring available information from recent literature and the Network of Eurofound Correspondents.
Housing affordability is a matter of great concern across the EU. Poor housing affordability leads to housing evictions, housing insecurity, problematic housing costs and housing inadequacy. These problems negatively affect health and well-being, create unequal living conditions and opportunities, and come with healthcare costs, reduced productivity and environmental damage. Private market tenants face particularly large increases in the cost of housing.
Eurofound's annual review of minimum wages reports on the development of statutory and collectively agreed minimum wages across the EU and the processes through which they were set. The focus of this year’s report is on the impact of high inflation on the setting of minimum wage rates. In addition, new figures on the net value of minimum wages are presented, along with the latest policy-relevant research in the EU Member States and Norway.
Building on previous work by Eurofound, this report will investigate intergenerational dynamics over time. During the 2008 double-dip recession, worrying intergenerational divides appeared in many Member States, and while some of the economic and social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is universal, early data suggests disparities across demographic cohorts. Eurofound will examine how different age groups may have been affected in terms of their health, labour market participation, quality of life and financial needs, both in the short term and in the long term.
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered an extraordinary level of provision of social services across the EU. Healthcare and care providers carried much of the burden and, together with essential services, played a crucial role in getting citizens through the crisis. This report explores how public services adapted to the new reality and what role was played by the digital transformation of services. The aim is to contribute to the documentation and analysis of changes in funding, delivery and use of healthcare and social services during the pandemic.
Are the policies required to meet the commitments outlined under the EU’s plan for a green transition, the Fit-for-55 package, and the associated budgetary commitments – the Green New Deal – likely to lead to positive or negative employment outcomes by 2030? What types of jobs will be created or destroyed? Will shifts in employment be skewed towards the bottom, middle or top of the job–wage distribution? This report aims to provide answers to these questions, using macro-modelled estimates of the likely impacts of these policies on the structure of employment.
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