Slovenia's Youth Guarantee strategy for 2014–2015 was approved by the government in January 2014. It sets out a range of measures that are designed to improve the transition from education to employment, to get young unemployed people into vocational training or paid work more quickly, and to reduce unemployment among the young.
The third wave of Eurofound’s European Company Survey was carried out in 2013. It surveyed management representatives in over 24,000 establishments; where available, employee representatives were also interviewed – in 6,800 of these establishments.
The Competency Barometer is a survey of skills demand among the member companies of Norway’s largest employer organisation, the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO). The results are derived from the answers of approximately 5,300 companies, representing different company sizes, sectors, and industries. In a working paper published by the research institute NIFU, the findings are analysed and summarised. Overall, the paper found that a majority of firms have an unmet demand for skills.
A number of significant developments took place in 2014 in industrial relations involving Italy’s main metalworking trade unions at car manufacturer Fiat.
In January 2012, car manufacturer Fiat withdrew from the employers’ organisation Confindustria. In doing so, it ceased to be covered by collective bargaining agreements signed by the employers’ group.
A new alliance for vocational and further training has been launched in Germany. The German Confederation of Trade Unions (DGB) announced its creation on 12 December 2014.
The new alliance breaks with events in the past decade during which employers, ministries, other government institutions and the Federal Employment Agency (BA) had cooperated in the Pact on Apprenticeship, while DGB opposed to the pact and did not participate.
The issue of ‘locked-in’ workers – those who find it difficult to find another job with a new employer – has been examined in a study.
Patterns among employees in the Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish labour markets were examined.
Workers are defined as locked-in if they have considerable difficulty in finding an equally good job as the current one with other employer. Empirically, the concept is measured by means of the employees’ own assessment of their labour market prospects.
Stress at work is still the biggest health and safety concern according to research by the Trades Union Congress (TUC).
The TUC published its biennial survey of union health and safety representatives in November 2014.The survey is designed to help the TUC and its affiliated unions with ongoing safety campaigning and organisation.
Some of the key findings of the survey are as follows.
The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) has joined the Trades Union Congress (TUC). It joined in November 2014, bringing the number of unions affiliated to the TUC to 54.
It is the largest union to affiliate to the TUC for some time, with 28,500 members across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Its members include head teachers, deputies, assistant head teachers, bursars and school business managers. Five other school teaching unions are already TUC affiliates.
An analysis has been made in Lithuania of the problems of stress experienced by employees in workplaces undergoing reorganisation.
The Institute of Hygiene published the findings of the study, ‘Health-Damaging Behaviour for Nurses in the Changing Psychosocial Environment of Hospitals under Restructuring’, in November 2014.
It provides recommendations on how to:
reduce the negative impact of restructuring on the staff;
A review of the different organisations set up by the main national social dialogue institution, the Tripartite Council of the Republic of Lithuania (LRTT), has been made.
In order to improve performance, in November 2014, two committees were closed:
The European Restructuring Monitor (ERM) has reported on the employment impact of large-scale business restructuring since 2002. This publication series include the ERM reports, as well as blogs, articles and working papers on restructuring-related events in the EU27 and Norway.
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 European Working Conditions Telephone Survey (EWCTS) 2021, an extraordinary edition conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey was first carried out in 1990.
This publication series gathers all overview reports on developments in working life, annual reviews in industrial relations and working conditions produced by Eurofound on the basis of national contributions from the Network of Eurofound Correspondents (NEC). Since 1997, these reports have provided overviews of the latest developments in industrial relations and working conditions across the EU and Norway. The series may include recent ad hoc articles written by members of the NEC.
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, launched in April 2020, with five rounds completed at different stages during 2020, 2021 and 2022. 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 representativeness 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 developments in minimum wage rates across the EU, including how they are set and how they have developed over time in nominal and real terms. The series explores where there are statutory minimum wages or collectively agreed minimum wages in the Member States, as well as minimum wage coverage rates by gender.
The European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) launched in 1990 and is carried out every five years, with the latest edition in 2015. 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 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.
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).
The report describes trends in social and economic discontent across the EU between 2002 and 2020, highlighting in particular the turbulent times brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The report explores the evolution of social cohesion and its impact on economic and social discontent. It assesses the relationship between social cohesion and discontent during the pandemic, allowing for a comparison of the situation as it stands in 2023. The focus of the report is on regions where social cohesion is low, where a contrast is drawn with regions where social cohesion is much higher.
This report analyses the working conditions and job quality of different types of self-employed workers. Drawing on data from the European Working Conditions Survey, it looks into policies in Member States aimed at addressing the challenges and opportunities associated with specific types of self-employment.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the chemical 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 chemical sector in the EU Member States.
The focus of this report is on the role that human capital plays in determining inequalities across the EU, as well as within Member States. Using Cedefop’s work in this area, the report provides a comparative analysis of national trends in education and lifelong learning, including differences between educational groups in terms of income, living conditions and health.
The report maps trends in income inequality and examines the situation of the middle classes in the EU during 2020, the year most associated with the COVID-19 lockdowns. It charts developments in the size and composition of middle-class households across countries, identifies those that suffered disproportionately in 2020. Taking a longer lens, the report describes the evolution of income inequalities over the last 15 years, comparing the Great Recession (2007–2009) with the COVID-19 pandemic, and outlines the trends both between and within Member States.
This report explores the implications of the right of all EU citizens to live independently. It investigates the barriers faced by people who wish to live independently, and the situation of people at risk of living in institutional settings. It maps the various measures taken by EU Member States to foster independent living and autonomy. The report also includes policy pointers to support future decision-makers and provides a review of lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.
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