Some 25,000 blue-collar workers are covered by the agreement between the
Employers' Association of the Swedish Wood Products Industry and the Swedish
Wood Industry Workers' Union, reached on 4 April 1997. All employees receive
across-the-board minimum pay increases of SEK 1 per hour. In addition, the
local parties have SEK 0.95 an hour per worker at their disposal to allocate
on an individual basis. The settlement represents an overall increase in pay
of 3.1%.
/The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
is currently conducting a major research project on Equal opportunities and
collective bargaining in Europe, co-funded by DG V of the European
Commission. The aim is to assist in the complicated task of promoting equal
opportunities for women and men by means of collective bargaining. The
continuing project has at present reached the stage where the issues have
been defined, and national reports drawn up by a network of correspondents,
exploring the context of the issue in each of the 15 EU member states. A
consolidated report on stage one of the project has been prepared by Yota
Kravaritou of the European University Institute. /
Following several months of strong protests, the unemployment benefit scheme
specific to workers in the performing arts in France has been renewed up to
31 December 1998.
On 8 and 9 April 1997 the Confederation of German Trade Unions (Deutscher
Gewerkschaftsbund, DGB) invited representatives from the trade unions,
employers associations and main political parties to an "Employment summit".
Just one year after the failure of the "Employment Alliance" (DE9702202F
[1]), DGB aimed to renew the debate among the social partners and politicians
on how to create new employment in Germany. In January 1996 the social
partners and the Government had signed a joint statement in which all parties
agreed on the central aim of halving unemployment by 2000. Since then,
unemployment figures have not improved at all. On the contrary, in March 1997
nearly 4.5 million people were officially registered as unemployed - the
highest March figure since 1945.
After 10 months of discussions and three months of intense negotiations, in
April 1997 the main trade unions and employers' associations in Spain for the
first time reached an agreement on labour market reform. This is a bipartite
agreement which reduces the cost of dismissal and attempts to promote secure
employment. The Government is likely to introduce legislation to support the
reform.
On 15 April 1997, the Almega Industrial and Chemical Association and the
Industrial Union concluded a new collective agreement on wages and general
terms and conditions of employment for blue-collar workers in the
pharmaceutical, rubber, plastic and paint industries. It runs from 1 June
1997 to 30 April 1998.
For the first time in many years, six trade unions in the Paris region have
decided to take part in a single demonstration for Labour Day, 1997,
protesting against racism and xenophobia.
On 22 April 1997, the management board at Ford Germany and the company works
council (Gesamtbetriebsrat) signed a new works agreement to secure
investment. In the agreement, Ford management promises new investments at the
five German Ford plants at Cologne, Düren, Berlin, Wülfrath and Saarlouis.
Although the exact figures have not been published it is estimated that
investments will total about DEM 10 billion in the next few years.
On 6 April 1997, the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) and the
Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO) agreed on a proposal
for an agreement which they could recommend to their members in this year's
bargaining round. LO won acceptance for its demands on the extension of the
voluntary early retirement scheme, while the pay increases agreed centrally
may be described as moderate.
A new pay award announced in April by the Agricultural Wages Board (AWB) for
England and Wales after two days of talks, gives farm workers a minimum wage
of GBP 4.12 per hour. The AWB is the only wages council - setting statutory
minimum pay rates for a particular sector - left in the UK after the rest
were abolished in 1993 (UK9703112F [1]). When the Conservative Government was
originally looking at abolishing the wages councils in 1986, the proposal was
delayed because employers were not in favour of them being abolished, as they
at least set some minimum floor of standards with which employers could work.
The case for this was made most strongly by agricultural employers, and this
was why the AWB was left in place after 1993.
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 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 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.
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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