Publications

Where UK employers recognise a trade union for collective bargaining
purposes, this is usually based on a voluntary agreement between the parties.
However, since 2000, there has also been a statutory procedure through which
a union can apply to the independent Central Arbitration Committee (CAC [1])
to oblige an employer to recognise it (*UK0007183F* [2]). If the union
demonstrates a certain level of membership and support for recognition (in
some cases through a workforce ballot), the CAC issues a declaration making
recognition compulsory, and this has happened in over 220 cases.

[1] http://www.cac.gov.uk
[2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/undefined-industrial-relations/statutory-trade-union-recognition-procedure-comes-into-force

Two years of unsuccessful negotiations about a renewal of the collective
agreement between the multinational IT-company CSC [1] and the IT-trade union
PROSA [2] ended in June 2011 when the Labour Court ruled against the union,
saying that CSC was entitled to release itself from the agreement with PROSA.
After the ruling, CSC signed a new agreement with another IT-union, HK. This
agreement was much less favourable to the programmers and system consultants
at CSC. PROSA consequently lost its bargaining rights and employee
representatives for their 700 members at CSC.

[1] http://www.csc.com/careersus/fre/16005
[2] http://www.prosa.dk/in-english/national-and-global/

The 2011 annual meeting of the Austrian social partners, held in the spa town
of Bad Ischl, was dedicated to consideration of ‘The effect of demographic
developments on the labour market and the social security system’. At the
meeting, the heads of the major social partner organisations discussed a set
of measures to increase Austria’s average actual retirement age.

The Union of Free Trade Unions of Slovenia (ZSSS [1]) had protested for a
long time about the unfair treatment of migrant workers from Bosnia and
Herzegovina and from Macedonia. These workers found it impossible to get
unemployment benefit, although they were still required to pay contributions
to unemployment insurance on the same basis as all other employees. The
unions attacked, in particular, Article 5 of the Social Security Agreement
between Slovenia and Bosnia which required any Bosnian migrant workers
claiming unemployment benefit to have a permanent residence permit. To get
the permit Bosnian migrants had to show evidence of five years of
uninterrupted residence in Slovenia.

[1] http://www.sindikat-zsss.si/

In Poland the national minimum wage is set annually in accordance with the
Minimum Wage Act of 2002. The Tripartite Commission for Social and Economic
Affairs (Trójstronna Komisja ds. Społeczno Gospodarczych [1]) decides the
wage level for the next year based on proposals submitted by the government.

[1] http://www.dialog.gov.pl/komisja_trojstronna

On 21 June 2011, it was announced that agreement had been reached between
global pharmaceuticals company Merck [1] and the Dutch government to retain
some of the jobs at the research centre of its subsidiary Organon, based at
Oss in the Netherlands. The agreement includes the establishment of a
life-sciences park to employ the 540 researchers who will be dismissed from
Merck. Of the remaining researchers, 100 will join Merck’s production team
and 486 will remain in service.

[1] http://www.merck.com

At the beginning of November 2011, a group of employers’ organisations
presented new data on developments in vocational training in Germany. They
had come together in 2004 to set up the Pact on Apprenticeships
(/Ausbildungspakt/), designed to create more apprenticeship positions
(*DE0407105F* [1]).

[1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/training-levy-law-avoided-by-pact

The ageing population and the consequent increase in the share of older
workers in the workforce have raised concerns among both policy makers and
social partners across Europe. In France, the employment rate of older
workers is still below the EU average, although it has increased slightly in
the last decade. The ‘Survey of the management of employees aged 50 and
older’ (EGS50+) finds that while explicit ‘age management’ in French
workplaces is now more common and employers’ views about older workers has
improved, perceptions of workers who are over the age of 50 are still
ambivalent.

The European Commission issued the Eurobarometer Social Climate Report
(Special Eurobarometer 370) (2.46Mb PDF) [1] in October 2011. The survey,
which was conducted in June 2011, asked a range of questions on personal and
employment issues to determine what impact the economic and financial crisis
has had on the lives of EU citizens. It is based on approximately 1,000
interviews with people in each Member State, with the exception of Cyprus
(500), Germany (1,500), Luxembourg (500), Malta (500) and the UK (1,300).

[1] http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_370_en.pdf

In November 2010 the Federation of Transport Trade Unions in Bulgaria (FTTUB
[1]) presented the findings of a survey on workplace violence towards female
employees of urban transport companies in Sofia. The report included
proposals for action by the companies to combat violence towards women in the
workplace.

[1] http://www.stsb.bg