Publications

The Diversity Barometer 2016, a survey-based study by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, explores the perceptions and attitudes of human resources professionals to diversity in Finnish workplaces. It finds that the key aspects of diversity are age and age-related issues, language and ethnicity, and that professionals in the field see workplace diversity as strength.

Between July 2015 and July 2016, a new system of training for union representatives and shop stewards was introduced to modernise union training and enhance social dialogue. The EDUCA project was promoted by the Union of Autonomous Trade Unions of Croatia (SSSH) with the support of unions from the metalwork, construction, energy and commercial sectors.

The requirements for trade unions and employers’ organisations to claim representativeness have been amended to make eligibility easier to achieve. Using the new criteria, the Council of Ministers formally recognised five employer organisations and two trade unions as nationally representative in a decision announced on 10 August 2016.

A long-running debate about solidarity in industrial action by workers supporting another group, even though their own union is not involved in the dispute, has flared up. There are fears that the turbulence of the 2016 bargaining round will be repeated in 2017 and employers are seeking stricter regulation of the right to strike.

Since 2013, trade union ver.di has been recruiting members among employees of Amazon and has campaigned for better wages and working conditions. Amazon opposes all collective bargaining but argues that it is a socially responsible employer. A new round of stoppages by ver.di members demanding a collective agreement began in September 2016.

Industrial action that disrupted operations on Norwegian railways for five weeks in autumn 2016 was settled, with the government agreeing to reframe the national regulations for train drivers’ qualifications ahead of the planned privatisation of much of the rail network in 2017.

The increase in wages, rise in self-employed workers, and new reports on the state of the labour market and works councils are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working life in the Netherlands in the third quarter of 2016.

As part of an 18-month project to examine employment and demand for services in Lithuania’s elderly care sector, researchers have carried out a survey that highlights the low wages and poor working conditions of the sector. Despite this, the findings indicate that workers in the sector report a high level of job satisfaction.

A revised bill on temporary agency work and service work, set to be passed by the German Federal Government in early March 2016, was finally passed by Parliament in October and awaits approval by the Federal Council. It contains limitations on the use of temporary agency work, but also provides room for deviations via collective agreements.

It is estimated that between 30,000 and 40,000 fathers a year will apply for the new paternity leave benefit which entitles a ‘relevant parent’ to claim two weeks’ continuous paid leave from his or her employment within 26 weeks of the birth/adoption of their child.