Fundação Europeia para a Melhoria das Condições de Vida e de Trabalho
A agência tripartida da União Europeia que disponibiliza informação com o objetivo de contribuir para o desenvolvimento de melhores políticas sociais, de emprego e laborais
A agência tripartida da União Europeia que disponibiliza informação com o objetivo de contribuir para o desenvolvimento de melhores políticas sociais, de emprego e laborais
In a context of increasingly difficult youth employment in France, and of
social tension about what course of action to take, a recent national
conference has defined a number of concrete objectives. These seek to secure
employment for the most disadvantaged, and to expose students to the world of
work for the first time. These aims are based on a series of commitments on
the part of industry, Government and the social partners - who remain at odds
in their analysis - the effects of which must be monitored.
Declining union membership and a legal and ideological attack on the role of
trade unions over the past 17 years may have left many with the opinion that
employees no longer value the right to act collectively. It has been argued
that the attack on the unions throughout the 1980s and 1990s has left the
unions weak and unable to protect members' rights. Alternatively, it has been
argued that people now prefer to negotiate their own employment contracts
individually and do not need trade unions.
Industrial action has accompanied trade unions' pay demands in Spain's public
administration since late 1996, and the threat of further action has been
made if negotiations are not started immediately.
In a recent press interview, Padraig Flynn, the European commissioner
responsible for industrial relations and social affairs, expressed his unease
at press reports that the social partners' negotiations on part-time work
were heading for collapse, and stated that he remained hopeful of a positive
outcome. Senior trade union negotiator and deputy general secretary of the
European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), Jean Lapeyre, also stated that he
remained convinced that the negotiations could succeed. He stressed, however,
that if part-time work was to be made more attractive and acceptable for
workers, assurance of "decent social protection" had to be offered.
Testing 1,2,3 Minimum wages in Austria are known as "collective agreement
wages" because they are set by collective bargaining rather than by law,
though it is unlawful to pay less than the collective agreement wage. Because
of the large number of collective agreements concluded independently of each
other, substantial variations in increases in the minimum wage can arise
between industries or groups of employees. It is only possible to estimate
the overall change of the minimum wage rate retrospectively. The annual
estimate and the detailed monthly reporting are both carried out by the
Central Statistical Office (Österreichisches Statistisches Zentralamt,
ÖSTAT) based on reports received from the trade unions.
At the beginning of February the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) set
out its long term priorities for beyond the forthcoming general election. Its
director general, Adair Turner said that "whatever happens between now and
May, there are fundamental issues for business which need attention. The
changing nature of the world in which we do business brings both
opportunities and challenges, and the CBI should be at the heart of change."
February 1997 saw a major strike in Spain's road transport sector. The
dispute was well supported, mainly in the north of the country, but was
called off without winning many concessions from the Government.
The Employment and Labour Market Committee (ELC), established by a Council
Decision on 20 December 1996, held its inaugural meeting in Brussels on 29
January 1997. The ELC was created in response to a request by the European
Council for the setting up of a stable structure to support the work of the
Labour and Social Affairs Council in employment-related matters. This area
has taken on a new dimension in the context of the" European employment
strategy" outlined at the European Council in Essen in December 1994. The ELC
is expected to improve the balance between employment, on the one hand, and
economic and monetary issues, on the other hand, in the European debate. The
new Committee will fulfil a similar role to that of the Economic Policy
Committee which provides advice to the Economics and Financial Affairs
Council (ECOFIN).
The Austrian Trade Union Federation (Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund,
ÖGB) and the Austrian Chamber of the Economy (Wirtschaftskammer Österreich,
WKÖ) agreed the outlines of a reform of the apprenticeship system on 1 March
1997. The precise details are to be agreed in a working group comprising
officials of the social partners, the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of the
Economy, and experts from other, as yet unspecified, organisations.
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.
The European Restructuring Monitor has reported on the employment impact of large-scale business restructuring since 2002. This series includes its restructuring-related databases (events, support instruments and legislation) as well as case studies and publications.
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 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, conducted in two rounds – in April and in July 2020. 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 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.
Eurofound's representativness 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 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).
This series reports on the new forms of employment emerging across Europe that are driven by societal, economic and technological developments and are different from traditional standard or non-standard employment in a number of ways. This series explores what characterises these new employment forms and what implications they have for working conditions and the labour market.
The European Company Survey (ECS) is carried out every four to five years since its inception in 2004–2005, with the latest edition in 2019. The survey is designed to provide information on workplace practices to develop and evaluate socioeconomic policy in the EU. It covers issues around work organisation, working time arrangements and work–life balance, flexibility, workplace innovation, employee involvement, human resource management, social dialogue, and most recently also skills use, skills strategies and digitalisation.
The European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) is carried out every four to five years since its inception in 2003, with the latest edition in 2016. It examines both the objective circumstances of people's lives and how they feel about those circumstances and their lives in general. It covers issues around employment, income, education, housing, family, health and work–life balance. It also looks at subjective topics, such as people's levels of happiness and life satisfaction, and perceptions of the quality of society.
Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, a high demand for labour and low unemployment levels made labour shortages one of the key policy concerns in the EU. Even where there is persistent and rising unemployment, individual countries, sectors and occupations are experiencing labour shortages, which in some instances have been accentuated by COVID-19. This report explores various approaches to measuring labour shortages and maps national policy debates around the issue.
The issue of regional convergence and whether disadvantaged regions are catching up with wealthier regions continues to attract enormous attention in the policy debate. This report presents the findings of an investigation into the evolution of social imbalances across EU regions over time, based on indicators including unemployment, social exclusion and poverty. It also examines various aspects of the relationship between growth, regional disparities and interpersonal inequalities.
Digital technologies have made it possible for many workers to carry out their work anytime and anywhere, with consequent advantages and disadvantages. Disadvantages, for remote workers and teleworkers in particular, include the risk to health and well-being linked to long working hours. To address this issue, there have been calls for the ‘right to disconnect’. This report includes case studies that chart the implementation and impact of the right to disconnect at workplace level.
This study presents policy-relevant findings on differential pay rates for men and women at occupational level. Previous research has underlined that the gender pay gap is biggest – and has been slowest to narrow – in well-paid jobs requiring professional qualifications. These are also jobs in which the female worker share is increasing relatively fast. The report maps the extent of the gender pay gap across the job-wage distribution, taking into account the shifting gender composition of specific sectors, occupations and jobs.
Building on Eurofound’s previous research on youth, this report examines the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on young people, in particular their economic and social situation, with a focus on employment. It will also estimate how the NEET population – young people not in employment, education or training – has changed in size and composition over the last decade, and how the current crisis might affect this.
This report examines people's optimism about the future, for themselves and for others, and the extent to which it varies depending on one's social situation and perceptions of the quality of society. The study includes an analysis of the relationships between people’s perceptions of fairness and objective indicators of their social and economic situation and living standards.
This report examines the labour market changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected sectors and occupations quite differently. It identifies those labour market categories most exposed to negative labour market outcomes. It analyses how differences in confinement and public health approaches may have contributed to different outcomes. It addresses previous assessments of the extent of occupational ‘teleworkability’ and of the sectoral impact of confinement rules. The report draws on EU Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS) data for its analysis.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the audiovisual 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 study on representativeness is to identify the relevant national and European social partner organisations in the audiovisual sector in the EU Member States.
This policy brief uses the data from the European Company Survey 2019 to examine the workplace practices of export-oriented companies and to analyse how these practices relate to outcomes. It also examines why these companies choose the workplace practices they adopt.
This report examines the phenomenon of overtime in the EU, providing a comparative description of how it is regulated in EU Member States. It also assesses how contentious the issue can be and investigates the reasons behind the various disputes and debates. Finally, the report attempts to quantify and characterise the share of overtime for which workers are not paid or compensated. The analysis is based on information collected in EU Member States by the Network of Eurofound Correspondents.