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.
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.
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.
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.
The President of the French Republic's decision to dissolve the National
Assembly and to call early legislative elections in May-June 1997 has
prompted numerous reactions from the unions, which fear the beginning of a
shift towards liberal economic policies.
On 2 April 1997 it became public that during the ongoing collective
bargaining at the German automobile company, Volkswagen, management had made
a proposal to create a new "internal temporary employment agency"
(Zeitarbeitsgesellschaft). Depending on the incoming orders, the agency's
newly hired employees would be set to work at the different Volkswagen
plants. Volkswagen proposed to pay the new temporary employees under the
terms and conditions of the current branch-level collective agreement in the
metalworking industry.
The recent proposal by the EU agriculture commissioner, Franz Fischler, to
alter the method of granting Community aid to olive farmers fell like a
bombshell in Spain. This reform would not only have serious economic
repercussions, but would also lead to the loss of at least 70,000 jobs,
according to some trade unions in the sector. Farm-owners' organisations,
cooperatives, trade unions and the regional and central administrations have
rejected the proposal and are preparing all kinds of protest action.
In April 1997, the Norwegian Supreme Court found the Government not guilty of
abusing compulsory arbitration in order to stop industrial conflict. The
Federation of Offshore Workers' Trade Unions (OFS), which brought the
domestic lawsuit against the Government, lost on all counts.
An international comparison of labour disputes from 1986 to 1995 by /Labour
Market Trends/ (April 1997) highlights that the UK had the fourth-lowest
strike rate of the 22 member countries of the Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 1995. Only Austria, Switzerland and
Germany had a lower level of strikes than the UK. The UK strike rate has been
below the OECD average since 1986 and below the EU average since 1990.
Between 1991 and 1995 the average rate in the UK was 24 working days lost per
1,000 workers - an 82% fall over the previous five-year period. But the UK's
rise in the international "league table" of two places since 1994 took place
despite an increase in the strike rate itself.
In the framework of negotiations for the two-year National General Collective
Agreement covering the years 1996 and 1997, the GSEE (Greek General
Confederation of Labour) trade union confederation placed on the agenda of
discussions with the employers its demand for the reduction of weekly working
hours to 35 without a reduction in pay. The negotiations led to the creation
of a working party of technical experts from both sides of industry to study
the issue and its effects on employment and competitiveness.
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).
This report highlights the prevalence of psychosocial risks across countries, sectors and occupations during the later phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. It outlines the specific working conditions that can lead to work-related health problems. In particular, the report investigates the potential pitfalls related to the expansion of telework, the role of job and income insecurity as a psychosocial risk and the phenomenon of adverse social behaviour and discrimination at work. In addition, it offers policy pointers on tackling the increase in work absenteeism due to mental health problems.
This report – published every two years – covers important developments resulting from legislative reforms in collective bargaining at national or sectoral level in 2021 and 2022. It examines the average weekly working hours set by collective agreements, both across national economies and in five sectors: education, health, transport, retail and public administration.
This policy brief provides facts and figures on the working life and job quality of so-called ‘essential workers’ and is based on data from the European Working Conditions Telephone Survey (EWCTS) extraordinary edition 2021. It will define various subgroups of essential workers, describe the challenges they face and outline the type of responses provided, or being developed, to address those challenges.
Are the policies required to meet the commitments outlined under the EU’s plan for a green transition, the Fit-for-55 package, and the associated budgetary commitments – the Green New Deal – likely to lead to positive or negative employment outcomes by 2030? What types of jobs will be created or destroyed? Will shifts in employment be skewed towards the bottom, middle or top of the job–wage distribution? This report aims to provide answers to these questions, using macro-modelled estimates of the likely impacts of these policies on the structure of employment.
This policy brief aims to contribute to the effective monitoring and evaluation of the European Child Guarantee. Progress at EU level is measured by a monitoring framework which monitors the key areas of the European Child Guarantee: early childhood education and care; education, including school-based activities and at least one healthy meal each school day; healthcare; healthy nutrition; and adequate housing. The policy brief explores trends and disparities in these areas using a convergence analysis, which tracks any disparities among EU Member States.
The urban-rural divide in EU countries has grown in recent years, and the depopulation of certain rural areas in favour of cities is a challenge when it comes to promoting economic development and maintaining social cohesion and convergence. Using data from Eurofound and Eurostat, this report will investigate the trends and drivers of the urban-rural divide, in various dimensions: economic and employment opportunities, access to services, living conditions and quality of life.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the professional football 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 professional football sector in the EU Member States.
Digitisation and automation technologies, including artificial intelligence, are rapidly evolving, and becoming increasingly powerful and pervasive. While the implications of digital technologies on ethics and working conditions should be explored as they emerge, it is also important to anticipate any unintended effects that raise new ethical challenges. Drawing on different research methods and building on previous research, this report examines the effects of digital technologies on fundamental rights, ethical principles and working conditions.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the furniture 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 furniture sector in the EU Member States.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in European sectoral social dialogue taking place at cross-sectoral level. 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 at cross-sectoral level in the EU Member States.
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