At a special Social Dialogue Committee meeting held on 29 November 1996, the
European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), the Union of Industrial and
Employers' Confederations of Europe (UNICE), and the European Centre of
Enterprises with Public Participation (CEEP) adopted a joint contribution to
the /Confidence Pact for Action on Employment in Europe,/ in preparation for
the Dublin European Council summit held in December. In their statement, the
social partners express their deepest concern at the high level of
unemployment which continues to prevail across the EU, and criticise what
they perceive as a lack of coordination and implementation of a Europe-wide
strategy to combat the problem effectively. They pronounce themselves in
favour of Commission President Santer's proposal for a Confidence Pact, and
see their declaration as "a committed response to his proposals on the themes
of youth unemployment, lifelong learning, and better use of Structural Funds
for job creation, in a macroeconomic environment conducive to growth and
employment".
On 6 February 1997, the Bundesverband Druck employers' association and the
Industriegewerkschaft Medien trade union signed two new nationwide collective
agreements for the 130,000 manual workers in the German printing industry.
The first agreement covers the general developments of wages, and the second
agreement is a renewal of the sector's general framework agreement on
employment conditions [1] (Manteltarifvertrag).
On 29 January 1997, Tele Danmark informed its employees of its decision to
reduce staff by 2,500 and take on 500 new employees. The decision, which was
due to come into effect by mid-1998, is part of an efficiency plan, which
will cut annual costs by DKK 600 million and implement major organisational
changes.
On 19 February, Arbio, the employers' association for the forestry industry,
sued the Swedish Paper Workers' Union before the Labour Court. Formally, the
parties are arguing over a sum of less than SEK 50, though in practice the
case concerns an unlimited amount of money. This is a test case, and the
question that the Court has to address is: how is the collective agreement on
sick pay for employees in the paper industry to be interpreted?
It is expected that the fate of the Forges de Clabecq steelworks will be
sealed on 15 June 1997. However, whatever the outcome of the recovery
operation by the Swiss-Italian industrial concern, Duferco, something will
have changed in this Belgian enterprise located some 15 miles from Brussels
in the province of Brabant. Beyond the event in itself - the closure of a
firm leading to the loss of 1,800 jobs - which has not itself been
exceptional over the last few months in Belgium, it is the style of activity
undertaken by the Forges de Clabecq union delegation [1] that has revealed a
new union climate.
Judging from a recent exchange of letters between a Dutch trade unions and
the Department of Justice, it would appear that cross-border cooperation
between unions, let alone their international merger, is beset with legal
difficulties.
The second part of the two-year National General Collective Agreement 1996-7
(EGSSE) came into force at the beginning of 1997. The principal purpose of
the EGSSE is to set minimum pay levels, which have a two-fold significance:
providing a framework for the social protection of unskilled workers and
acting as a guideline for negotiations at more specific levels - enterprise,
industry-wide or occupational. Whatever is agreed at the level of the EGSEE
covers, without exception, the whole of the private sector, as well as the
broader public sector (public administration is excluded). The wages of
public servants have until now been determined by the Government, but this
will have to change following Greece's ratification of International Labour
Organisation Conventions Nos. 151 and 154, which consolidate the right of
public servants to collective bargaining.
Nurses had threatened industrial action on 10 February 1997 in pursuit of a
claim for a major overhaul in their pay structures and an improved early
retirement scheme. However, the action was called off when the nurses
accepted an IEP 85 million formula drawn up by the Labour Court, which
includes the creation of a commission which will examine a range of issues
related to the nursing profession. Four trade unions representing over 26,000
nurses were involved in the dispute, the largest being the 16,000-strong
Irish Nurses Organisation (INO).
The Italian Government and social partners are currently implementing their
tripartite "Pact for Employment" (Patto per il Lavoro), which is intended to
promote employment and foster economic development in Italy through the
introduction of a wide and complex set of policies. The agreement, signed on
24 September 1996, is of the utmost political importance as it falls within
within the framework of the renened social concertation strategy that has
been pursued over the 1990s. The Pact earmarks a total amount of about ITL
15,000 billion for its implementation over the 1997-1999 period.
On 21 January 1997, the two French electricity and gas public utility
companies signed an agreement with three trade unions ( the CFDT, the CFTC
and the CFE-CGC). This agreement is designed to improve their competitiveness
and productivity while at the same time maintaining their workforce at
current levels. This is to be achieved mainly through the introduction of
part-time working. Both the CGT and the CGT-FO unions are strongly critical
of this agreement.
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.
This series brings together publications and other outputs of the European Jobs Monitor (EJM), which tracks structural change in European labour markets. The EJM analyses shifts in the employment structure in the EU in terms of occupation and sector and gives a qualitative assessment of these shifts using various proxies of job quality – wages, skill-levels, etc.
Eurofound's European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) examines both the objective circumstances of European citizens' lives and how they feel about those circumstances and their lives in general. This series consists of outputs from the EQLS 2016, the fourth edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 2003.
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 EWCS 2015, the sixth edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 1990.
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 EWCS 1996, the second edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 1990.
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 EWCS 2001, which was an extension of the EWCS 2000 to cover the then 12 acceding and candidate countries. The survey was first carried out in 1990.
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 EWCS 2000, the third edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 1990.
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 first edition of the survey carried out in 2004–2005 under the name European Establishment Survey on Working Time and Work-Life Balance.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the extractive industries 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 extractive industries sector in the EU 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 woodworking 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 woodworking sector in the EU 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 construction 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 construction sector in the EU Member States.
This report maps and analyses key dimensions and indicators of industrial relations in the EU. It expands on the four key indicators identified in Eurofound’s 2016 study: industry democracy, industrial competitiveness, job and employment equality, and social justice. With a key focus on industrial democracy, the report provides an in-depth analysis of divergence and convergence patterns across countries. The analysis also includes the development of a composite indicator and an integrated indicator for all four industrial relations dimensions.
The interaction between workers and machines has increased due to the rapid advancement of automation technologies. The new wave of robots can perform tasks with more flexibility, greater sophistication and in a way that protects workers’ physical safety. Drawing on case studies of advanced robotics, this report explores the benefits and risks that come with closer human–machine interaction, the organisational practices needed to deal with emerging issues and the real concerns and challenges.
The report describes trends in social and economic discontent across the EU between 2002 and 2020, highlighting in particular the turbulent times brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The report explores the evolution of social cohesion and its impact on economic and social discontent. It assesses the relationship between social cohesion and discontent during the pandemic, allowing for a comparison of the situation as it stands in 2023. The focus of the report is on regions where social cohesion is low, where a contrast is drawn with regions where social cohesion is much higher.
Ensuring greater social protection for self-employed individuals has been the subject of much policy debate in recent years. In 2019, the European Council adopted a recommendation on access to social protection for workers and the self-employed. The sudden drops in income during the COVID-19 pandemic accentuated the vulnerability of self-employed workers. Using data from the European Working Conditions Telephone Survey, this report examines the working conditions of different groups of self-employed.
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.
As part of its response to Russia’s war on Ukraine, the EU swiftly activated its Temporary Protection Directive for those fleeing the conflict in Ukraine, enabling displaced persons to settle in the EU and have access to the labour market and basic public services. There are many specific challenges facing EU Member States in terms of the process of receiving and integrating Ukrainian refugees. This report investigates three of these challenges: public attitudes towards the newly arrived refugees, integration efforts made at EU and Member State level, and access to public services.
The focus of this report is on the role that human capital plays in determining inequalities across the EU, as well as within Member States. Using Cedefop’s work in this area, the report provides a comparative analysis of national trends in education and lifelong learning, including differences between educational groups in terms of income, living conditions and health.
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