July 2003 saw the launch of the Luxembourg Automobile Parts Industry (ILEA),
a new industry and employers' federation for the country's automotive parts
industry. The new body brings together 15 enterprises in this growing sector,
together employing over 8,000 workers.
Romania is currently facing large-scale redundancies as a result of the
restructuring, reorganisation and privatisation of state-owned enterprises.
In line with the government’s Emergency Ordinance No. 8/2003 regarding
incentives for such restructuring, and given that under the new Labour Code
(introduced adopted by Law No. 53/2003) such workforce reductions are to be
addressed in a different manner than in the past, a plan has been developed
to overcome the social tensions and difficulties that might arise from the
forecast redundancies. A Social Assistance Programme (Program de
Acompaniament Social, AS) was thus launched on 14 April 2003, envisaging a
better activation of local development opportunities; 13 of Romania’s
counties (out of a total of 41) are to be affected.
In July 2003, the lower chamber of the Polish parliament passed a law
regulating temporary agency work (approval by the upper house is to follow).
Agency work has been growing in Poland in recent years, and its regulation
has been debated for some time. The new legislation defines temporary agency
work and lays down rules on its use and on the employment conditions of
agency workers.
According to figures issued by Poland's State Labour Inspection in mid-2003,
310 new single-establishment collective agreements were registered in 2002,
covering some 118,000 employees (most Polish collective bargaining occurs at
single-employer level). The agreements' provisions primarily covered
remuneration, working time and leave. Terms more favourable to employees than
the legal minima are becoming less frequent in collective agreements, while
there is an increasing tendency for the parties to agreements to suspend
application of all or some of their provisions.
In 2002, the Ministry of Labour started a three-year experiment of using
private 'job hunters' to find work for long-term unemployed people. The
experiment has been conducted in employment offices in the largest cities.
The aim is to find jobs for people who have been unemployed for longer than
six months, or for a shorter period in the case of people with special
difficulties in finding a job - eg owing to age or disability. The job
hunters can be private firms, associations or individuals operating as
entrepreneurs. Agreements to provide such services are reached between the
employment offices and the job hunters after a competitive tender process, in
the same way as in any other public procurement. Each employment office can
reach an agreement with several job hunters, who then conclude contracts with
the unemployed people concerned, selected from candidates proposed by the
employment office. The client and the job hunter sign a three-month contract,
which can be renewed for another three months. The job hunters are paid if
they find the job seeker a non-subsidised private sector job for at least six
months. The job can be full time or part time, but the working time must be
at least 75% of the normal.
In Austria, 'minimally employed workers' (geringfügig Beschäftigter) are
defined as employees whose income per year does not exceed a fixed amount
(calculated as a monthly average) laid down by law and upgraded annually. For
2003, this monthly pay limit amounts to EUR 309.38. Nearly all minimally
employed workers are part-time workers.
On 7 July 2003, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) published a
discussion paper, The UK experience of European Works Councils [1], seeking
views on how European Works Councils (EWCs) set up by UK-based companies have
been working in practice. The principal aim of the exercise is to build up a
'stronger evidence base' from which the UK government can develop its
approach to the EU-level discussions on the possibility of revising the 1994
EWCs Directive (94/45/EC [2]), which are due to get underway later in 2003.
The European Commission has indicated that it will begin consultations with
EU-level trade unions and employers’ organisations on the revision of the
Directive in the autumn, raising the prospect of amendments to the Directive
being brought forward sometime in 2004 or 2005.
In July 2003, the municipality of Rome and the local employers' organisation,
the Industrialists’ Union, signed an agreement to increase women’s
presence in the city's information and communications technology (ICT)
companies and improve the skills and qualifications of women already employed
in the sector.
Management and trade unions at the state-owned electricity company, the
Electricity Supply Board (ESB), have concluded a 'partnership agreement' on
working arrangements for workers who will operate two modern electricity
generating plants currently under construction in the Irish midlands at a
cost of EUR 240 million - the Lough Ree and West Offaly power stations. The
agreement places a strong emphasis on equality issues and introduces
team-based working, an annual hours system and new reward mechanisms.
In July 2003, a new national collective agreement was signed for the 270,000
workers in the Italian food and beverages sector. As well as providing for a
pay increase of 6.55% over two years, the agreement strengthens joint
industrial relations structures, with a new joint body in charge of training,
and introduces greater flexibility in working time and forms of employment.
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 2003, the first edition of the survey.
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 2007, the second edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 2003.
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 2012, the third 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 2005, the fourth 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 2010, the fifth edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 1990.
This publication series explores scenarios for the future of manufacturing. The employment implications (number of jobs by sector, occupation, wage profile, and task content) under various possible scenarios are examined. The scenarios focus on various possible developments in global trade and energy policies and technological progress and run to 2030.
Automation and digitisation technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), are undergoing a rapid evolution. This impacts working conditions in a variety of ways and raises a host of new ethical concerns. In recent times, the policy debate surrounding these concerns has become more prominent and has increasingly focused on AI. Key EU policy developments, especially in relation to AI, have shaped the policy debate in many EU Member States, and in some instances they have led to the adoption of new policy initiatives that address these concerns in the context of work and employment.
Every year, Eurofound compiles a report summarising the key developments in minimum wages across EU countries. The report explains how minimum wages are set and describes the role of social partners, covering the evolution of statutory rates, collectively agreed wages and the national debates on these issues.
As part of a process to collect information on essential services, the European Commission (DG EMPL) requested Eurofound to provide input on certain aspects of existing and planned measures in the Member States to improve access to essential services, in reference to Principle 20 of the European Pillar of Social Rights. The scope of the exercise included energy services, public transport and digital communications, and the focus was on people at risk of poverty or social exclusion (in practice, people on low incomes in most cases).
The civil aviation sector has been deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is one of the most severe crises the sector has ever experienced, giving rise to a number of significant challenges for companies and workers alike. This study will explore the role of social dialogue and collective bargaining in how the sector is adapting to the pandemic. What kinds of changes have been introduced, either through social dialogue or collective bargaining? Are the changes temporary or permanent?
This report investigates the practical implementation of the European Works Council (EWC) Directive at company level. It explores the challenges faced by existing EWCs and provides examples of identified solutions and remaining issues from the point of view of both workers and management. The report looks at the way that EWCs meet the requirements of the EWC Directive in terms of establishing processes of information and consultation.
This report will map the existing regulations on telework in European Union Member States, including in legislation and collective agreements. It will present the most recent changes to these regulations and shed light on how the future of (tele)work could be regulated at both national and EU level, in order to improve working conditions in telework arrangements and reduce the risks associated with telework and with specific ways of working remotely.
This report explores the association between skills use and skills strategies and establishment performance, and how other workplace practices, in terms of work organisation, human resources management and employee involvement, can impact on this. It looks at how skills shortages can be addressed, at least in part, by creating an environment in which employees are facilitated and motivated to make better use of the skills they already have. This further supports the business case for a more holistic approach to management.
The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have varied across sectors, occupations and categories of worker (for instance, according to gender, age or employment status). Hours worked have declined the most in sectors such as accommodation services and food and beverage services, and in occupations heavily reliant on in-person interaction, such as sales work. At the same time, it’s in these sectors that labour shortages have become increasingly evident as labour markets have begun to normalise.
This report focuses on trends and developments in collective bargaining that were evident from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It examines potential new strategic approaches and priorities incorporated in negotiation agendas, as well as collective bargaining practices and coordination at sector and company levels in the private sector.
This policy brief will provide an update on upward convergence in the economic, social and institutional dimensions of the European Union, as outlined in the European Pillar of Social Rights and its accompanying Social Scoreboard.
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