In June 2003, employers' organisations and three trade unions reached a new
agreement on France's special unemployment insurance scheme for workers
employed sporadically on fixed-term contracts in the entertainment industry.
The deal imposes stricter entitlement criteria and reduces the benefit
payment period. It was met with major protest action by the employees
affected and the non-signatory unions. Parts of the agreement were
renegotiated in July following an appeal by the Minister of Culture. However,
the protests intensified, eventually resulting in the cancellation of two
major summer arts festivals.
Compensation for people suffering illness as a result of asbestos exposure at
work has been in the headlines in 2003, with disagreement over the level of
compensation to be paid by a newly created Fund for the Compensation of
Asbestos Victims (FIVA). The Fund aims to provide full compensation to
asbestos victims, following an asbestos-related early retirement scheme
introduced in 1999. In 2003 it adopted a scale of compensation payments much
lower than awards made by the courts, bringing protests from trade unions and
victims' organisations.
The comparative study was compiled on the basis of individual national
reports submitted by EIRO's national centres. The text of each of these
national reports is available below in Word format. The reports have not been
edited or approved by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living
and Working Conditions. The national reports were drawn up in response to a
questionnaire [1] and should be read in conjunction with it.
The draft EU constitutional Treaty submitted to the European Council by the
European Convention in June 2003 has given rise to some very divided opinions
among the Belgian social partners. The employers are delighted with a draft
that they believe will ensure that the enlarged EU functions more
efficiently, while the trade unions have described the proposed Treaty as
unacceptable.
In July 2003, four socialist and liberal political parties reached agreement
on the formation of a new Belgian federal government. The coalition agreement
includes a number of important employment and social plans, such as creating
200,000 jobs over four years and cutting employers' social security
contributions. The social partners have reacted in differing ways to the new
government's programme.
On 8 July 2003, the Fraser Institute, a Canadian free market think-tank,
released its latest annual report on Economic freedom of the world [1], drawn
up in conjunction with members of the Economic Freedom Network [2] (a group
of similar institutes around the world). The report, published since 1996,
uses the most recent internationally comparable data available - referring to
2001 in this case - to provide a ranking of 123 nations according to their
degree of 'economic freedom', defined as 'personal choice, voluntary
exchange, freedom to compete, and protection of the person and property'.
According to the 2003 study, Germany stood in 20th place in the economic
freedom rankings, down from 13th place in the 2002 report (having stood at
12th in 1995, 10th in 1990 and eighth in 1985).
On 17 June 2003, a new trade union, Fagforbundet, was created as the result
of a merger between the Norwegian Union of Municipal Employees (Norsk
Kommuneforbund, NKF) and the smaller Association of Health and Social Care
Personnel (Norsk Helse- og Sosialforbund, NHS) (NO0211106F [1]). The new
union, with approximately 300,000 members, is Norway's largest. It mainly
organises employees in the municipal sector, a large majority of whom are
women. Fagforbundet [2] is affiliated to the Norwegian Confederation of Trade
Unions (Landsorganisasjonen i Norge, LO). NKF and NHS started talks on a
possible merger as early as 1998, and the matter was subsequently subject to
considerable debate and a comprehensive process of deliberation (NO9809185F
[3] and NO0211106F [4]).
In July 2003, the Portuguese government presented the second National Plan
for Equality. The plan aims to promote equality between women and men in a
wide range of areas, addressing matters such as education, employment,
balancing work and family life, preventing violence against women, and social
protection.
On 1 July 2003, the Italian government took over the Presidency of the EU
Council for a six-month term (EU0307205F [1]). The European Trade Union
Confederation (ETUC) has issued a memorandum [2] to the Italian Presidency in
which it details a list of social issues that it wishes to see addressed
during the second half of 2003.
Set against the backdrop of preparations for enlargement of the European Union, Industrial relations developments in Europe 2003 provides a comparative overview of the most significant industrial relations developments during 2003, both at national and EU level. The fruit of a joint collaboration between the Foundation and the European Commission, the report presents the year’s main activities in European social dialogue and employment legislation and policy.
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 paper provides an analytical summary of state of the art academic and policy literature on the impact of climate change and policies to manage transitions to a carbon neutral economy on employment, working conditions, social dialogue and living conditions. It maps the key empirical findings around the impact of climate change and the green transitions on jobs, sectors, regions and countries in Europe, identifying the opportunities and risks that climate change policies bring to European labour markets.
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.
In 2022, the European Semester was streamlined to integrate the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) established on 19 February 2021 (Regulation (EU) 2021/241). While facing the geopolitical and economic challenges triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Member States have been implementing the national Recovery and Resilience Plans (RRPs) for more than one year and around 100 billion euro in RRF funds have already been disbursed.
As economies emerge from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, labour shortages are becoming increasingly evident. These include shortages exacerbated by the crisis in some sectors and professions where they had been endemic for some time. This report will look at measures implemented at national level to tackle labour shortages in the health, care and information and communications technology sectors, as well as those arising from the twin digital and green transitions.
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. This policy brief highlights the main barriers encountered by these refugees (over 5 million people to date) when seeking a job and provides suggestions on how to facilitate their integration.
With the expansion of telework and different forms of hybrid work as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important for policymakers to consider both the opportunities and the negative consequences that may result. This report will explore potential scenarios for such work. In doing so, it will identify trends and drivers, and predict how they might interact to create particular outcomes and how they are likely to affect workers and businesses. Policy pointers will outline what could be done to facilitate desirable outcomes and to avoid undesirable ones.
Living and working in Europe, Eurofound’s 2022 yearbook, provides a snapshot of the latest developments in the work and lives of Europeans as explored in the Agency’s research activities over the course of 2022. Eurofound’s research on working and living conditions in Europe provides a bedrock of evidence for input into social policymaking and achieving the Agency’s vision ‘to be Europe’s leading knowledge source for better life and work’.
The term ‘hybrid work’ became popular due to the upsurge of telework during the COVID-19 pandemic. The term has been increasingly used to refer to situations in which (teleworkable) work is performed both from the usual place of work (normally the employer’s premises) and from home (as experienced during the pandemic) or other locations. However, the concept of hybrid work is still blurry, and various meanings are in use. This topical update brings clarity to this concept by exploring available information from recent literature and the Network of Eurofound Correspondents.
Housing affordability is a matter of great concern across the EU. Poor housing affordability leads to housing evictions, housing insecurity, problematic housing costs and housing inadequacy. These problems negatively affect health and well-being, create unequal living conditions and opportunities, and come with healthcare costs, reduced productivity and environmental damage. Private market tenants face particularly large increases in the cost of housing.
Eurofound's annual review of minimum wages reports on the development of statutory and collectively agreed minimum wages across the EU and the processes through which they were set. The focus of this year’s report is on the impact of high inflation on the setting of minimum wage rates. In addition, new figures on the net value of minimum wages are presented, along with the latest policy-relevant research in the EU Member States and Norway.
Set against the backdrop of preparations for enlargement of the European Union, Industrial relations developments in Europe 2003 provides a comparative overview of the most significant industrial relations developments during 2003, both at national and EU level. The fruit of a joint collaboration between the Foundation and the European Commission, the report presents the year’s main activities in European social dialogue and employment legislation and policy.
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