Eurofound publishes its work in a range of publication formats to match audience needs and the nature of the output. These include flagship reports on a particular area of activity, research reports summarising the findings of a research project and policy briefs presenting policy pointers from research projects or facts and figures relevant to policy debates. Also included are blog articles, r...Read more
Eurofound publishes its work in a range of publication formats to match audience needs and the nature of the output. These include flagship reports on a particular area of activity, research reports summarising the findings of a research project and policy briefs presenting policy pointers from research projects or facts and figures relevant to policy debates. Also included are blog articles, regular articles on working life in Europe, presentations, working papers providing background material to ongoing or already concluded research, and reports arising from ad hoc requests by policymakers. Other corporate publications include annual reports, brochures and promotional publications. Web databases and online resources such as data visualisation applications are available in Data and resources.
The challenges arising from low employment rates, an ageing population, changing family structures and social exclusion have pushed ‘quality of life’ issues to the front of the EU social policy agenda. The Foundation has launched an initiative to improve the monitoring and reporting of living conditions and quality of life in Europe.
Annexes to the Annual Report 2002, containing information on: the Foundation work programme; Administrative Board and other committees; staff; meetings and conferences; publications and budget. See Annual report 2002.
An agreement was reached on 14 May 2003 between the minority centre-right
coalition government - comprising the Conservative Party (Høyre), the
Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti, KRF) and the Liberal Party
(Venstre) - and the Norwegian Labour Party (Det norske Arbeiderparti, DnA)
and the Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti, SV) on the
relocation of eight regulatory agencies from the capital Oslo to other cities
in Norway. The agencies concerned have supervisory and regulatory
responsibilities in a number of areas, including health and safety at work,
competition in business and industry, and the regulation of aviation and
maritime activity. The transfers form part of a proposed larger-scale
reorganisation of the regulatory agency system, and should also be seen in
the light of the government’s plan to modernise the public sector. The
transfer means that approximately 900 jobs will be lost in the Oslo area, and
it has thus been met by significant opposition from the trade unions
concerned, as well as from politicians in the municipality of Oslo.
In May 2003, after four months of intense negotiations, a draft deal on the
renewal of the Italian metalworking sector collective agreement for the
period 2003-6 was signed by the Federmeccanica employers' organisation and
the Fim-Cisl and Uilm-Uil trade unions. However, the Fiom-Cgil union did not
sign the agreement and harshly criticised its provisions. As well as pay
increases, the new agreement envisages the creation of a new job
classification system, the establishment of a sectoral joint body and some
measures on continuing training.
A recent study [1] carried out by the Union of Commercial and Clerical
Employees in Denmark (Handels- og Kontorfunktionærernes Forbund, HK) and
published in February 2003 examines the ownership of its members’
workplaces, and finds that 75% of members work for a multinational
enterprise. Furthermore, nearly half of the DK members covered by the study
(46.1%) work for a multinational enterprise which is mainly foreign-owned.
The extent of this 'internationalisation' has come as something of a surprise
for Danish trade unions, which until now had not seen concrete statistics
showing that globalisation is affecting so many of their members. HK is
Denmark's largest union.
In April 2003, a Greek Presidential Decree (PD) was issued regarding
fixed-term contracts, aimed at transposing the 1999 EU Directive on the
issue. However, on some points the content of the PD is seen by the social
partners as inconsistent with the letter and the spirit of the Directive.
This feature sets out the content of the Decree, together with an analysis of
those points that the social partners do not feel fully serve the aims of the
Directive.
After lengthy negotiations, the first sectoral agreement for the Italian
railway industry was signed in April 2003. The most important aspect of this
deal is the extension to the railway sector of the two-tier collective
bargaining structure (sectoral and decentralised), which was introduced in
most Italian industries by a July 1993 national tripartite agreement. Among
other innovations, the railway sector agreement includes a new personnel
classification system and provides for flexible forms of employment. It
represents a notable renewal of sectoral industrial relations, carried out in
the framework of the current liberalisation of the railway sector based on EU
rules.
This information sheet provides a brief overview of the report (EF0336) on time issues. Changes to traditional gender roles and the division of work are forcing a rethink of conventional work-life patterns. Individuals are increasingly calling for a better quality of life, while employers require greater flexibility in the workplace. The report looks at how to address these changing needs by reorganising the use of time over the entire life course, specifically focusing on the individual’s working years. A short summary has been prepared by the Foundation’s research managers (EF0364). Information sheets set out a brief overview of each project, forming a useful introduction point. They answer key questions as to: What is the project about? Why is the research being carried out? What are the findings/objectives and whom do they concern? When will the project be completed? How might the findings be translated into action?
In April 2003, nearly 10 years after its adoption, the EU working time
Directive was finally transposed fully into Italian law when the cabinet
definitively approved legislative decree 66/2003. The new regulations came
into force on 29 April. The decree, as well as implementing the Directive,
sets out in a single text the regulations on working time which have
accumulated over the years as a result of successive legislation. It
regulates normal weekly working time, overtime, daily rest, breaks, weekly
rest periods, annual leave, night work and derogations. The trade unions have
criticised the method and contents of the decree.
The comparative supplement in this issue of EIRObserver examines the subject of migration from the perspective of industrial relations in 20 European countries: the 15 EU Member States, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. It outlines briefly the labour market and employment situation of migrants before looking in more detail at the views and activities of the social partners and the extent to which issues relevant to migration are dealt with in collective bargaining. EIRObserver is the bi-monthly bulletin of the European Industrial Relations Observatory. It contains an edited selection of feature and news items, based on some of the reports supplied for the EIROnline database over each two-month period. In addition to this, EIRO conducts comparative research on specific themes.
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.
The European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) launched in 1990 and is carried out every five years, with the latest edition in 2020. 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 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.
This policy brief investigates the evolution of female labour market participation in the last decade and calculates the monetary cost of the persisting gender employment gap to Europe in that period. The analysis also highlights the disproportionate effects that the current COVID-19 crisis is having on working women and how this threatens decades of gains achieved in gender equality.
The long-term care (LTC) sector employs an increasing share of workers in the EU, with increasing shortages. The LTC workforce is mainly female and a relatively large and increasing proportion is 50 or older. Migrants are often concentrated in certain LTC jobs. This report maps the working conditions, the nature of employment and the role of collective bargaining in the sector. It also discusses policies to make the sector more attractive, combat undeclared work and to improve the situation of a particular vulnerable group of LTC workers: live-in carers.
Member States are autonomous when it comes to the design of their social protection systems. However, EU recommendations and treaties oblige them to address the convergence of these systems and policies with other Member States. At the same time, convergence may also come about as a result of economic integration and endeavours to reduce social imbalances. This report looks at the main long-term trends in social protection expenditure and performance across the Member States to assess the extent to which they are converging in this policy area.
Social, economic and technological changes are giving rise to new forms of employment. These differ from 'traditional' work either in the relationship between employer and employee or in the unconventional work patterns and places of work that characterise them. While these new forms of employment can contribute to more inclusive labour markets, legalise undeclared work and offer preferential working conditions, some also raise concerns about, for example, job quality and representation. This report updates Eurofound's 2015 mapping of emerging trends.
New digital technologies have expanded the possibilities of employee monitoring and surveillance, both in and outside the workplace. In the context of the increasing digitalisation of work, there are many issues related to employee monitoring that warrant the attention of policymakers. There are the often-cited privacy and ethical concerns but also important implications for worker–employer relations, as digitally enabled monitoring and surveillance inevitably shift power dynamics in the workplace.
How can working conditions be improved to make work more sustainable over the life course? This question has been the guiding principle for analysis of the 2015 European Working Conditions Survey data during the period of Eurofound’s work programme for 2017–2020. This flagship report brings together the different research strands from this work and gives a comprehensive answer to the question. It includes an analysis of trends in working conditions, examining whether these are the same for all workers or whether inequalities between different groups of workers are increasing.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the local and regional administration 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.
This flagship report consolidates findings in the industrial relations field from research conducted by Eurofound over the course of its multiannual work programme for 2017–2020. It considers the strengths and weaknesses of European social dialogue, including the linkages with national social dialogue and the capacity constraints of the actors. A national comparative analysis draws on projects that have mapped the key features of national industrial relations systems.
This report builds on Eurofound's existing research on social mobility, assessing the distribution and transmission of wealth in Member States. It examines the roles of inheritance and household debt in explaining the transmission of advantage or disadvantage between the generations across Member States. The analysis is based on Eurosystem's Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS).
This report analyses the involvement of the national social partners in the implementation of policy reforms within the framework of social dialogue practices, and their involvement in elaborating the National Reform Programmes (NRPs) and other key policy documents of the European Semester cycle.
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