In May 2003, elections to Rsu trade union representation bodies were held at
Fiat's largest plant in Italy, the Mirafioiri site in Turin. Fiom-Cgil won
the largest share of the vote, while Fim-Cisl came second (and first in the
plant's important bodywork department).
In March 2003, as part of its Global Aging Initiative [1] (GAI), the
Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, CSIS [2])
released a special report entitled Germany and the challenge of global aging
[3], which examines the way that the aging population is likely to transform
Germany’s economy over the next half century. The report asserts that,
unless Germany implements sweeping reforms, it will face an era of fiscal
crisis amid widespread labour shortages and slower economic growth - an issue
which has also been under debate in Germany (DE0304103N [4]).
A large-scale strike which began in early May 2003 more or less paralysed the
Faroe Islands. Ships bringing goods and food from Denmark were not unloaded
and supplies in shops began to run out. Petrol stations did not receive
supplies of petrol and the oil tanks in houses were not refilled. Schools and
kindergartens were closed down due to lack of cleaning. Furthermore, all
Faroese fish markets and fish processing companies were hit hard by the
strike. Overall, about 30% of the working population stopped working due to
the strike.
On 28 May 2003, the largest German business daily, Handelsblatt [1],
published evidence that appears to suggest that the German federal government
(Bundesregierung) 'massaged' policy recommendations in the economic survey of
Germany [2] (DE0302106F [3]) published by the Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) in December 2002. The OECD is an
international organisation with the stated aim of helping governments to
tackle current economic, social and governance challenges.
In the first half of 2003, sectoral collective bargaining has been proceeding
in Belgium within the framework of the intersectoral agreement for 2003-4.
The agreements concluded by June indicate that the economic slowdown is
having a major impact on employees' purchasing power, though there have been
advances in areas such as employment, training, the status of blue-collar
workers and end-of-career arrangements. Bargaining remains difficult in a
number of large sectors.
In May 2003, Spain's UGT trade union confederation highlighted the unequal
situation of women and men in employment, and notably a gender pay gap of
around 30%. Women are also, it is claimed, subject to occupational
segregation, higher unemployment and less stable employment.
At the end of April 2003, the Work Environment Authority (Arbetsmiljöverket)
presented its annual statistics for 2002. It highlighted the positive
development of the figures on fatal accidents at work, which are now much
lower than previously. During 2002, 45 employees were killed by accidents at
work (43 of whom were men), compared with 46 in 2001 (41 men, five women). Of
the fatal accidents in 2002, 13 occurred in the transport sector, 12 in the
building sector and eight in manufacturing industry. There are about 4.2
million employees in Sweden. Looking at the cause of the fatal accidents in
2002, 19 employees were killed in vehicle (cars, trucks etc) accidents, nine
died in 'fall' accidents (eg falling from scaffolding), nine died after being
struck by objects, six died in machinery accidents, one was killed in a
robbery and one by an explosion.
After more than 40 years, the 'joint bargaining association'
(Tarifgemeinschaft) for the public sector, which united public employers at
federal (national), state (Land) and municipal level, has collapsed. The
split became public on 20 May 2003 when German newspapers reported that the
federal minister of the interior, Otto Schily, representing the federal
government, and the Bavarian minister of finance, Kurt Faltlhauser,
representing the Employers' Association of German Länder [1]
(Tarifgemeinschaft deutscher Länder, TdL) had sent a letter to the Municipal
Employers’ Association (Vereinigung kommunaler Arbeitgeberverbände, VKA).
In this letter, they announced the termination of the joint bargaining
association for public services because the municipal employers had recently
signed a separate collective agreement with the Unified Service Sector Union
(Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft, ver.di) concerning occupational
pension schemes.
La couverture de la négociation collective et les mécanismes permettant d’étendre les dispositions des conventions collectives au-delà des membres des organisations signataires sont des facteurs qui influencent de façon importante les procédures et les pratiques de fixation des salaires, du temps de travail et des conditions de travail, et de ce fait ont également un impact sur la croissance économique.
Der Geltungsbereich von Tarifverträgen und deren Übertragbarkeit auf andere als die unterzeichnenden Organisationen sind wichtige Faktoren, die sich erheblich auf die Verfahrensweisen und Praktiken auswirken, mit denen die Löhne und Gehälter, die Arbeitszeiten und -bedingungen festgelegt werden. Sie haben somit auch Auswirkungen auf die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung. Diese EIRO-Vergleichsstudie enthält quantitative Daten zu den Tarifbindungsraten und gibt einen Überblick über die rechtlichen Grundlagen für die Übertragungsmechanismen in 20 europäischen Ländern, d. h.
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 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.
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 examines the contribution of social and employment services in EU Member States to the inclusion of people with disabilities, specifically in relation to the impact these have on labour market integration – in line with the 2006 UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The report includes a discussion of the costs and benefits of different approaches.
Living and working in Europe, Eurofound’s 2020 yearbook, provides a snapshot of what is happening in the work and lives of Europeans as explored in the Agency’s research activities over the course of 2020. The scope is broad, from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on employment and on people’s well-being to the inequalities in the working conditions of women and men. It also highlights the connections between Eurofound’s work and EU policy priorities in the coming years.
This report examines people's optimism about the future, for themselves and for others, and the extent to which it varies depending on one's social situation and perceptions of the quality of society. The study includes an analysis of the relationships between people’s perceptions of fairness and objective indicators of their social and economic situation and living standards.
While the EU is considered to be a global leader in gender equality, it is not yet a reality for millions of Europeans given the different dynamics in the Member States. The EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020–2025 acknowledges the slow speed of progress and outlines key actions to promote gender equality. Have all countries improved their performance? Which countries have been able to dramatically reduce gender inequality? Which countries lag behind?
As part of an annual series on minimum wages, this report summarises the key developments during 2020 and early 2021 with an emphasis on social partners’ roles and views. It looks at how minimum wages were set in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and how minimum wages act as a reference for income support measures. Information from interviews with decision-makers on the process of setting the minimum wage in 2020, along with their assessment of impacts of the proposed EU Directive on adequate minimum wages is also included.
The European Green Deal features high on Member State agendas. However, there are concerns that the necessary changes to climate policy may have undesirable socioeconomic consequences, such as regressive distributional effects and increased inequality. This report attempts to identify those policies where there is a significant risk involved and aims to provide guidance on how negative distributional risk can be mitigated.
Digital technologies have made it possible for many workers to carry out their work anytime and anywhere, with consequent advantages and disadvantages. Disadvantages, for remote workers and teleworkers in particular, include the risk to health and well-being linked to long working hours. To address this issue, there have been calls for the ‘right to disconnect’. This report includes case studies that chart the implementation and impact of the right to disconnect at workplace level.
Based on data from the European Company Survey 2019, this policy brief examines the characteristics of innovative companies and explores the types of workplace practices that are significantly associated with establishments' likelihood of introducing innovation. It also investigates differences between workplace practices of innovative and non-innovative companies. Additionally, data gathered through case studies analyse the role of workplace practices in different phases of the innovation process.
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