A bill submitted by the Greek government in June 1999 will place further
restrictions on collective redundancies by enterprises in the private sector,
in line with Community law.
The revised national Budget for 1999 was passed by the Norwegian parliament
(Stortinget) on 18 June 1999. The annual procedure for revising the Budget
enables the government to adjust its economic policy in the light of
developments that have taken place since the release of the Budget in the
autumn of the previous year (NO9811100N [1]). In conjunction with the revised
national Budget, the government also produced an up-to-date analysis of state
of affairs of the national economy. Statistics Norway (Statistisk
Sentralbyrå, SSB) and the Bank of Norway (Norges Bank) have also published
their own economic analysis for spring 1999.
Shortly before the 1999 summer recess, the Lower House of the Dutch
parliament amended a government legislative proposal for unpaid care leave,
proposing instead a paid arrangement. The proposed 10 days of care leave is
aimed at enabling employees to take care of their ill children or other
family members. The Lower House want the arrangement to be funded from the
existing Unemployment Fund, which is financed by employer and employee
contributions.
A conference in June 1999 examined "regional employment networks" in
Portugal. These networks have been growing in importance as means for
implementing labour market policies, in line with the objectives of the
National Action Plan for employment. The social partners have been involved
in various ways, mostly at the strategic and economic level.
Only 13 of the 22 national affiliated trade unions of the Danish
Confederation of Trade Unions (Landsforeningen i Danmark, LO) are represented
on LO's executive committee. Kirsten Nissen, president of the Union of
Socio-Educational Workers (Socialpædagogernes Landsforbund, SL), which does
not have an executive committee seat, wants to change this state of affairs.
At the LO congress in October 1999, she will propose that the present
executive committee is extended to create a central board with representation
from all 22 national unions.
Since the election of the Labour government in May 1997, much has been made
of the idea of "partnership" as the new "third way" for UK industrial
relations - representing, for its advocates, a modern alternative both to the
entrenched adversarialism of traditional collective bargaining and to the
unilateral managerialism of the 1980s and 1990s. A government "working
document" Competitiveness through partnership with people [1] and a Trades
Union Congress (TUC) statement /Partners for progress/, both published in
1997, set the tone. Since then, the concept has been promoted by
organisations such as the Institute of Personnel and Development (UK9811158F
[2]) and the Involvement and Participation Association. At a TUC-sponsored
conference in May 1999, the partnership principle (although not every detail
of the TUC's own agenda) was endorsed by the prime minister, the trade and
industry secretary and the director general of the Confederation of British
Industry (UK9906108F [3]).
In June 1999, the debate on Italy's collective bargaining system was revived
by a call on the part of employers for greater flexibility and
decentralisation. Trade unions, though with differing emphases, do not share
this point of view and stress the importance of maintaining the current
two-tier bargaining structure. Another issue at stake is the redefinition of
bargaining units and the possible creation of new sectoral agreements,
notably for those branches which are affected by privatisation and
liberalisation processes.
On 21 June 1999, the temporary employment agency Adecco
Personaldienstleistungen GmbH and a bargaining cartel of six trade unions
signed a "collective agreement on the hiring-out of labour on the occasion of
the EXPO 2000 world exhibition" (Tarifvertrag zur Arbeitnehmerüberlassung
anläßlich der Weltausstellung EXPO 2000 [1]).The unions involved were the
IG Metall metalworkers' union, the Food and Restaurants Workers' Union
(Gewerkschaft Nahrung Genuß Gaststätten, NGG), the Building, Agriculture
and Environmental Union (IG Bauen-Agrar-Umwelt), the Trading, Banking and
Insurance Union (Gewerkschaft Handel Banken und Versicherungen, HBV), the
Public Services, Transport and Traffic Union (Gewerkschaft Öffentliche
Dienste, Transport und Verkehr, ÖTV) and the German White-Collar Workers'
Union (Deutsche Angestellten-Gewerkschaft, DAG) The agreement will cover
approximately about 7,000 employees who will be recruited by Adecco in order
to work at the EXPO 2000 exhibition, which will take place in Hanover from 1
June until 31 October 2000. Adecco is the exclusive provider of personnel
services to EXPO 2000 Hannover GmbH, the company which is responsible for the
overall organisation of the world exhibition.
Following the publication of statistics indicating a sharp rise in
unemployment in Greece, and government analyses of the connection between
unemployment and the increased presence of immigrants, the GSEE trade union
confederation has reiterated its positions on addressing rising unemployment
and on dealing with economic immigrants.
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.
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.
Access to key social services, especially education and healthcare, as well as stable family life and decent housing are necessary for the well-being and development of children. Ensuring that all children have these resources is an EU priority; the European Commission is currently undertaking to recommend a Child Guarantee to address the situations of children in need. Service provision has been complicated by the COVID-19 outbreak, however, and the pandemic has put psychological and material strains on families.
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.
This report will focus on assessing the employment impact of the COVID-19 crisis, including its effects across sectors and for different categories of workers. It will also be looking at measures implemented to limit negative effects following the Coronavirus outbreak in Europe.
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.
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.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the civil aviation (flight crew) 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 European Green Deal is at the very top of Member State agendas across the EU. This topical update maps the national discussions – in policy, public and research debates – on the potential, ongoing or already felt impact on work and employment of the transition to a low-carbon economy. It attempts to identify the most active actors involved in these discussions (governments, social partners, NGOs and so on) and their perspectives.
This report will draw from case studies of establishments across the EU that have introduced advanced digital technologies in the workplace. The technologies in focus are the Internet of Things, 3D printing and virtual and augmented reality. Each case study – illustrated in the report - will explore the approach or strategy taken by the establishment to manage the digital transition and the impact of the deployment of the technology on the work organisation and job quality.
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