Publications

Browse publications

Latest publications

  • Article
    11 Februarie 2014

    The economic crisis has forced many of Greece’s private sector enterprises
    to close or suspend operations. There have also been employment cuts in the
    public sector. This means that there is a rising youth unemployment problem
    in Greece, as young people are leaving school and university to find there is
    a lack of employment opportunities. Half of those aged 29 or under do not
    have a job, and this age group makes up one in three of all unemployed
    workers. Around half of this group have never had a job, and just over half
    have been out of work for more than a year.

  • Article
    6 Februarie 2014

    A public opinion survey (in Polish, 291 KB PDF) [1] in Poland has found there
    is concern about wage inequality in the country. The survey was carried out
    by Poland’s Public Opinion Research Centre (CBOS [2]). It was part of
    larger research project, Current problems and events, and carried out between
    1–12 August 2013. It used a representative random sample of 902 adult Poles
    using computer assisted face-to-face interviews (CAPI).

    [1] http://www.cbos.pl/SPISKOM.POL/2013/K_127_13.PDF
    [2] http://www.cbos.pl/

  • Report
    4 Februarie 2014
    Eurofound has conducted the European Quality of Life Survey EQLS) in 2003, 2007 and 2011. This report compares the results from the three waves to provide evidence of trends and change in the quality of life of Europeans over a decade. It also examines whether differences across EU Member States have narrowed or remained stable. One of its findings is that subjective well-being has remained stable across the EU as whole, but it also finds that financial strain in households has grown in the wake of the economic crisis.
  • Article
    2 Februarie 2014

    Various types of temporary work in Belgium have different contractual
    agreements. These include paid training schemes, student jobs, occasional
    work, service vouchers, apprenticeships, fixed-term contracts and temporary
    agency work [1]. Most of these work contracts are partly or fully covered by
    Collective Agreement 36 of 27 November 1981.

    [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/temporary-agency-work

  • Article
    2 Februarie 2014

    On 17 September, the tripartite supervisory board of the Estonian
    Unemployment Insurance Fund (Töötukassa [1]) proposed reducing unemployment
    insurance premiums from 3% to 2.1%. The board were in favour of this proposal
    by four votes to two. Representatives of both employers and trade unions
    voted in favour, arguing that the EUIF’s current reserves are large enough
    to survive another crisis. By the end of 2013, the net assets of the EUIF
    were expected to be €525.3 million, predicted to increase to €529.4
    million by the end of 2014. According to the social partners’ estimates, at
    the reduced rate of 2.1% the EUIF would collect €125.7 million gross
    revenue in 2014 and its expected outgoings would be €121.6 million.

    [1] http://www.tootukassa.ee/?lang=en

  • Article
    2 Februarie 2014

    On 29 October 2013, French Labour Minister Michel Sapin sent a government
    statement (in French, 1MB PDF) [1] to the departments of his ministry about
    the implementation of labour inspectorate reform. The reform was later the
    subject of a paper on the reform of the labour inspectorate (in French) [2]
    presented to France’s Council of Ministers on 6 November 2013.

    [1] http://travail-emploi.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/instruction_du_ministre_Ministere_fort.pdf
    [2] http://www.gouvernement.fr/gouvernement/la-reforme-du-systeme-d-inspection-du-travail

  • Report
    30 Ianuarie 2014

    The aim of this working paper is to provide information about the working conditions and in-service training opportunities of early childhood education and care (ECEC) workers and to describe how these factors are linked to outcomes for children. This paper is part of the research project ‘Assessing childcare services’ being carried out by Eurofound in 2013 and 2014. The project focuses on the two dimensions of early childhood education and care that have been the main focus of policy initiatives at European level: ensuring that services are accessible and that they are of good quality.

  • Report
    28 Ianuarie 2014
    This report explores how Europeans perceive the quality of their societies, and of their public services. It looks at such aspects of society as trust in institutions and other people, perceived tensions between social groups, attitudes towards migrants and the effects of the economic crisis on social inclusion and social cohesion. It finds that satisfaction with the economic situation of one’s country, not being in employment and overall life satisfaction appear to boost satisfaction with public services; hardship appears to reduce it.
  • ERM Quarterly
    28 Ianuarie 2014

    Recent months have seen an improvement in economic outlook, a calming of the sovereign debt crisis and a stabilisation of unemployment rates. ECB President Mario Draghi was, however, cautious in his assessment of the emergent European recovery in January, calling it ‘modest’, ‘weak’ and ‘fragile’. This fourth issue for 2013 includes: Macroeconomic trends and prospects; Job creation and job loss at a glance (1/10/13 - 31/12/13); Sectoral distribution of job losses/job gains, and top five cases; Support instruments for restructuring in Greece; Cases in focus: RTVV, Spain - Liepajas Metalurgs, Latvia; Retail sector in focus – Amazon's expansion.

  • Article
    27 Ianuarie 2014

    On 20 November 2013, the Trades Union Congress (TUC [1]) held a national day
    of action to highlight the issue of blacklisting. Blacklisting is the
    practice of illegally denying construction and other workers employment
    because of their union activities which can include raising health and safety
    concerns on building sites. The practice of blacklisting has been a
    long-standing union grievance, especially since 2009 when a raid on an
    organisation known as the Consulting Association revealed a database
    containing personal information about more than 3,000 trade unionists and
    others, which had been used for blacklisting purposes by 44 construction
    companies (*UK1210019I* [2]).

    [1] http://www.tuc.org.uk/
    [2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/undefined-industrial-relations/trades-union-congress-supports-action-on-blacklisting

Series

  • European Restructuring Monitor

    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.

  • European Working Conditions Telephone Survey 2021

    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.

  • Developments in working life, industrial relations and working conditions in the EU

    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.

  • COVID-19

    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.

  • Sectoral social dialogue

    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.

  • Minimum wages in the EU

    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.  

  • European Working Conditions Surveys

    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.

  • Challenges and prospects in the EU

    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.

  • European Company Survey 2019

    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. 

  • National social partners and policymaking

    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).

Forthcoming publications