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  • Article
    27 Martie 1997

    On 5 March 1997 the European Commission issued a Memorandum on the
    interpretation of the 1977 Directive on business transfers (77/187/EEC) which
    aims to clarify certain aspects of the Directive. It also seeks to address
    the criticisms levied against the draft Directive to replace the 1977 text,
    launched by the Commission in 1994. The proposed draft sought to take into
    account the changed business environment following the implementation of the
    single market project.

  • Article
    27 Martie 1997

    Until recent years, largely due to the voluntary system of industrial
    relations in the UK, a universal national minimum wage has never been more
    than a passing thought. Instead, because of the growing awareness of poor
    working conditions and low wages, trade boards were established in 1909 in
    certain "sweated trades" to set minimum wages and standards. The areas and
    industries under the boards' coverage began to widen, so that by the time
    they became known as Wages Councils (WCs) in 1945 they covered some 4.5
    million workers. But from the 1960s, the WCs came under increasing criticism
    for three main reasons:

  • Article
    27 Martie 1997

    The Ministry of Labour has chosen 20 municipalities in different parts of
    Finland to participate in new forms of working time organisation on an
    experimental basis. Results so far have been favourable.

  • Article
    27 Martie 1997

    After a legal battle lasting more than three years between the management of
    La Samaritaine (one of the five large Paris department stores), and its works
    council and CGT union branch, two rulings by the highest court in the French
    legal system on 13 February 1997, imposed the reinstatement of staff made
    redundant, as part of the cancellation of a corporate "downsizing" procedure
    (plan social). These rulings reveal the growing role of judges in the
    supervision of redundancies.

  • Article
    27 Martie 1997

    In its response to the Commission's September 1996 Communication on the
    development of the social dialogue (see Record EU9702102F [1]), UNICE (the
    Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations of Europe) welcomes the
    opportunity for debate and calls for a reinforcement of consultation with the
    social partners. However, it argues that the treatment of fundamentally
    different processes in one Communication adds a source of confusion to the
    debate. These varied processes include: the consultation and negotiation
    within the meaning of Article 118B of the EC Treaty and Article 3.1 of the
    Agreement on social policy; Advisory Committees; the Standing Committee on
    Employment; the joint sectoral committees and informal working groups;
    tripartite bodies; joint operational initiatives; European Works Councils,
    and the social dialogue in trans-boundary region. UNICE feels that the
    Communication should have:

    [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/undefined-industrial-relations/the-future-of-the-social-dialogue-at-community-level

  • Article
    27 Martie 1997

    The typical trade union member of the future could well be a 30-year-old
    female VDU operator, balancing both work and family responsibilities,
    according to the TUC. A new report launched at the TUC's women's conference
    held in Scarborough on 12-14 March, argues that if unions can rise to the
    challenge, the number of women members could increase by as many as 400,000
    by the turn of the century. According to the report (/Women and the new
    unionism/), women now make up half of the workforce, but only a third are
    members of a union. Young women are thought to be particularly difficult to
    organise. Only 6% of women employees under the age of 20 years are presently
    union members, compared with 24% aged between 20 and 29 years old.

  • Article
    27 Februarie 1997

    On 19 February, the Government presented a bill to Parliament, proposing
    modifications in the legislation concerning the granting of workers' claims
    in case of their employer's insolvency. There is no doubt that it will be
    passed by Parliament. This will then be the second time the legislation has
    been modified in order to comply with EU Council Directive 80/987/EEC on this
    subject.

  • Article
    27 Februarie 1997

    The immediate catalyst for the current prominence of working time in UK
    industrial relations is the failure in November 1996 of the Government's
    attempt to have the EU Directive on certain aspects of the organisation of
    working time (Council Directive 93/104/EC of 23 November 1993) annulled by
    the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Steps are being taken to implement the
    Directive, though the present Conservative Government hopes to get the
    Directive "disapplied" if it wins the forthcoming general election. Also
    important, however, is the growing debate about the implications for the
    well-being of individuals and their families of the fact that UK's hours of
    work are long in comparison with other EU member states.

  • Article
    27 Februarie 1997

    According to a recent analysis by the Institute for Economics and Social
    Science (Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliches Institut, WSI) basic wages
    and salaries in western Germany grew on average by about 2.3% in 1996. Thus,
    pay increased by about 0.8 percentage points above the inflation rate, which
    stood at 1.5% in 1996. Altogether, about 15.1 million employees were covered
    by collective agreements signed in 1996. The highest pay increases, at 2.8%,
    were in the energy and water industry and in the iron and steel industry. The
    lowest increases were in banking (1.5%), post and telecommunications (1.4%)
    and public services (1.3%).

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

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