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Industrial action

Industrial action is one of the fundamental means available to workers and their organisations to solve labour disputes and promote their economic and social interests. It can take many forms, from the complete withdrawal of labour for an indefinite period to more restricted forms of collective action in which there is no cessation of work. The right to strike is explicitly recognised in the constitutions and/or laws of many countries. At EU level, the right to strike is enshrined in Article 28 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The right to collective action by the social partners is also included in the European Pillar of Social Rights.  Eurofound is currently exploring the feasibility of an industrial action monitor. 

Topic

Eurofound research

Eurofound has analysed data collected in 2018–2019 during the piloting of its Industrial Action Monitor (IAM) database. Using cluster analysis, the research classified industrial action in Europe into five categories: 

  • national disputes of interest and rights, sometimes involving different forms of employment
  • extended disputes about collective pay agreements
  • localised disputes about employment problems, working time and restructuring, with short work stoppages
  • localised disputes about workers’ rights and grievances over company policies
  • disputes concerning public policies

Recent updates

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This publication consists of individual country reports on working life during 2021 for 28 countries – the 27 EU Member States and Norway. The country reports summarise evidence on the...

19 Mai 2022
Publication
Other
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În ultimii ani, cu excepția câtorva creșteri intermitente, a existat în general o scădere a acțiunilor sindicale în statele membre. În timpul pandemiei de COVID-19, această tendință a continuat, iar...

7 Februarie 2022
Publication
Research report

Key outputs

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In recent years, apart from some intermittent spikes, there has been a general decrease in industrial action across the EU Member States. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this trend has continued...

7 Februarie 2022
Publication
Research report
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Relative calm on the industrial action front in 2020

Despite the economic turmoil that led to large-scale restructuring in many EU Member States and changes in working conditions for many occupational groups, 2020 seems to have been a quiet...

Article
Publications results (18)

This publication consists of individual country reports on working life during 2021 for 28 countries – the 27 EU Member States and Norway. The country reports summarise evidence on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on working life based on national research and survey results during 2021. They

19 May 2022

În ultimii ani, cu excepția câtorva creșteri intermitente, a existat în general o scădere a acțiunilor sindicale în statele membre. În timpul pandemiei de COVID-19, această tendință a continuat, iar în mod surprinzător, cele mai semnificative conflicte de muncă au avut loc în sectorul sănătății

07 February 2022

This report – the latest in an annual series – describes the main developments in industrial relations and the regulations affecting working conditions at EU level and in the EU Member States and Norway during 2018. Based on data from the Network of Eurofound Correspondents, it presents information

02 October 2019

Annual review of working life 2017 is part of a series of annual reviews published by Eurofound and provides an overview of the latest developments in industrial relations and working conditions across the EU and Norway. The annual review collates information based on reports from Eurofound’s

22 October 2018

Teachers across Europe have been protesting about their working conditions. Pay levels and pay inequalities, working time and workload, recruitment procedures and staffing at schools have been the main focus of social dialogue and collective action. Several of the reported cases are set in the

09 January 2017

Smartphone car service Uber, a successful company example of the sharing economy, has spread to many EU Member States in recent years. However, many employers and unions are concerned about its challenge to fair competition for other businesses in the sector and about the erosion of working

25 January 2016

Air transport has been in the news in recent months as strikes and difficulties in social dialogue across the European Union have strained relations between the sector’s unions and companies. Disputes in the different countries have revolved around pay and working conditions, restructuring and

09 December 2015

Strike activity across the EU dropped in 2014 following a crisis-related peak in 2010. However, evidence from EurWORK correspondents suggests that the more highly unionised public sector has been a focus of industrial action recently. In general, strikes have been triggered by pay freezes and cuts

24 November 2015

Collective bargaining systems in the EU have undergone a steady change since the end of the 1990s. But as businesses across Europe struggle to respond to intensifying global competition, pressure from employers for greater flexibility in collective bargaining is increasing, especially since the 2008

04 November 2015

This article presents some of the key developments and research findings on aspects of dispute resolution in the EU between the first and third quarters of 2014. Changes in the EU Member States’ collective and individual dispute resolution mechanisms are the main focus. The section on 'Extensions of

18 February 2015

Online resources results (504)

Bulgaria: Project reports on tools and legislative changes to aid settlement of labour disputes

​​The National Institute for Conciliation and Arbitration plays a key role in settling industrial conflicts, but its work is hampered by lack of accurate and detailed information on collective labour disputes. It launched the Dispute Settlement project to examine best practices for recording

Poland: Unions continue actions against private sector employers

Protests against the giant retail chain Biedronka and online retailer Amazon Poland were the latest notable manifestations of the adversarial nature of industrial relations in private companies.

Belgium: Trade unions dispute new law on flexijobs in the catering sector

The new law on flexijobs in the catering sector has a two-pronged target: enabling more flexible employment contracts and combating fiscal and social fraud.

Lithuania: Teaching unions strike twice in a row after negotiations collapse

Teaching unions in Lithuania went on strike on two separate days in December after the failure of six months of talks with the government over pay and conditions. About 15% of education workers took part in the two-hour stoppages.

Germany: Wave of strikes in public service sector

After months of industrial action, structural pay increases affecting some 240,000 public employees working in nursery schools, daycare centres for children, the youth welfare service and social agencies have been agreed. The dispute between the German Municipal Employers’ Association and two key

Cyprus: Draft legislation to prevent industrial action in essential services

In response to increasing industrial action in the public sector, the Cyprus Employers and Industrialists Federation has filed draft legislation to declare specific services 'essential' in order to prevent or prohibit a strike that may harm the public interest.

Malta: Ruling on independence and impartiality of industrial tribunals

Malta's Constitutional Court has ruled that the independence and impartiality of industrial tribunals cannot be not guaranteed because the legal provisions for the appointment of tribunal members are unconstitutional. The Malta Employers’ Association has suggested amendments to the law but the

France: Social partners give mixed response to Macron Law on labour disputes

Reforms to the law on labour disputes have been criticised by the social partners as rushed, and as an attempt to destabilise the joint nature of the Labour Court. The changes have been included in the Macron Law, adopted on 9 June 2015 by parliament, which also includes several measures to

UK: Newly elected conservative government proposes changes to strike balloting

The newly elected UK government changes strike ballot legislation as part of the controversial Trade Union Bill.


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