In June 2003, Telefónica de España - the Spanish fixed telephony business
of the Telefónica group - announced plans for a workforce reduction of
around 11% in the short term, in order to deal with market difficulties and
improve competitiveness. Negotiations are due to start on a redundancy
procedure with trade unions.
In 2002, Poland's State Labour Inspection found that, overall, compliance by
employers with labour law in terms of payment of remuneration and other
employee benefits improved somewhat. However, the total value of unpaid wages
and benefits rose sharply, in a context of economic difficulties for
employers and the economy.
According to figures published in 2003, tn 2002 the number of registered
collective labour disputes in Poland fell below 100 for the first time in six
years, while the year saw only one strike, compared with 11 in 2001. However,
protest actions outside the employer's premises became increasingly frequent.
A referendum on extending the right to reinstatement for unfairly dismissed
workers provided by Article 18 of the Workers' Statute to all companies (it
currently applies only to those with over 15 workers) was held in Italy in
June 2003. However, it failed because only 25.7% of the Italian electorate
went to the polls, while a turn-out of more than 50% was needed to make the
referendum valid. The referendum reopened divisions between the trade unions.
In June 2003, the Dutch Trade Union Federation (FNV) decided on major
cutbacks and restructuring as a result of its poor financial position. Its
budget is to be cut by a quarter, activities are to be reduced (notably at
regional level) and up to 90 out of 240 jobs may be lost.
Two major companies in the Belgian aeronautical industry, Sabca and Sonaca,
have been forced by the sector's difficulties to restructure their
activities. Plans announced by the two Wallonia-based companies in spring
2003 will involve making several hundred workers redundant. The trade unions
are demanding alternative solutions, and stepped up protest work stoppages
during June.
KEY-Finland [1] is the joint mission of the Finnish trade union
confederations – the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (Suomen
Ammattiliittojen Keskusjärjestö, SAK), the Confederation of Salaried
Employees (Toimihenkilökeskusjärjestö, STTK) and the Confederation of
Unions for Academic Professionals (AKAVA) – in Brussels. The current
director of KEY-Finland, Jorma Skippari, leaves his position in summer 2004.
Due to this, in June 2003 SAK, STTK, and AKAVA invited Jarmo Lähteenmäki,
the president of the Finnish Paperworkers’ Union (Paperiliitto), to take up
the position of director of KEY-Finland from 1 April 2004.
On 3 June 2003, the European Commission presented a new Communication (COM
(2203) 336 final) [1]) on immigration, integration and employment. The
Communication reviews integration policies, at both national and EU level,
and then goes on to suggest ways in which integration of immigrants could be
promoted. It also looks at the potential impact which immigrants are likely
to have on employment and economic growth, in the context of the ageing
European workforce.
On 24 June 2003, the Cologne Institute for Business Research (Institut der
deutschen Wirtschaft Köln, IW) published the results of a survey [1] of 900
firms with a total of 1.6 million employees, conducted in May 2003. The
survey examined the vocational training situation in Germany. Whereas the
Federal Labour Office (Bundesanstalt für Arbeit, BA) recently estimated that
there would be a severe shortage of approximately 70,000 vocational training
places in Germany in autumn 2003 (DE0305103F [2]), the IW results are more
optimistic. According to the IW survey 'only' about 20,000 to 30,000 people
are unlikely to find an apprenticeship place before new courses begin in the
autumn
The European Commission launched on 16 June 2003 a new campaign aimed at
raising awareness of discrimination in Europe. According to a recent
Eurobarometer survey [1] on attitudes towards discrimination, most people in
Europe believe that ethnic origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation
or age can be an obstacle to finding employment. The survey also found that
people feel that discrimination against ethnic minorities is the most
widespread form of discrimination in the EU. Around one-fifth of those
questioned in the survey said that they had personally witnessed
discrimination on ethnic grounds. On a country basis, this ranged from 15% of
respondents in Ireland to 35% in the Netherlands. Overall, only one in three
respondents stated that they would know what their rights were if they were
discriminated against.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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 fifth round of Eurofound's e-survey, fielded from 25 March to 2 May 2022, sheds light on the social and economic situation of people across Europe two years after COVID-19 was first detected on the European continent. It also explores the reality of living in a new era of uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine, inflation, and rising energy prices.
As part of a process to collect information on essential services, the European Commission (DG EMPL) requested Eurofound to provide input on certain aspects of existing and planned measures in the Member States to improve access to essential services, in reference to Principle 20 of the European Pillar of Social Rights. The scope of the exercise included energy services, public transport and digital communications, and the focus was on people at risk of poverty or social exclusion (in practice, people on low incomes in most cases).
This report will map the existing regulations on telework in European Union Member States, including in legislation and collective agreements. It will present the most recent changes to these regulations and shed light on how the future of (tele)work could be regulated at both national and EU level, in order to improve working conditions in telework arrangements and reduce the risks associated with telework and with specific ways of working remotely.
The civil aviation sector has been deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is one of the most severe crises the sector has ever experienced, giving rise to a number of significant challenges for companies and workers alike. This study will explore the role of social dialogue and collective bargaining in how the sector is adapting to the pandemic. What kinds of changes have been introduced, either through social dialogue or collective bargaining? Are the changes temporary or permanent?
This report explores the association between skills use and skills strategies and establishment performance, and how other workplace practices, in terms of work organisation, human resources management and employee involvement, can impact on this. It looks at how skills shortages can be addressed, at least in part, by creating an environment in which employees are facilitated and motivated to make better use of the skills they already have. This further supports the business case for a more holistic approach to management.
This report focuses on trends and developments in collective bargaining that were evident from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It examines potential new strategic approaches and priorities incorporated in negotiation agendas, as well as collective bargaining practices and coordination at sector and company levels in the private sector.
This policy brief will provide an update on upward convergence in the economic, social and institutional dimensions of the European Union, as outlined in the European Pillar of Social Rights and its accompanying Social Scoreboard.
Between 2021 and 2023 Eurofound is carrying out a pilot project on minimum wage on behalf of the European Commission. The question of how minimum wages and other forms of pay can be fixed for the self-employed is investigated as a part of this project through mapping national and sectoral approaches. Out of concern for the challenging conditions that the self-employed face, some Member States have established or are discussing establishing statutory forms of minimum pay for certain categories of self-employed.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the electricity 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 aim of this Eurofound study on representativeness is to identify the relevant national and European social partner organisations in the electricity sector in the EU Member States.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the gas 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 aim of this Eurofound’s study on representativeness is to identify the relevant national and European social partner organisations in the gas sector in the EU Member States.
MEMBER OF THE NETWORK OF EU AGENCIES
Eurofound je agentúra Európskej únie