Hungary, with an average per capita GDP of less than 75% of the EU average,
expects to use approximately HUF 1,100 billion to HUF 1,600 billion (EUR 4.4
billion to EUR 6.4 billion) of money from the Community Structural and
Cohesion Funds – Hungarian co-financing included – over the period
between its accession to the Union on 1 May 2004 and the end of 2006.
Pursuant to EU Council Regulation (EC) No. 1260/1999 [1] laying down general
provisions on the Structural Funds, eligible countries are expected to
prepare their development objectives and priorities in the framework of
National Development Plans (NDPs) and submit them to the European Commission.
These NDPs will be the basis for discussions with the Commission which will
produce Community Support Frameworks (CSFs) containing the financial
commitments of the EU and the government of the recipient country concerning
spending on jointly financed development areas. According to Article 8 of the
Council Regulation, partnership between the national government and social as
well as civil actors is a key component of the Plans. The application of the
principle of partnership should be extended to the preparation, financing,
monitoring and evaluation of Community grants.
In May 2003, Schiesser Pallas, a subsidiary of the German apparel
multinational, Schiesser AG, announced that it was to close down its sewing
operations in Greece, citing relatively high labour costs compared with
countries such as Bulgaria and Romania. Despite detailed trade union
counter-proposals, consultations failed to produce results and 500
redundancies are expected soon.
The major industrial dispute over a new collective agreement for blue-collar
workers in the municipal and city council sector (SE0305101N [1]) was due to
escalate in the first week of June 2003. Some 47,000 members of the Municipal
Workers' Union (Svenska Kommunalarbetareförbundet, Kommunal) were already on
indefinite strike across the country since the previous week and the union
gave notice of a further strike from 4 June by 18,000 bus drivers in Sweden's
three largest cities. Stockholm, Göteborg and Malmö, plus 137
municipalities (out of 290), were thus due to be hard hit by industrial
action. The Union of Service and Communication (Facket för Service och
Kommunikation, Seko) had also given notice of a sympathy strike by all 400
train drivers on commuter services in the three cities, adding to the
expected traffic chaos.
January 2003 saw the first genuine strikes organised in Slovakia since it
became independent in 1993 (SK0211103F [1]). The strikes took place on the
railways as a consequence of long-term disputes between trade unions and
management. Railworkers had previously been on the verge of strike action on
several occasions in recent years. In late 1998 there were calls for a
strike, while in the following year trade unions set a strike date during
lengthy negotiations on pay increases. However, the negotiations led to a
compromise with railways management and the planned strike was cancelled. In
2001, a two-hour strike was announced by the trade unions but cancelled one
hour before it was due to start because of a lack of organisational
preparedness.
In April 2003, a new law on 'social employment' came into force in Poland,
aimed at providing support and employment to up to the country's large number
of people faced with social exclusion, such as long-term unemployed people,
alcoholics and drug addicts, former prisoners, and people with mental
illnesses. The legislation sets up social integration centres to provide
assistance and integration programmes, and creates a system of subsidised
employment to encourage employers to take on people from the target groups.
In the 2003 Dutch collective bargaining round, occupational pension issues
have led to a deadlock in negotiations at a number of major companies,
notably in financial services and industry. Employers want to reform their
pension schemes radically, as shrinking capital reserves and increasing
numbers of claimants have depleted their funds. The Akzo Nobel chemicals
group even wants to hive off its pension fund, making it independent. The
trade unions are fiercely opposed to this plan and other more drastic
austerity measures, but are increasingly prepared to accept a greater use of
average-salary rather than final-salary schemes and a temporary suspension of
pensions indexation.
Nous tentons dans la présente étude de dégager une vue d’ensemble de la
durée du temps de travail - telle qu’elle est établie par les conventions
collectives et la législation - dans l’Union européenne et la Norvège en
2002 (et 2001), basée sur les contributions des centres nationaux de
l’Observatoire européen des relations industrielles (EIRO). Pour la
première fois, nous incluons certaines données sur trois des pays candidats
qui rejoindront l’UE en 2004 - la Hongrie, la Pologne et la Slovaquie.
In June 2003, management and trade unions signed a preliminary agreement on a
unified collective agreement for two of Spain's nuclear power plants, those
at Almaraz and Trillo. This may represent the first step towards a sectoral
agreement for the sector, where bargaining currently occurs at plant level.
In summer 2003, France's Minister of Health announced that a reform of the
sickness insurance system is to be presented in the autumn. While an
increasing deficit posted by the sickness insurance funds has made this
overhaul necessary, industrial relations tensions in the healthcare sector
suggest that implementation may be problematic. The details of the reform are
as yet unknown, but the major thrust appears to be a reduction in compulsory
sickness insurance cover and the creation of specific measures for
lower-income people.
Die Erweiterung der Europäischen Union, bei der voraussichtlich ab 2004 bis
zu 12 Länder Mittel- und Osteuropas sowie des Mittelmeerraums der EU
beitreten werden, rückt immer näher. Vor diesem Hintergrund hat das
Europäische Observatorium für die Entwicklung der Arbeitsbeziehungen (EIRO)
die Erfassung der Entwicklungen im Bereich der Arbeitsbeziehungen auf die
beitrittswilligen Länder ausgeweitet.
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.
This series brings together publications and other outputs of the European Jobs Monitor (EJM), which tracks structural change in European labour markets. The EJM analyses shifts in the employment structure in the EU in terms of occupation and sector and gives a qualitative assessment of these shifts using various proxies of job quality – wages, skill-levels, etc.
Eurofound's European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) examines both the objective circumstances of European citizens' lives and how they feel about those circumstances and their lives in general. This series consists of outputs from the EQLS 2016, the fourth edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 2003.
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 EWCS 2015, the sixth edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 1990.
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 EWCS 1996, the second edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 1990.
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 EWCS 2001, which was an extension of the EWCS 2000 to cover the then 12 acceding and candidate countries. The survey was first carried out in 1990.
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 EWCS 2000, the third edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 1990.
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 first edition of the survey carried out in 2004–2005 under the name European Establishment Survey on Working Time and Work-Life Balance.
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 2009, the second edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 2004–2005 as the European Establishment Survey on Working Time and Work-Life Balance.
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 2013, the third edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 2004–2005 as the European Establishment Survey on Working Time and Work-Life Balance.
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.
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 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 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 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.
The financial services sector is pertinent for studying the impact of digitalisation, as the main ‘raw material’ of the sector is digitally stored and processed. Process automation in the sector is likely to lead to significant job losses over the next 10 years, as the high street bank presence declines and the online bank presence increasingly accounts for a higher share of overall activity. Such trends have already been identified in bank restructurings captured in Eurofound’s European Restructuring Monitor.
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.
This report investigates the practical implementation of the European Works Council (EWC) Directive at company level. It explores the challenges faced by existing EWCs and provides examples of identified solutions and remaining issues from the point of view of both workers and management. The report looks at the way that EWCs meet the requirements of the EWC Directive in terms of establishing processes of information and consultation.
The hospital sector has been deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Hospitals and their workers are on the frontline in the fight against the virus, and they face a number of significant challenges in terms of resources, work organisation and working conditions. 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?
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