In its 2002 'Report on industrial accidents and occupational illnesses',
Spain's UGT trade union confederation examines the country's high industrial
accident and illness rate and seeks to identify the causes. These are found
to to be lack of compliance with the relevant legislation by companies, and
the high level of subcontracting, temporary contracts and temporary agency
work, which particularly affects young workers.
Arbeitskämpfe - Streiks, Aussperrungen usw. - sind einer der vorrangigsten
Aspekte von Arbeitsbeziehungen, nicht zuletzt in Bezug auf ihre Behandlung in
den Medien sowie hinsichtlich ihrer Auswirkungen auf die und ihre Beachtung
in der Öffentlichkeit. In manchen Quellen werden Arbeitskämpfe als
wichtiger Indikator für das Funktionieren von Systemen im Bereich der
Arbeitsbeziehungen betrachtet, wobei Arbeitskämpfe zum Teil als Zeichen für
die Fehlfunktion eines Systems betrachtet werden, während sie von anderen
als ein ralativ normales Merkmal eines gesunden und gut funktionierenden
Systems angesehen werden. Im Juni 2001 veröffentlichte die Europäische
Kommission eine Mitteilung über Beschäftigungs- und Sozialpolitik: ein
Konzept für Investitionen in Qualität [1]. In diesem Dokument werden Wege
und Möglichkeiten zur Förderung der 'Qualität' in der Beschäftigungs- und
Sozialpolitik vorgeschlagen; es enthält ferner Vorschläge für eine Reihe
von Indikatoren zur Messung dieser Qualität. Einer der unter 'Sozialer
Dialog und Arbeitnehmermitbestimmung' aufgeführten Indikatoren sind 'durch
Arbeitskämpfe verlorene Arbeitstage'.
Les actions syndicales - grèves, lock-outs, etc. - sont l’un des aspects
les plus visibles des relations industrielles, notamment en termes de
couverture médiatique et d’impact sur le public. Ces actions sont souvent
considérées comme un indicateur important du bon fonctionnement ou non du
système de relations industrielles, les actions syndicales étant perçues
par certains comme un signe de dysfonctionnement du système alors que pour
d’autres, il s’agit d’une caractéristique assez normale d’un
système en bonne santé fonctionnant correctement. En juin 2001, la
Commission européenne a publié une communication intitulée Politiques
sociales et de l’emploi: un cadre pour investir dans la qualité [1]. Ce
document propose différentes façons de promouvoir la 'qualité' dans
l’emploi et la politique sociale et prévoit un ensemble d’indicateurs
pour mesurer cette qualité. Un des indicateurs en termes de 'dialogue social
et participation des travailleurs' porte sur les 'journées de travail
perdues à la suite de conflits du travail'.
In summer 2003, work is due to start on a revision of the Toledo pact, the
1995 agreement on the Spanish pensions system, in the light of gloomy
demographic and expenditure forecasts. The government is seeking various
changes, notably linking pensions to contributions paid over the entire
career, the development of private pension schemes, a halt to early
retirement and an increase in the retirement age. A recent European
Commission report has contributed to the debate.
The French government is due to propose legislation after the summer 2003
parliamentary recess reforming the 'minimum integration income' (RMI) benefit
and assistance scheme for people facing labour market difficulties. Much of
the responsibility for the scheme is to be decentralised to local level,
while a new form of employment contract - the 'minimum employment income'
contract - will be introduced for people who have been receiving RMI for two
years.
The French government was forced to amend its controversial proposals on
pension reform by wide-scale strike action and demonstrations organised in
protest on 13 May 2003. Following talks with the social partners, it revised
the plan - though not the key point of increasing the contribution period
required for a full pension - on the basis of a deal agreed by two trade
union confederations, CFDT and CFE-CGC. The talks thus led to a split in the
united trade union front on the issue, and unions opposed to the planned
reform have called more protest action. Parliamentary debate on the bill
began in June and is expected to to be completed in July.
Der Bericht vermittelt einen Überblick über die - in Tarifverträgen
vereinbarte und gesetzlich geregelte - Dauer der Arbeitszeit in der
Europäischen Union und in Norwegen im Jahr 2002 (und 2001), der auf den
Beiträgen der nationalen Zentren des Europäischen Observatoriums für die
Entwicklung der Arbeitsbeziehungen (EIRO) basiert. Zum ersten Mal
berücksichtigen wir auch Daten von drei der Kandidatenländern, die 2004 in
die EU aufgenommen werden: Ungarn, Polen und die Slowakei.
During 2003, Italian trade unions - and especially the Cisl confederation -
have been repeatedly threatened and attacked by terrorist groups (with 43
such attacks, including 12 fire-bombings, recorded between July 2002 and May
2003). The minister of the interior has highlighted the threat to unions in
parliament and in June the three main confederations agreed a united response
to the attacks.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer’s budget statement on 9 April 2003
contained a commitment to introduce measures to ensure that pay systems in
the public services become more responsive to differences in labour market
conditions between the UK’s regions. In particular, the pay review bodies
which determine levels of pay for 40% of the public service workforce would
have a new remit to take into account regional and local factors. To augment
the economic data available to negotiators and pay review bodies, the
government also announced plans to publish regional inflation figures.
Supporting its proposals, the government cited evidence from its 2002 review
of the public sector labour market which showed that wages in the public
sector vary far less than those in the private sector. The review found that
'public-sector workers outside of London are probably better paid than their
private-sector counterparts. But those in London are worse off than
equivalent workers in the private sector' (quoted in the /Financial Times/,
11 April 2003). The review concluded that the problem lay with national pay
bargaining and review body arrangements.
On 13 June 2003, the Norwegian government issued a proposal for new
legislation relating to gender quotas on company boards. The aim is to
achieve a 40% share of female board members in both larger private firms and
public enterprises. The proposed legislation would be made applicable to
private companies only if they fail voluntarily to achieve an acceptable
level of female representation on their boards. The government's proposal
comes against the backdrop of an increasing awareness of the low presence of
women on company boards in Norway. The government sees this as an equal
opportunities issue and argues that the business and industry community is
not doing enough to avail itself of the competences and qualifications of
both women and men.
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?