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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 máj 2022
Publication
Other
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V posledných rokoch okrem niektorých dočasných prudkých nárastov došlo v členských štátoch EÚ k všeobecnému poklesu počtu kolektívnych akcií. Počas pandémie ochorenia COVID-19 tento trend pokračoval, pričom najvýznamnejšie pracovné spory...

7 február 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 február 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

V posledných rokoch okrem niektorých dočasných prudkých nárastov došlo v členských štátoch EÚ k všeobecnému poklesu počtu kolektívnych akcií. Počas pandémie ochorenia COVID-19 tento trend pokračoval, pričom najvýznamnejšie pracovné spory sa neprekvapujúco vyskytli v odvetví ľudského zdravia a

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)

Tensions over terms and conditions in public sector challenge polder model

In late 1998 and early 1999, the Dutch education sector and police force have seen bitter pay disputes, while central and local government civil servants have announced pay demands that far exceed what the government feels it can offer in 1999. The differences appear unbridgeable for the time being

Local agreements highlight conciliation and arbitration procedures

Late 1998 saw three local agreements in northern Italy introducing procedures for conciliation in individual labour disputes. These are significant examples of the application of a 1998 legislative decree which made it compulsory to seek conciliation in individual disputes. Conciliation and

The Mediation and Arbitration Service and the development of collective bargaining

Greece's Mediation and Arbitration Service (OMED) has been in operation since 1992, and its lifetime has coincided with the implementation period of Law 1876/1990 on "free collective bargaining". This review of OMED's activities from 1992 to 1998 highlights collective bargaining policies in Greece

Committee proposes enhanced authority for mediators and restrictions on right to strike

In 1997, the Swedish government appointed a committee charged with the task of proposing measures leading to an improved system of pay determination, whereby public mediators would be given improved opportunities to promote "overall public interests" in negotiations. The committee's terms of

Human rights and Norwegian labour law

A proposal to incorporate international declarations of basic human rights into the national legal framework was put before parliament on 9 October 1998 by the Norwegian government. The declarations have implications for labour law and industrial relations in a number of ways.

Agreement at Ford plant in Spain follows long dispute

The 10-month dispute at the Ford Almussafes plant in Spain ended in an agreement in late October 1998, after the vice-president of Ford's HQ in Detroit had threatened to close the plant in a videoconference, which reportedly shocked public opinion. The wide-ranging agreement covers areas including

1998 sees widespread labour disputes in the social services

In the Netherlands, 1998 has seen widespread labour conflict across practically the whole of the social services sector - for example in hospitals, education and daycare centres and amongst home carers. After years of wage moderation and efficiency cutbacks, employees want to benefit from current

National Wage Board rules on pay disputes in state and municipal sectors

The 1998 spring pay settlement in the public sector (NO9806170F [1]) led to a series of strikes among public sector employees (NO9806173F [2]). Several of these strikes were referred to compulsory arbitration - ie the industrial action ceased and it was left to the National Wage Board

Ryanair dispute report charts course through troubled waters

A special two-member government-appointed enquiry into the trade union recognition [1] dispute between the independent airline Ryanair and fewer than 40 members of the Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU) employed as ground-handling agents (GHA s - ie baggage handlers)

Dispute at Miniwatt centres on proposed dual pay scale

Workers at the Miniwatt plant in Barcelona went on strike from 6-31 July 1998 in a dispute which started 18 months previously, following the company's proposal to introduce a "dual pay scale". From then on, the labour situation deteriorated. A court ruling went in favour of the workers at the end of


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