Portugal's major Lisnave shipyards are being privatised. New industrial
readjustment and work organisation strategies are reforming human resource
management and training standards. However, in a company that has strong
trade union traditions, discussions with employee representatives on
restructuring have been conducted in a relatively formal and
institutionalised way, with little participative input from the employees
concerned themselves.
The UK has been the main recipient of Toyota's European investment so far, at
its plant in Derby. If the UK were to lose the new investment to France, it
would be a huge blow to the Government which recently had to "rebuild some
fences" after the company announced in February 1997 that it might switch its
investment elsewhere in Europe if the UK did not join the single European
currency.
All industrial relations activities in Spain have been at a standstill in
early 1997, pending the conclusion of negotiations between trade unions and
employers' organisations on labour market reform. However, initial agreements
have been reached on types of employment contract and on dismissal
The issue of the use of national and European subsidies to support employment
in a particular country, region or sector, has come under the spotlight in
recent weeks in the context of the controversy which has arisen from
Renault's announcement of the closure of its factory at Vilvoorde in Belgium
(see Record EU9703108F [1]). Renault's request for subsidies to expand its
operations in Spain was blocked by European competition policy commissioner,
Karel Van Miert, in order to investigate whether EU funding was being used to
transfer employment to a region offering lower wage and social costs.
Wage bargaining in the private sector commenced on 10 March 1997 with
negotiations between the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) and
theConfederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO). So far the
question of voluntary early retirement has been the most difficult issue and,
after around one week, LO broke off the negotiations. Mediation was due to
commence the first week after the Easter holidays.
On 20 February 1997, Parliament adopted a law establishing retirement savings
funds. This legislation has a dual objective. Firstly, to provide private
sector employees with a new retirement cover financed by capitalisation, and
secondly, to strengthen the Paris financial market and balance the growing
power of foreign institutional investors.
The Portuguese Government is planning to extend its "base-line" minimum
income system to the whole country, and there are calls for greater
involvement by the social partners in its operation.
The second part of the two-year National General Collective Agreement 1996-7
(EGSSE) came into force at the beginning of 1997. The principal purpose of
the EGSSE is to set minimum pay levels, which have a two-fold significance:
providing a framework for the social protection of unskilled workers and
acting as a guideline for negotiations at more specific levels - enterprise,
industry-wide or occupational. Whatever is agreed at the level of the EGSEE
covers, without exception, the whole of the private sector, as well as the
broader public sector (public administration is excluded). The wages of
public servants have until now been determined by the Government, but this
will have to change following Greece's ratification of International Labour
Organisation Conventions Nos. 151 and 154, which consolidate the right of
public servants to collective bargaining.
Judging from a recent exchange of letters between a Dutch trade unions and
the Department of Justice, it would appear that cross-border cooperation
between unions, let alone their international merger, is beset with legal
difficulties.
Nurses had threatened industrial action on 10 February 1997 in pursuit of a
claim for a major overhaul in their pay structures and an improved early
retirement scheme. However, the action was called off when the nurses
accepted an IEP 85 million formula drawn up by the Labour Court, which
includes the creation of a commission which will examine a range of issues
related to the nursing profession. Four trade unions representing over 26,000
nurses were involved in the dispute, the largest being the 16,000-strong
Irish Nurses Organisation (INO).
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.
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 2003, the first edition of the survey.
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 2007, the second edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 2003.
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 2012, the third 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 2005, the fourth 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 2010, the fifth edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 1990.
This publication series explores scenarios for the future of manufacturing. The employment implications (number of jobs by sector, occupation, wage profile, and task content) under various possible scenarios are examined. The scenarios focus on various possible developments in global trade and energy policies and technological progress and run to 2030.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the textiles and clothing 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 textiles and clothing sector in the EU Member States.
This report presents Eurofound’s research on telework during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. It explores changes in the incidence of telework, working conditions experienced by employees working from home and changes to regulations addressing issues related to this working arrangement. The findings reveal a rapid escalation of telework triggered by the pandemic: in 2021, 2 out of 10 European employees were teleworking – a figure that most likely would not have been reached before 2027 had the pandemic not occurred.
This paper provides an analytical summary of state of the art academic and policy literature on the impact of climate change and policies to manage transitions to a carbon neutral economy on employment, working conditions, social dialogue and living conditions. It maps the key empirical findings around the impact of climate change and the green transitions on jobs, sectors, regions and countries in Europe, identifying the opportunities and risks that climate change policies bring to European labour markets.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the textiles and clothing 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.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the civil aviation 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.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the civil aviation 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 civil aviation sector in the EU Member States.
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 explores the drivers of economic and social convergence in Europe, using a selected set of economic and social indicators to examine trends in the performance of individual Member States. It also investigates what role the Economic and Monetary Union plays in convergence, particularly in southern and eastern Member States. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on convergence is analysed and initial conclusions are drawn about the impact of EU recovery packages and their ability to prevent divergence.
This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the professional football 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 professional football sector in the EU Member States.
The COVID-19 crisis has increased inequality between social groups in health, housing, employment, income and well-being. While a small part of society was able to hold on to or increase its wealth, other groups such as women, young people, older people, people with disabilities, low- and middle-income earners and those with young children were acutely affected by the pandemic. Drawing on current research on how to best measure multidimensional inequality, this report highlights recent trends in inequality in the context of the COVID-19 crisis.
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