Employers and unions want to reduce the amount of temporary recruitment and
the number of types of employment contract. They also want to increase their
freedom to negotiate labour market issues through collective bargaining.
These are the key issues in the current debate over a new round of labour
market reforms in Spain.
In January 1997, the European Commission adopted a report on the Promotion of
Participation by Employed Persons in Profits and Enterprise Results,
including equity participation (PEPPER II). The report suggests that
profit-sharing schemes lead to higher productivity, whatever method, model
specification and data are used. The macroeconomic situation was found to
have little effect on government or social partner support for such schemes,
but recent debates relating to enhancing productivity and wage flexibility
are stimulating discussions on proposals. However, in most member states,
trade unions can be expected to oppose the use of financial participation
schemes to promote wage flexibility.
As the 1 May election date draws nearer, both the Conservative Government and
the main opposition party, Labour, have begun to fight their campaigns by
taking opposite stances on the social policy Agreement annexed to the
Maastricht Treaty on European Union - the so-called "social chapter", from
which the UK has "opted out". In February, the Government launched an attack,
stating that if the Labour Party were to win the general election, its
commitment to "signing up" to the social chapter would cost the UK 500,000
jobs.
A recent decree-law issued by the Government has increased the national
minimum wage from 1 January 1997. The monthly rates have risen by up to 5%.
We review Portugal's minimum wage system and the reactions to, and
implications of, the 1997 increase.
Recently-announced plans by banks to levy service charges on the accounts
into which employees' salaries and wages are paid, have resulted in trade
union protests and the dropping of the proposals.
In the Works Constitution [1] Act (Betriebsverfassungsgesetz) of 1972, works
councils [2] in Germany are given extensive rights of information,
consultation and co-determination [3]. The employer has to provide the works
council with both timely and comprehensive information on all matters related
to the discharge of its functions. In establishments with over 20 employees,
information must be given "in full and in good time" on reductions in
operations and the introduction of new working methods. Consultation rights
cover planned structural alterations to the plant and prospective changes in
equipment and working methods that affect job requirements, all decisions
relating to manpower planning, and individual dismissals.
At its plenary session of 13-17 January 1997, the European Parliament debated
two important measures relating to employee consultation in European
companies. After the European Works Councils (EWCs) Directive was passed in
1994, the Commission published a Communication on the future of employee
consultation in November 1995, in order to revive a legislative issue which
has been under discussion in various forms for over 15 years. Its aim was to
explore whether the model used for determining the structure and operation of
EWCs could be used in a wider context as a basis for making progress with the
long-delayed European Company Statute.
According to the UGT trade union confederation, during the 1996 collective
bargaining round pay increases were generally settled in line with the Social
Concertation Agreement for that year.
Unskilled young people aged between 20 and 24 must undertake training or work
experience programmes in order to maintain their right to receive
unemployment benefit, according to a recent amendment to the Act on Labour
Market Support.
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.
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, conducted in three rounds – in April and July 2020 and in March 2021. This is complemented by the inclusion of research into the ongoing effects of the pandemic in much of Eurofound’s other areas of work.
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.
Eurofound's representativness 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 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.
Building on Eurofound’s previous research on youth, this report examines the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on young people, in particular their economic and social situation, with a focus on employment. It will also estimate how the NEET population – young people not in employment, education or training – has changed in size and composition over the last decade, and how the current crisis might affect this.
This report explores the impact of the use of digital technologies on work organisation and job quality, as well as the role of social dialogue and employee involvement in the digitisation process. The three technologies analysed are the Internet of Things, 3D printing, and virtual and augmented reality. The report draws on the views of experts and policy stakeholders and includes insights from 10 case studies of European establishments that have deployed one or more of the three digital technologies.
This report examines the phenomenon of overtime in the EU, providing a comparative description of how it is regulated in EU Member States. It also assesses how contentious the issue can be and investigates the reasons behind the various disputes and debates. Finally, the report attempts to quantify and characterise the share of overtime for which workers are not paid or compensated. The analysis is based on information collected in EU Member States by the Network of Eurofound Correspondents.
The European Jobs Monitor tracks changes in employment structure and contributes to the debate about whether European labour markets are polarising or upgrading. The European Jobs Monitor report in 2021 looks in particular at two dimensions of change in labour supply – increased female participation and population/workforce ageing – to show how they can contribute to an understanding of recent changes in employment structure.
This study presents policy-relevant findings on differential pay rates for men and women at occupational level. Previous research has underlined that the gender pay gap is biggest – and has been slowest to narrow – in well-paid jobs requiring professional qualifications. These are also jobs in which the female worker share is increasing relatively fast. The report maps the extent of the gender pay gap across the job-wage distribution, taking into account the shifting gender composition of specific sectors, occupations and jobs.
While often considered staid, social partner organisations have developed different ways of using technology to communicate with their members, as well as to organise, mobilise and develop both internally, among staff, and externally, vis-à-vis members and the public. This topical update maps current practices in social partner organisations, describes developments in the use of technologies, and outlines the impact on social partner activities and organisation.
This report examines a number of collective labour disputes involving industrial action in EU Member States, Norway and the UK. It provides a comprehensive study of each labour dispute, including information on industrial action events and the context for each dispute, as well as the relevant topics, actors, attempts at resolution and outcomes. Different types of collective labour disputes and their occurrence in various countries and sectors are presented, indicating how they are linked to different industrial relations regimes.
What have been the major trends and policy developments regarding digitalisation in Europe? What do we know about the deployment of automation, digitisation and the platform economy? This flagship publication provides an overview of developments in Europe in recent years, as well as mapping the observable or expected effects on employment and working conditions, as well as exploring the implications from a policy perspective.
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.
The COVID-19 pandemic radically reshaped workplace practices and work organisation across the EU. This report explores changes that occurred as a result of or during the COVID-19 pandemic in areas such as technological transformation, decision-making and remote working. The research sets out to learn from company experiences and measures that have proved critical to keeping businesses running. It aims to inform policymakers, employers and trade unions on how to make businesses, workplaces and workers more resilient in the face of a crisis such as COVID-19.
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