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Agreements

Agreements are the outcome of collective bargaining and social dialogue processes. Social partners are encouraged to negotiate and conclude collective agreements  that can then be implemented at European, national, regional, sectoral or company level.  Increasingly Union labour laws are shaped by agreements that the parties voluntarily enter into and by soft law mechanisms. 

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In this pilot project, Eurofound successfully established the feasibility of, and piloted, an EU-wide database of minimum pay rates contained in collective agreements related to low-paid workers. A conceptual and...

26 Januar 2024
Publication
Research report
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This report explores EU Member States’ legislation around the right to disconnect and assesses the impact of company policies in this area on employees’ hours of connection, working time, work–life...

30 November 2023
Publication
Research report

Eurofound expert(s)

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Christine Aumayr-Pintar is a senior research manager in the Working Life unit at Eurofound. Her current research topics include minimum wages, collectively agreed wages and gender...

Senior research manager,
Working life research unit
Publications results (40)

Z izjemo nekaj nenadnih povečanj je v zadnjih letih sindikalno ukrepanje v državah članicah na splošno upadlo. Med pandemijo covida-19 se je ta trend nadaljeval, pri čemer ne preseneča, da so se najpomembnejši delovni spori pojavljali v sektorju zdravstvenih in socialnih storitev, izobraževalnem

07 February 2022

Digitalne tehnologije so mnogim delavcem omogočile, da svoje delo opravljajo kadar koli in kjer koli, kar prinaša prednosti in slabosti. Podatki Eurofoundakažejo, da je za zaposlene, ki delajo na daljavo, dvakrat bolj verjetno, da bodo presegli zgornjo mejo 48 delovnih ur, ne bodo imeli dovolj

09 September 2021

Eurofound od leta 2016 pozorno spremlja vključevanje nacionalnih socialnih partnerjev v oblikovanje politik v ciklu evropskega semestra. Leta 2020 je bil poudarek na njihovem vključevanju v prvih mesecih izbruha pandemije covida-19. Čeprav je pandemija pomenila velik izziv za socialni dialog

09 March 2021

Developments in information and communication technology (ICT) have been among the key drivers of change in working life over the past two decades. Specifically, telework and ICT-based mobile work (TICTM) exemplifies how digital technology has led to more flexible workplace and working time

02 July 2020

The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of individuals and societies, including on the economy and labour markets, is unprecedented. The impact of the global health emergency has placed a growing number of businesses under threat, putting the jobs of more and more workers at risk and

24 June 2020

This study examines the interaction between social dialogue practices and human resources management (HRM) policies in European multinational companies (MNCs). It looks at the changing role of HRM and its interaction with European Works Councils (EWCs), which can act as a link between different

16 June 2020

This report, as part of an annual series on minimum wages, summarises the key developments during 2019 and early 2020 around the EU initiative on fair wages and puts the national debates on setting the rates for 2020 and beyond in this context. The report features how minimum wages were set and the

04 June 2020

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

This report examines the development of collectively agreed pay in conjunction with the development of actual compensation (‘wages’) and labour productivity in real terms. It applies both a longer-term perspective (the early 2000s to 2017) and a short-term perspective, with a focus on the outcomes

10 October 2018

This annual review covers several issues related to working time in the EU and Norway in 2015 and 2016. It is based mainly on contributions from Eurofound’s Network of European Correspondents (NEC).

16 August 2017

Online resources results (321)

Lithuania: Trilateral agreement promoting social dialogue signed

An agreement on reforms crucial to Lithuania’s economic growth was signed on 16 October after almost a year of discussions. The agreement, signed by Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis and representatives of the social partners, identifies long-term objectives such as improving efficiency in the

Germany: Latest working life developments – Q1 2017

The conclusion of several collective wage bargaining rounds and the nomination of Martin Schulz to run as the Social Democrats’ candidate for Chancellor in September’s federal elections are the main topics of interest in this article. This country update reports on the latest developments in working

Sweden: No wage coordination – new trend or just an exception?

Disagreement over how to reduce the gender pay gap led to Swedish blue-collar unions failing to coordinate their wage-bargaining for the first time since the 1980s. The fragmented 2016 wage bargaining round has led to uncertainty over how this breakdown will affect future bargaining, the Industrial

Ireland: Landmark agreement at the Irish Aviation Authority

A major new five-year collective agreement between the Irish Aviation Authority and the trade union IMPACT balances the company’s need for cost stability and change with the union’s goal of protecting pay and conditions. The aim is to improve relations at a key European transport hub in an industry

Slovenia: Employers withdraw from social agreement for 2015–2016

Slovenian employer organisations withdrew from the 2015–2016 social agreement at the end of November 2015, after Parliament approved amendments to the law on the minimum wage. Employers said the government had acted unacceptably and arbitrarily in making the changes. Trade unions, however, argue

Ireland: New public sector agreement passed

The Lansdowne Road Agreement was approved by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions in September 2015. The deal extends the provisions of the previous Haddington Road Agreement, but introduces phased pay restoration between 2016 and 2018 of around €2,000 for most public sector workers in a flat rate

Ireland: Public sector pay restoration talks look set to succeed

Public service trade unions have concluded a ‘pay restoration’ agreement with the government, costing €566 million over a three-year period. The average gross payment per employee will be €2,000, to be paid out between January 2016 and September 2017. Individual unions are balloting on the proposed

Sweden: SAS employees sue company trade union

Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) was both directly and indirectly involved in several labour disputes in May and June 2015.

Italy: Banks sign collective agreement after two years of unrest over pay

Banking unions finally agreed pay rises with the Italian Banking Association (ABI) in March 2015 after nearly two years of unrest.


Blogs results (2)
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Minimum wages have risen significantly in 2022, as the EU Member States leave behind the cautious mood of the pandemic. However, rising inflation is eating up these wage increases, and only flexibility in the regular minimum wage setting processes may avoid generalised losses in purchasing power

15 Junij 2022
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Whatever the benefits of telework – and there are many, including more flexible working time, increased productivity and less commuting – there are drawbacks, as many of the one-third of Europeans who were exclusively working from home during the pandemic will attest. Primary among these is the ‘alw

3 December 2020

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