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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)

Union opposes changes in collective labour legislation

The accession of Greece in 2010 to the Financial Stability Mechanism established by euro zone Member States, the European Central Bank (ECB [1]) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF [2]) led to a series of significant modifications to the country’s labour legislation. [1] http://www.ecb.int/home

Call to simplify tendering process and reduce business costs

Trade union leaders and business organisations met with Bulgarian Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski on 10 June 2013 to discuss problems with public procurement and tendering in the country. Unions and businesses say there are too many different types of regulatory regimes and licenses – 700 at

Pact on employment and competitiveness at Ford

The previous collective agreement between managers and workers at Ford’s manufacturing plant at Almussafes, in Spain’s Valencia region, was signed in 2007 by only one of the four unions represented on the workers’ committee, the General Workers Confederation (UGT [1]). [1] http://www.ugt.es

New hotel industry agreement 2013–2015

On 29 May 2013, trade unions and employer organisations representing hotel workers accepted the mediation proposal put forward by the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance (MLSI [1]) and signed a new collective agreement that covers over 16,000 skilled and unskilled workers. However, around 4,000

Trade union federations announce merger plans

Before 1990, Hungary had just one trade union federation, the National Council of Trade Unions (SZOT). In 1990, political change brought the country’s first democratically elected government, and allowed more trade unions to be formed. Not only were sectoral trade unions established, but also a

Unrest in the inland navigation sector

For some time there has been unrest in Belgium over what some perceive as the neglect of the Belgian inland waterways sector. On 11 April 2013, the once-powerful organisation for inland waterway craft skippers, Ons Recht/Notre Droit, was revived for a demonstration staged at the European Parliament

‘Groundbreaking’ nuclear power agreements signed

On 5 June 2013, EDF Energy [1] signed two industrial relations agreements with trade unions and the main contractor for the construction of the planned new UK nuclear power station at Hinkley Point C in Somerset. [1] http://www.edfenergy.com

Social partners sign new national agreement

A national collective agreement signed by social partners in Greece came into effect on 1 January 2010 and expired on 31 December 2012. The agreement’s period of validity was extended pending the conclusion of a new deal, but this extension was due to expire on 15 May 2013.

New collective agreement for journalists

Negotiations in Austria between the sectoral social partners responsible for collective bargaining in the journalism sector started in 2009. The Austrian Newspaper Association (VÖZ [1]) and the Union for Salaried Employees, Journalists and Graphical Workers (GPA-djp [2]) have finally signed a new

Social dialogue committee created in the graphical sector

In 2010, European-level social partners in the print industry identified the need to further intensify their cooperation. It led to meetings between the UNI Europa Graphical and Packaging [1] group, which represents workers in the sector, and Intergraf [2] on the employers’ side. Social partners


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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