Broughton, Andrea

In April 2012 the social partners in the EU hairdressing sector, the employers’ organisation Coiffure EU [1] and employees’ union UNI Hair & Beauty [2], signed a framework agreement on health and safety in hairdressing (4.6MB PDF) [3] (*EU1205031I* [4]). The social partners asked the European Commission, under Article 155 [5] of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to make the agreement legally binding in all EU Member States, by issuing an EU Directive. [1] http://www.coiffure.eu [2] http://www.uniglobalunion.org/sectors/hair-beauty/news [3] http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=7697&langId=en [4] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/industrial-relations-undefined/hairdressing-sector-devises-health-and-safety-pact [5] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/european-social-dialogue-via-articles-154-155-tfeu

A European Commission working paper, ‘Growth potential of EU human resources and policy implications for future economic growth’ [1], analyses the impact of demographic ageing. The findings indicate that demographic trends and, more specifically, the ageing of the EU’s population, represent a key challenge in their impact on the size and structure of the European workforce. [1] http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=738&langId=en&pubId=7662&type=2&furtherPubs=yes

In its report to the European Parliament and Council, ‘Strengthening the Social Dimension of the Economic and Monetary Union’ (188KB PDF) [1], the European Commission makes a further contribution to the debate on deepening Economic and Monetary Union (EMU [2]), stating that the general social agenda is relevant to all 28 EU Member States. [1] http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/president/news/archives/2013/10/pdf/20131002_1-emu_en.pdf [2] http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/euro/emu/

The Council of Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs (EPSCO [1]) met on 20 and 21 June 2013 in Luxembourg. The council meets around four times a year, and is composed of employment, social protection, consumer protection, health and equal opportunities ministers. [1] http://www.consilium.europa.eu/policies/council-configurations/employment,-social-policy,-health-and-consumer-affairs.aspx?lang=en

The European Commission (EC [1]) issued the results of a so-called ‘fitness check (348KB PDF) [2]’ of EU law on the provision of information to and consultation of workers on 26 July 2013. [1] http://ec.europa.eu/index_en.htm [2] http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=10415&langId=en

The new social dialogue committee for the port sector is made up of representatives of the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO [1]) and the European Federation of Private Port Terminal Operators (FEPORT [2]) on the employer side, and the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF [3]) and the International Dockers Coordination Europe, which represent dockers and port workers in European ports. The committee held its inaugural meeting in Brussels on 19 June 2013. [1] http://www.espo.be/ [2] http://www.feport.be/underconstruction.html [3] http://www.itfglobal.org/etf/

The European Commission has launched a formal consultation (87 KB PDF) [1] among EU social partners on the subject of undeclared work [2]. The Commission wants to promote further EU cooperation between authorities in Member States to prevent and deter undeclared workers. The consultation comes under Article 154 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union [3] (TFEU). [1] http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=10345&langId=en [2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/undeclared-work [3] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/treaty-on-the-functioning-of-the-european-union

The European Alliance for Apprenticeships [1] was launched at the 2013 WorldSkills competition [2] in Leipzig, Germany. The scheme was unveiled by the European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, Androulla Vassiliou, and the Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, László Andor. [1] http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/newsroom/cf/itemdetail.cfm?item_id=6786&lang=en [2] http://www.worldskills.org/

The European Company Survey on Reconciliation of Work and Family Life 2010 (1.36Mb PDF) [1] has provided a detailed description and analysis of family-friendly policies implemented by companies in six European countries – Germany, the UK, France, Italy, Sweden and Poland. [1] http://www.bosch-stiftung.de/content/language2/downloads/Endfassung_Unternehmensmonitor_Familienfreundlichkeit-ENGLISCH.pdf

Directive 2004/40/EC [1], agreed in April 2004, set out the minimum health and safety requirements for workers exposed to electromagnetic fields, particularly the very large electromagnetic fields found in workplaces where a considerable amount of power is consumed. [1] http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:02004L0040-20081211:EN:NOT