Europeiska fonden för förbättring av levnads- och arbetsvillkor
Eurofound är ett trepartsorgan inom EU som förmedlar kunskap för att stödja utvecklingen av en bättre social-, sysselsättnings- och arbetsmarknadspolitik
Eurofound är ett trepartsorgan inom EU som förmedlar kunskap för att stödja utvecklingen av en bättre social-, sysselsättnings- och arbetsmarknadspolitik
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.
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.
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.
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.
As the legislation regulating the postal delivery monopoly will expire by the
end of 1997, on 18 February Germany's governing coalition parties proposed a
new law which would limit the exclusive licence of Deutsche Post AG, the
national postal service, to handling letters weighting under 100g, and this
only until the end of 2002. According to the Ministry responsible, this
proposal would reduce Deutsche Post's current monopoly to 87% of the standard
letter market. The proposed new law would also open completely the bulk mail
market to licensed competitors from 1 January 1998.
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.
The executive committee (sekretariatet) of the Norwegian Confederation of
Trade Unions (Landsorganisasjonen i Norge, or LO), the largest union
confederation in Norway, has recommended a programme of action containing a
set of policy principles for the period 1997-2001. The programme encompasses
a wide variety of social and economic issues and is to be adopted at the
confederation's congress on 10-16 May 1997 after a plenary debate.
Following negotiations with the Education Minister, 3,300 unemployed supply
teachers won the right in late January 1997 to be temporarily reinstated in
their jobs.
Compared to many other western industrialised countries, Germany has the
image of being a high-wage economy with a relatively low inequality of
incomes and living standards. This is mainly the result of the German system
of branch-level central collective bargaining (Flächentarifvertrag), where
almost all employees in any sector receive the same basic payment.
Nevertheless, it is not widely known that there is still a large number of
sectors and areas of employment where collectively-agreed basic wages and
salaries are relatively low. This is the main finding of a recent study by
the Institute for Economics and Social Science (Wirtschafts- und
Sozialwissenschaftliches Institut,WSI) on low wages in Germany
("Niedriglöhne. Die unbekannte Realität: Armut trotz Arbeit", Gerd Pohl &
Claus Schäfer (eds), VSA-Verlag Hamburg (1996)). The study was inspired by
the European Commission which, in 1993, adopted an Opinion on an equitable
wage, the main purpose of which was "to outline certain basic principles on
equitable wages, while taking into account social and economic realities".
The European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) is carried out every four to five years since its inception in 2003, with the latest edition in 2016. It examines both the objective circumstances of people's lives and how they feel about those circumstances and their lives in general. It covers issues around employment, income, education, housing, family, health and work–life balance. It also looks at subjective topics, such as people's levels of happiness and life satisfaction, and perceptions of the quality of society.
This series brings together publications and other outputs of the European Jobs Monitor (EJM), which tracks structural change in European labour markets. The EJM analyses shifts in the employment structure in the EU in terms of occupation and sector and gives a qualitative assessment of these shifts using various proxies of job quality – wages, skill-levels, etc.
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 2016, the fourth 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 2015, the sixth 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 1996, the second 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 2001, which was an extension of the EWCS 2000 to cover the then 12 acceding and candidate countries. 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 2000, the third edition of the survey. The survey was first carried out in 1990.
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 first edition of the survey carried out in 2004–2005 under the name 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 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.
Adequate, affordable housing has become a matter of great concern, with an alarming number of Europeans with low or lower household incomes unable to access any, especially in capital cities. Housing was a key factor in people’s experience of the COVID-19 pandemic: its quality and level of safety significantly affected how lockdowns and social distancing measures were experienced, with those who had no access to quality housing at higher risk of deteriorating living conditions and well-being.
The use of artificial intelligence, advanced robotics and the Internet of Things technologies in the workplace can bring about fundamental changes in work organisation and working conditions. This report analyses the ethical and human implications of the use of these technologies at work by drawing on qualitative interviews with policy stakeholders, input from the Network of Eurofound Correspondents and Delphi expert surveys, and case studies.
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