Broughton, Andrea

In the face of recession, falling demand and the consequent slowing of production, short-time working and temporary layoff schemes have been extended (or introduced) in many Member States. These schemes, often with the aid of public funds, reduce working time, while protecting workers’ incomes and company solvency; frequently, the time spent not working is used for training instead. This report examines the practice of reduced working time across Europe, and looks in detail at how it is implemented in 10 Member States, with a view to determining the contribution that such schemes can make in implementing the common principles of flexicurity, especially in light of the broad-based consensus they enjoy among the social partners.

The report, Closing the gap in a generation: Health equity through action on the social determinants of health (7.29Mb PDF) [1], issued by the Commission on Social Determinants of Health in 2008, states that: [1] http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2008/9789241563703_eng.pdf

In June 2010, the European Commission (Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs and Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities) issued a report, in the form of an occasional paper (742Kb PDF) [1], on short-time working arrangements as a response to cyclical fluctuations, focusing on developments during the recent economic crisis. [1] http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=5520&langId=en

Adapting to and managing change in the workplace has become a permanent fixture in the life of workers across Europe and a strategic, proactive approach should be developed to deal effectively with this ongoing challenge, said John Monks, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC [1]). [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/etuc

The Commission staff working document (237Kb PDF) [1], published by the Commission on 23 July 2010, shows that more than 500 texts have been produced as a result of sectoral social dialogue, including joint opinions and responses to consultations, autonomous agreements, and agreements that have been given legal force by means of a directive. The legally-binding texts are as follows: [1] http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=5591&langId=en

The new social dialogue [1] committee was launched on 11 June 2010 with an inaugural meeting of representatives of the European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE [2]) – composed of teachers’, trainers’ and lecturers’ trade unions – and the European Federation of Education Employers ( EFEE), which represents education ministries, regional and local authorities, state agencies and other types of employer organisations. EFEE is a relatively new organisation, founded in February 2009. [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/social-dialogue [2] http://www.csee-etuce.org/

On 25 March 2010, the EU-level cross-sector social partners presented a joint autonomous framework agreement (863Kb PDF) [1] on inclusive labour markets. The parties involved included the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC [2]), the European Centre of Enterprises with Public Participation and of Enterprises of General Economic Interest (Centre européen des entreprises à participation publique et des entreprises d’intérêt économique général, CEEP [3]), the employer organisation BusinessEurope [4] and the European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (Union Européenne de l’artisanat et des petites et moyennes enterprises, UEAPME [5]). [1] http://www.etuc.org/IMG/pdf_20100325155413125.pdf [2] http://www.etuc.org/ [3] http://www.ceep.eu/ [4] http://www.businesseurope.eu/ [5] http://www.ueapme.com/

On 25 March 2010, the EU-level cross-sector social partners presented a joint autonomous framework agreement (863Kb PDF) [1] on inclusive labour markets. The parties involved included the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC [2]), the European Centre of Enterprises with Public Participation and of Enterprises of General Economic Interest (Centre européen des entreprises à participation publique et des entreprises d’intérêt économique général, CEEP [3]), the employer organisation BusinessEurope [4] and the European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (Union Européenne de l’artisanat et des petites et moyennes enterprises, UEAPME [5]). [1] http://www.etuc.org/IMG/pdf_20100325155413125.pdf [2] http://www.etuc.org/ [3] http://www.ceep.eu/ [4] http://www.businesseurope.eu/ [5] http://www.ueapme.com/

On 24 March 2010, the European Commission [1] launched the first phase of a consultation of the EU-level social partners on a review of Directive 2003/88/EC [2] concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time [3]. The consultation [4], launched under Article 154 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), asks the social partners for their views on the possible direction of action regarding the directive. This move follows the announcement by the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament [5] in April 2009 that they could not reach agreement on a proposal issued by the Commission in 2004 on the directive’s review, following a conciliation process between the two institutions (*EU0906039I* [6]). [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/european-commission [2] http://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexapi!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=en&numdoc=32003L0088&model=guichett [3] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/working-time [4] http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=329&newsId=740&furtherNews=yes [5] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/european-parliament [6] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/impasse-on-changes-to-working-time-directive

On 24 March 2010, the European Commission [1] launched the first phase of a consultation of the EU-level social partners on a review of Directive 2003/88/EC [2] concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time [3]. The consultation [4], launched under Article 154 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), asks the social partners for their views on the possible direction of action regarding the directive. This move follows the announcement by the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament [5] in April 2009 that they could not reach agreement on a proposal issued by the Commission in 2004 on the directive’s review, following a conciliation process between the two institutions (*EU0906039I* [6]). [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/european-commission [2] http://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexapi!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=en&numdoc=32003L0088&model=guichett [3] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/working-time [4] http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=329&newsId=740&furtherNews=yes [5] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/european-parliament [6] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/impasse-on-changes-to-working-time-directive