About EurWORK

20 July 2021
Observatory: 
EurWORK

Established in 2014, the European Observatory of Working Life (EurWORK) brings together Eurofound’s long-established observatories on industrial relations (EIRO) and working conditions (EWCO).

Role

EurWORK encompasses all of Eurofound's resources on working conditions and sustainable work and on industrial relations and social dialogue. It is supported by a Network of Eurofound Correspondents across all EU Member States and Norway which regularly reports on national working life developments. A further source of information is provided by Eurofound’s two regular surveys on working life issues: the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) and the European Company Survey (ECS).

Key focus

EurWORK covers two key topics areas in Eurofound’s 2021–2024 programming period:

The main topics covered under EurWORK products include:

EurWORK products

Country-specific focus on working life

The Network of Eurofound Correspondents provides country updates on the latest working life developments on a quarterly basis. This reporting is complemented by topical updates in the areas listed above and other specific articles. The annual review of working life highlights the most important developments at national and EU level. The correspondents provide comparative information from all Member States and Norway, which feeds into reports and topical updates.

Representativeness studies

In 2006, the European Commission mandated Eurofound to carry out studies on the representativeness of European sectoral social partner organisations. These studies are designed to provide the basic information needed for the setting up and functioning of sectoral social dialogue committees at European level. The Commission uses these committees as the mechanism for consulting management and labour under Article 154 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

Resources

EurWORK’s working life country profiles provide relevant background information on the structures, institutions and regulations underpinning working life in the EU Member States and Norway.

The database of wages, working time and collective disputes provides a set of country-level data covering the EU Member States, the UK [1] and Norway for the period 2000–2017. It looks at the systems that are currently in place (such as legislation or collective bargaining agreements) and some outcomes (such as the level of collectively agreed pay or working time).

The European Industrial Relations Dictionary is a comprehensive collection of the most commonly used terms in employment and industrial relations at EU level today. Updated regularly, it contains over 400 entries, with links to EU legislation and case law.

Other research

EurWORK also features further research on working conditions and sustainable work and industrial relations and social dialogue, such as secondary analysis from Eurofound’s surveys, regular reports on pay and working time, reports compiled at the request of Eurofound’s stakeholders and other strategic research in the area.

In 2021, Eurofound will publish results of a feasibility study on an industrial action monitor aimed at charting industrial action events across Europe, their causes and outcomes.

Target audience

EurWORK aims to serve the main Eurofound stakeholders, including European social partners, EU institutions and Member State governments, as well as policymakers and practitioners in the fields of working conditions and sustainable work, as well as industrial relations and social dialogue.


Footnote

  1. ^ In light of the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union on 31 January 2020, it should be noted that data published on the Eurofound website may include the 28 EU Member States, as the UK was covered in earlier research. This will be progressively amended to reflect the current composition of the 27 EU Member States.