This report maps the impact of the global financial, economic and public debt crisis on industrial relations and working conditions at national level in the EU Member States from 2008 to end 2012. The impact of the crisis on industrial relations is mapped with regard to the actors, processes and
The European Company Survey 2009 on flexibility practices and social dialogue is the second European-wide establishment survey to be undertaken by Eurofound. The survey documents flexibility strategies in firms and is a unique source of comparative information on social dialogue at the workplace
This report presents a comparison of national industrial relations systems in the EU25, exploring the differences between individual systems and their effects on the economy. The report is based on the more detailed findings of a research project entitled ‘Quality of industrial relations
The Belgian government is currently engaged in implementing austerity measures to combat the severe impact of the global economic crisis, as well as the rapidly rising national debt. The federal coalition government comprises the Christian Democratic and Flemish Party (Christen-Democratisch en
On 22 December 2008, the peak national social partner organisations in the private sector concluded the intersectoral collective agreement for the period 2009–2010 (*BE0901019I* [1]). Every two years, this agreement acts as a general framework for the subsequent sectoral bargaining rounds in Belgium
From 5–18 May 2008, the latest round of social elections – also known as workplace elections –was held across the Belgian private sector. This is the 15th time that the elections have taken place since their introduction in 1950 (*BE0406301N* [1]). In terms of the gender distribution, the election
On 30 April 2009, the Council of Ministers has adopted an Act on some new measures to protect employment in light of the economic crisis. The measures offer companies more possibilities to temporarily reduce employees’ working time in order to avoid as many layoffs as possible during the current
Fundamental constitutional reforms have resulted in a quasi-federal structure in Belgium based on the recognition of the three main linguistic communities and three regions as governmental actors – that is, the Flemish region, the Walloon region and the region of the capital city Brussels.
On 1 April 2009, the National Employment Council (Nationale Arbeidsraad/Conseil National du Travail, NAR/CNT [1]) concluded its 100th collective agreement, which came into force immediately. Article 1 of the National Labour Council Act of 29 May 1952 defined the role of the NAR/CNT as follows: [1]
Recent research carried out in the metalworking sector in the Flanders region in northern Belgium specifically aimed to examine the impact of various forms of teamwork on stress symptoms among workers. The team concept implies a number of specific changes in the structure of the division of labour
The basis for the collective agreement on ecocheques is the 2009–2010 intersectoral agreement which the social partners concluded on 22 December 2008 against the background of the current global economic crisis (*BE0901019I* [1]). [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/social
In February 2009, some 289,381 workers were temporarily unemployed for at least one day in Belgium. This is an increase of about 70% compared with the same month in 2008. These workers are entitled to a benefit from the National Employment Office (Rijksdienst voor Arbeidsvoorziening/Office National
The 2008 international financial crisis hit Belgium from mid 2008 onwards. Two of the country’s largest banks – Fortis [1] and Dexia [2] – began to experience severe problems, which have been exacerbated by the rising financial problems of other banks around the world. The value of their stocks, as