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Arbeidsverhoudingen

Vakbonden, werkgeversorganisaties en de overheid spelen allemaal een rol in het beheer van de arbeidsrelaties. Ze zijn geschakelde onderdelen van een stelsel dat op Europees, nationaal, sectoraal, regionaal en bedrijfsniveau opereert. In de afgelopen jaren zijn de arbeidsverhoudingsstelsels, naarmate de technologie en vormen van werk binnen een voortdurend veranderende economische omgeving evolueren, met kritieke uitdagingen geconfronteerd.

Tegen deze achtergrond heeft de Europese Commissie in 2015 een ‘nieuwe start’ voor de Europese sociale dialoog gelanceerd. In juni 2016 hebben de Commissie, de Raad en de sociale partners in een gezamenlijke verklaring de fundamentele rol van de sociale dialoog als belangrijk onderdeel van de vorming van het Europees werkgelegenheids- en sociaal beleid onderstreept.

Topic

Recent updates

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This publication comprises individual country reports on developments in working life in each of the 27 EU Member States and Norway in 2023, based on national research and survey results...

26 juli 2024
Publication
Other
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This 2024 annual review of minimum wages provides a synopsis of minimum wage setting during 2023 in the EU27 and Norway. It reports in detail on the processes and outcomes...

26 juni 2024
Publication
Research report

EU context

Het werk van Eurofound

De Stichting heeft zich in de loop van veertig jaar ontwikkeld tot een belangrijk expertisecentrum voor het monitoren en analyseren van trends in de arbeidsverhoudingen. Daartoe behoren koppelingen tussen de sociale dialoog op Europees niveau en die op nationaal niveau. De Stichting heeft, met informatie van haar netwerk van Europese correspondenten in de 28 EU-lidstaten en Noorwegen, de ontwikkelingen in alle lidstaten en in de EU als geheel in kaart gebracht. 

Belangrijkste bijdragen

De Stichting publiceerde op het gebied van arbeidsverhoudingen een reeks vergelijkende analyses, artikelen en casestudy's over de EU28 en Noorwegen, en actualiseerde regelmatig databanken over gerelateerde onderwerpen.

In een recente studie worden belangrijke aspecten van en indicatoren voor arbeidsverhoudingsstelsels in Europa in de 21e eeuw in kaart gebracht en besproken. In het kader van een ander onderzoek wordt gekeken naar de manier waarop de sociale partners in de EU en Noorwegen nieuwe thema's, instrumenten en innovatieve benaderingen hebben verkend om te reageren op de vele nieuwe politieke, juridische en sociale uitdagingen van de laatste jaren.

Lonen en arbeidstijden blijven belangrijke aandachtsgebieden en worden jaarlijks herzien. Een onderdeel van de recente update over lonen is gewijd aan wettelijke minimumloonniveaus in heel de EU, terwijl een ander gewijd is aan collectieve salarisonderhandelingen.

De Stichting verricht sinds 2006 studies naar de representativiteit van Europese sectorale socialepartnerorganisaties, in opdracht van de Europese Commissie.

Bronnen

Rapportage over ontwikkelingen in het arbeidsleven

De Stichting biedt systematische en vergelijkbare gegevens over nationale arbeidsverhoudingsstelsels en ontwikkelingen in het arbeidsleven met behulp van instrumenten voor monitoring en rapportage en de bijdragen van haar netwerk van Europese correspondenten in de 28 EU-lidstaten en Noorwegen.

Key outputs

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This report examines the average weekly working hours across Europe in 2021 and 2022. It covers important developments resulting from legislative reforms in collective bargaining at national or sectoral level...

24 oktober 2023
Publication
Research report
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De jaarlijkse evaluatie van de minimumlonen voor 2023 werd opgesteld in het kader van ongekende inflatie in heel Europa. Hoewel dit in veel landen tot forse stijgingen van de nominale...

29 juni 2023
Publication
Research report
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In het kader van zijn mandaat om de dialoog tussen de sociale partners te stimuleren, monitort en analyseert Eurofound al meer dan veertig jaar ontwikkelingen in stelsels van arbeidsverhoudingen op...

11 december 2020
Publication
Flagship report

Current and ongoing research

 

Other ongoing work

    • Social dialogue in companies, particularly linkages that can be drawn between national and EU level, to better understand of cooperation mechanisms used in decision-making and implementation in multinational companies
    • Exploration of the role of national social partners in the European semester and analysis of quality and effectiveness of their involvement
    • Summary of discussions on capacity-building social dialogue to support a meaningful and effective social dialogue
    • A flagship report on industrial relations covering topics related to both social dialogue and working life developments, including updates on collectively agreed pay
    • Representativeness studies on a variety of sectors to provide the European Commission required information to assess the representativeness of European sectoral social partner organisations
    • Highlights of recent developments of selected features of working life in so called topical updates, with one featuring statutory minimum wages
    • Updated time series in EurWORK database of wages, working time and collective disputes
    • Updated time series and update on developments in collectively agreed pay
    • Exploring the feasibility for an Industrial Action Monitor

    Eurofound expert(s)

    ricardo-rodriguez-contreras-2023.png

    Ricardo Rodriguez Contreras is a research manager in the Working Life unit at Eurofound and focuses on comparative industrial relations, social dialogue and collective bargaining...

    Research manager,
    Working life research unit
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    Mária Sedláková is a research officer in the Working Life unit at Eurofound. She is responsible for drafting overview reports for sectoral representativeness studies, management...

    Research officer,
    Working life research unit
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    Victoria Cojocariu is a research support officer for the representativeness studies in the Working Life unit at Eurofound. She is responsible for the management of the research...

    Research support officer,
    Working life research unit
    Publications results (518)

    This publication comprises individual country reports on developments in working life in each of the 27 EU Member States and Norway in 2023, based on national research and survey results. The topics covered include the political context in 2023; updates on the social partners and social dialogue ins

    26 July 2024

    This 2024 annual review of minimum wages provides a synopsis of minimum wage setting during 2023 in the EU27 and Norway. It reports in detail on the processes and outcomes of setting the minimum wage rates for 2024 and beyond. It investigates the extent to which minimum wage earners were affected by

    26 June 2024

    Three years after the adoption of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), this report reviews the quality of the social partners’ involvement in 2023 in the ongoing implementation of reforms and investments funded by that initiative. It also examines the quality of their involvement in the prepa

    26 February 2024

    This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the furniture sector.

    08 December 2023

    Previous Eurofound research developed three complementary tools to examine the dynamics of industrial relations and compare how national industrial relations systems are faring in terms of quality and change over time.

    05 December 2023

    In the EU, non-compliance with statutory or negotiated minimum wages averages 6.93% or 1.3%, depending on the statistics used. The lowest national estimate is 0.01% in Belgium and the highest is 11.59% in Hungary.

    27 November 2023

    This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the woodworking sector.

    21 November 2023

    This study provides information to allow for an assessment of the representativeness of the national and supranational social partners at cross-industry level in the EU.

    09 November 2023

    This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the professional football sector.

    26 October 2023

    After a long period of price stability, inflation has made a remarkable comeback in the EU. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the energy crisis spurred by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the disruption of the international supply chain, among other factors, have driven up the

    06 September 2023

    Online resources results (1688)
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    Minimum wages in Belgium

    Minimum wages in Belgium exist at national and sectoral levels and are the outcome of collective bargaining. The national minimum wage typically lags behind sectoral minimum wages in Belgium, and policymakers have been concerned about the relative decrease in the national minimum wage compared with

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    Cyprus introduces a national statutory minimum wage

    On 31 August 2022, a new decree on minimum wages was published in Cyprus after a long and arduous process of negotiations and social dialogue. The ministerial decree, which came into effect on 1 January 2023, established a national minimum wage in Cyprus for the first time, a groundbreaking and cont

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    Minimum wage debate in Italy

    Italy has no minimum wage prescribed by law. Minimum wages are set through collective agreements at sectoral level, and the majority of employees in Italy are covered by a collective bargaining agreement in which wages are set. This article outlines the latest positions (2023) of the government and

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    Measures to lessen the impact of the inflation and energy crisis on citizens

    As governments across the EU continue to implement policies to support citizens and businesses in the face of rising food and energy prices caused by the COVID-19 crisis and intensified by the war in Ukraine, this article summarises the policy responses as reported in Eurofound’s EU PolicyWatch

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    Minimum wage hikes struggle to offset inflation

    As the EU economy advanced its recovery following the pandemic, the high rate of inflation throughout 2022 meant that wage setting actors made their decisions under a cloud of uncertainty. While nominal increases in statutory minimum wages reached an all-time high, minimum wage workers in most count

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    First responses to cushion the impact of inflation on citizens

    Although the worldwide pandemic situation had already disrupted supply chains and triggered increases in energy and food prices in 2021, the situation deteriorated in 2022 with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Governments throughout the EU had already started to intervene with policy measures in a

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    Policies to support EU companies affected by the war in Ukraine

    As the war in Ukraine has intensified, the cost of food, raw materials and energy prices, already high due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has continued to rise substantially. Ahead of coordinated action at EU level, as agreed by EU energy ministers on 9 September 2022, governments across the EU have

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    Minimum wages in 2022: Bigger hikes this time around

    The first overview of minimum wage setting for 2022 shows that, while some negotiations are still ongoing, virtually all EU Member States have increased their nominal statutory rates. Compared to last year, when most countries settled for cautious increases against a background of deep uncertainty

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    Mixed impacts of COVID-19 on social dialogue and collective bargaining in 2020

    ​​​​​​​A first analysis of developments in working life in 2020 shows that the COVID-19 pandemic had a considerable impact on social dialogue and collective bargaining in the EU, Norway and the UK, albeit to varying degrees. While in some countries, standard procedures were by and large maintained,

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    Minimum wages in 2021: Most countries settle for cautious increase

    ​​​​​​​Despite the unusually tough economic and labour market conditions, most EU Member States made nominal and real increases to their minimum wages in 2020. This is what a first overview of recent minimum wage developments reveals. Some countries lived up to earlier promises or pre-agreements, wh


    Blogs results (18)
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    Minimum wages have risen significantly in 2022, as the EU Member States leave behind the cautious mood of the pandemic. However, rising inflation is eating up these wage increases, and only flexibility in the regular minimum wage setting processes may avoid generalised losses in purchasing power amo

    15 juni 2022
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    In the context of the ongoing trend of a fall in collective bargaining coverage, and recent calls at EU level to promote collective bargaining coverage as an instrument to support fair and decent wages, new data from Eurofound’s fourth European Company Survey (ECS) show that two-thirds of workers (i

    28 oktober 2020
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    The coronavirus disease (Covid-19) is having drastic consequences for the world of work. In most European countries workers who are not delivering essential ‘frontline’ services are being asked to stay home. Unfortunately many are out of work, while many of those who are not are minimum-wage and low

    1 april 2020
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    As one of their ‘100 days in office’ initiatives, the new European Commission intends to propose an initiative for an EU minimum wage. The aim is that by 2024 every worker in the EU should earn a fair and adequate wage, no matter where they live.

    15 januari 2020
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    Trade unions in many EU Member States face the issue of declining membership. This is a fundamental challenge for organised labour, but it is premature to speak about the redundancy unions: when it comes to important decisions affecting the workplace, restructuring being one, trade unions remain a p

    20 november 2019
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    The International Labour Organization (ILO) met for the first time 100 years ago, and right at the top of the agenda for discussion for this new specialised UN agency was the 8-hour working day. This discussion subsequently resulted in the Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, which stated that ‘The

    12 november 2019
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    The European Platform Tackling Undeclared Work last year documented the case of a Dutch temporary work agency that hired workers of various nationalities to work for a construction company in Belgium. The wages were suspiciously low, and the Belgian Labour Inspectorate believed that EU law guarantee

    17 juli 2019
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    The votes have been cast, tallied and declared and we can now see the political landscape of the new European Parliament. It is a complex picture: there has been growth of far-right and populist parties, but well short of what was projected, and at the same time there has been a boost for pro

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    Seniority entitlements have largely been on the decline since the 1990s, and have been gradually phased-out from legislation in Europe, as well as in collective agreements. However, it would be premature to dismiss seniority-based entitlements as a thing of the past, as they remain in force across E

    17 april 2019
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    In this blog piece, originally published in Social Europe, Karel Fric and Camilla Galli da Bino look at the issue of discrimination against men in the workplace in Europe, and the current lack of research in this area.

    1 mei 2018

    Upcoming publications results (7)

    This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the graphical industry. Their relative representativeness legitimises their right to be consulted, their role and effective participation

    July 2025

    This report reviews the quality of the national social partners’ involvement in the implementation of the reforms and investments shaping the digital and green transition in the context of national policymaking. These reforms and investments stem mainly from the Recovery and Resilience Facility.

    March 2025

    This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the extractive industries sector. Their relative representativeness legitimises their right to be consulted, their role and effective par

    December 2024

    This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the construction sector. Their relative representativeness legitimises their right to be consulted, their role and effective participatio

    December 2024

    This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the chemical sector. Their relative representativeness legitimises their right to be consulted, their role and effective participation in

    December 2024

    This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the road transport sector. Their relative representativeness legitimises their right to be consulted, their role and effective participat

    December 2024

    This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the postal and courier activities sector. Their relative representativeness legitimises their right to be consulted, their role and effec

    November 2024

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