With economic globalisation growing ever deeper and international competition intensifying, it is increasingly clear that Europe's industrial relations systems do not exist in isolation, and cannot be studied as such. This report examines two topical issues u0096 minimum wages and the...

The aim of this report is to provide a brief overview of the regulation and practice of information, consultation and other forms of employee involvement in the EU15 Member States plus Norway.

This report examines the most important challenges faced by the national social partners in the iron and steel industry in 16 European countries. It focuses on the internationalisation of the industry and the cross-border mergers and acquisitions that have accompanied this transformation. It...

This report focuses on the role that EWCs play in influencing the handling of transnational restructuring. It analyses EWC agreements and relevant joint texts to assess how well equipped EWCs are to address the issue of restructuring. It looks at the kind of input EWCs make in practice and...

This report explores the growing role of the private sector in the provision of public services in the EU. The research is based on sector-specific case studies carried out in Lithuania, Spain, Sweden and the UK. It focuses specifically on social services of general interest (SSGIs) in the areas...

Many people in Europe do not receive the social benefits to which they are entitled. This is the case across countries and for many types of benefits. Addressing this ‘non-take-up’ of benefits is critical for two key reasons: benefits do not fulfil their objective if they do not reach the...

Overall, household debt levels have risen sharply over the past decades in EU Member States. While certain levels of household debts can be beneficial, they can become problematic especially with a sudden, unexpected decrease of incomes or increase of expenditures. The current financial crisis...

This report summarises recent Eurofound research and data on working time and work–life balance issues. Its specific objective is to present findings relevant to the ongoing political debate in relation to the proposed revisions of the Working Time Directive (2003/88/EU). The report includes...

This case study focuses on the measures used by ArcelorMittal to cut costs and avoid involuntary redundancies during the crisis in its largest Romanian subsidiary. The study aims to assess the effectiveness of the various measures applied to keep staff in employment and to ensure the company’s...

Europe is slowly emerging from one of the deepest recessions on record with the European Commission predicting positive growth in the third quarter of 2009. The third issue for 2009 includes: current macroeconomic trends and prospects; an overview of ERM statistics for July-September 2009;...