Surveys
International: National minimum wage update 2008
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 15/01/2009
National minimum wages in the EU in July 2008 ranged from €112 per month in Bulgaria to €1,610 in Luxembourg, according to the latest figures from Eurostat.
Germany: Trade union institute highlights danger of German export bias
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 15/01/2009
Germany's success in holding down labour-cost growth in recent years has boosted export competitiveness, but raised the risks of an increased exposure to fluctuations in world trade, according to a November 2008 analysis of labour costs by a trade union-linked research institute.
International: Minimum wage update 2007
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 09/08/2007
In 2007, national minimum wages in the EU range from €1,570 per month in Luxembourg to €92 in Bulgaria, according to the latest figures from Eurostat.
Czech Republic: Labour market faces skill shortages
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 01/02/2007
Czech employers are unable to find enough skilled workers in some sectors and occupations, while the unemployment rate remains above 7%. We examine the causes and consequences of the country's current skill shortages.
European Union: Flexicurity in the spotlight
Source: European Industrial Relations Review
Date: 01/12/2006
With "flexicurity" - a balance between flexibility and security on the labour market - high on the EU agenda at present, the European Commission has recently published research examining the extent to which flexicurity currently exists in the member states.
European Company Statute state of play
Source: European Industrial Relations Review
Date: 01/11/2006
The European Company Statute and its employee involvement Directive came into force in October 2004. Two years on, we review progress in national implementation and in the establishment of European Companies.
European Union: Collective bargaining trends in Europe
Source: European Industrial Relations Review
Date: 01/08/2006
The European Trade Union Confederation recently published the results of its mid-year survey of collective bargaining trends in Europe. Its main findings are that the pay moderation that has characterised the EU15 member states is set to continue and that annual working time is increasing in some countries.
International: OECD Employment Outlook 2006
Source: European Industrial Relations Review
Date: 01/08/2006
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development recently published its annual Employment Outlook. This year's report urges countries to ensure that all economic policies support measures to boost employment and incomes.
Working in harmony? An international issue
Source: IRS Employment Review
Date: 05/05/2006
Three-quarters of UK employees feel that their employers no longer appreciate staff loyalty - placing the UK in an unenviable top place in a global survey.
European Commission issues first report on worker mobility
Source: European Industrial Relations Review
Date: 01/03/2006
The European Commission has produced a report on how transitional labour market restrictions placed on eight of the 10 new EU member states have worked in practice during their first phase, from 1 May 2004 until 30 April 2006.
European Company Statute state of play
Source: European Industrial Relations Review
Date: 01/12/2005
The European Company Statute and its employee involvement Directive came into force in October 2004. More than a year later, few European Companies have been established, while a number of EU member states have not yet implemented the Directive.
Global agreements - state of play
Source: European Industrial Relations Review
Date: 01/10/2005
The number of multinational companies signing global agreements on workers' rights and corporate social responsibility continues to rise steadily. We look at the current state of development of this important trend in transnational industrial relations.
International: OECD Employment Outlook 2005
Source: European Industrial Relations Review
Date: 01/10/2005
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recently published its annual Employment Outlook. This year's report urges countries to introduce more dynamic employment policies as a response to globalisation.
International: The minimum wage debate
Source: European Industrial Relations Review
Date: 01/09/2005
The majority of EU member states have a statutory minimum wage, while in many other countries collective bargaining at sectoral level sets binding minimum rates of pay. In this feature, we examine the debate surrounding the introduction, implementation and uprating of the statutory minimum wage in European countries.
European minimum wage survey
Source: European Industrial Relations Review
Date: 01/08/2005
The majority of EU member states have a statutory minimum wage, while in many other countries, collective bargaining at sectoral level sets binding minimum rates of pay.
Older staff worse off in ageist Czech Republic
Source: Personnel Today
Date: 31/05/2005
While many UK employers are bracing themselves for a flood of age discrimination cases when new legislation is introduced next year, the new EU accession states will be worse off.
International: OECD publishes Employment Outlook report 2003
Source: European Industrial Relations Review
Date: 01/12/2003
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has recently published its annual Employment Outlook report. The overall message of the 2003 report to policymakers is that the workforce must expand through the integration of under-represented groups. Crucially, there must be investment in skills. Without progress in these areas, the prospects for economic growth in many countries will be undermined as the population ages.
Stark wage gaps in evidence across Europe
Source: IRS Employment Review
Date: 18/04/2003
There are significant gaps between the median earnings of workers in European Union (EU) member countries and those of workers in countries on the verge of joining the EU.
UK maternity pay one of lowest in Europe
Source: IRS Employment Review
Date: 07/02/2003
The UK ranks bottom alongside Greece and Luxembourg with the lowest level of statutory maternity pay in the European Union, according to research from Mercer Human Resource Consulting.
Case studies
International: ArcelorMittal signs Europe-wide restructuring deal
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 10/12/2009
ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel producer, signed a European agreement with trade unions in November 2009 on managing and anticipating change. The accord provides for no plant closures or compulsory redundancies during the current economic downturn, and puts in place long-term training and skills policies, along with commitments to dialogue with employee representatives and unions.
International: Post-merger EWC agreed at GDF Suez
Source: European Employment Review
Date: 18/06/2009
An agreement signed in May 2009 to create a European Works Council (EWC) at GDF Suez, the newly merged energy multinational, has been hailed as a "benchmark" by trade unions, not least because it reflects some of the changes recently made to the EWCs Directive.
How to win customers and influence people
Source: Training Magazine
Date: 01/06/2005
Marco Berini of Zivnostenska Banka explains how active senior management commitment proved the key to delivering successful behavioural change during international acquisitions.
Pulling power - people management is the key
Source: Personnel Today
Date: 25/02/2003
Johann Nel, global HR director of brewer SABMiller, explains how a strategy based on performance management has helped the company get ahead of global competition.
