Manufacturing: Working Conditions and Job Quality

This report gives an overview of working conditions, job quality, workers’ health and job sustainability in the manufacturing sector. It is based mostly on the fifth European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS), which gathers data on working conditions and the quality of work across 34 European countries. Additional information on the structural characteristics of the sector is derived from Eurostat data. The fifth EWCS contains responses from almost 44,000 workers in manufacturing. The report compares aspects of work in the manufacturing sector with the EU28 as a whole and examines differences across the 11 subsectors within the sector: • food (NACE 10): 11,838 cases; • textiles (NACE 13): 14,468 cases; • leather (NACE 15): 106 cases; • wood (NACE 16): 251 cases; • paper (NACE 17): 107 cases; • printing (NACE 18): 328 cases; • chemicals (NACE 20, 21): 22,599 cases; • steel (NACE 24): 200 cases; • metal (NACE 25 to 30): 1,382 cases; • furniture (NACE 31): 351 cases; • other manufacturing sectors (NACE 12, 19, 23, 32): 33,357 cases

Social Situation of Young People in Europe

[Excerpt] European policy on the situation of young people is framed by the EU Youth Strategy 2010–2018, which has two overall objectives: to provide more and equal opportunities for young people in education and in the labour market; and to encourage young people to be active citizens and participate in society. The strategy is centred on eight activity fields, many of which reflect a broad social‑inclusion approach, including voluntary activities, health and well‑being and participation. This policy brief provides information on several of these dimensions

Social Cohesion and Well-Being in the EU

At European level, social and economic policies are currently ordered and organised around achieving the goals of the Europe 2020 strategy - high levels of employment, productivity and social cohesion (1). It is widely recognised, however, that social cohesion is declining or at least under new pressures as a consequence of the economic and employment crisis, but also due to longer-term trends including growing inequality, immigration and increasing cultural diversity (2). A new report on \u27Social justice in the EU\u27 from the Bertelsmann Stiftung shows that social disparities in the EU are increasing in relation to poverty, labour market access, health, equitable education as well as intergenerational justice (3). A t the same time, social cohesion is generally valued in and of itself, as it reflects solidarity and social harmony, while also being regarded as an important resource for economic success and quality of life. In general terms, well-being has become established as a fundamental objective of EU policies; Article 3 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) states that the Union\u27s aim is to promote \u27the well-being of its peoples\u27. Likewise the European Sustainable Development Strategy of 2006 cites the well-being of present and future generations as its central objective. Europe 2020 aims to put people first to create \u27more jobs and better lives\u27. It has adopted a number of targets that go beyond conventional measures of economic performance, with goals to reduce poverty and social exclusion, to promote education and employment. Over the past decade there have been growing demands from politicians, the media and public opinion to develop better approaches to measure economic and social progress and to monitor well-being in a more comprehensive way (4). In particular, the European Commission\u27s (2009) Communication on \u27GDP and beyond\u27 underlined the need for measurement of quality of life and well-being as outcome indicators, and highlighted the importance of more accurate reporting on the distributional aspects and corresponding inequalities. It concluded that ultimately, national and EU policies will be judged on whether they are successful in delivering (social, economic and environmental) goals and improving the well-being of Europeans. (5). This policy brief examines how significant social cohesion is for the well-being of people in Europe. It considers, in particular, how income inequalities are related to social cohesion and well-being. It is based upon existing reports (2,4) and specifically upon the analyses in a report prepared for the Bertelsmann Stiftung (6)

Early Childhood Education and Care: Working Conditions and Training Opportunities

[Excerpt] The aim of this working paper is to provide information about the working conditions and in-service training opportunities of early childhood education and care (ECEC) workers and to describe how these factors are linked to outcomes for children. This paper is part of the research project ‘Assessing childcare services’ being carried out by Eurofound in 2013 and 2014. The project focuses on the two dimensions of early childhood education and care that have been the main focus of policy initiatives at European level: ensuring that services are accessible and that they are of good quality. This is the main message of the 2011 Council of the European Union conclusions on early childhood education and care; it is also one of the main messages of the 2013 European Commission recommendation ‘Investing in children: Breaking the cycle of disadvantage’

Working Conditions in Zanzibar

The first Zanzibar Working Conditions Survey, carried out in 2010, found that the incidence of physical risks, namely exposure to vibrations, noise and high temperatures, is considerably high. Hearing problems and respiratory problems are particularly prominent in manufacturing, whereas shoulder and neck problems, injuries, stress and skin problems seem to affect a considerable proportion of workers in the hotels and restaurants sector. Overall, working conditions in Zanzibar vary considerably across sectors but are, in general, characterised by a relatively high incidence of physical risks and work-related health problems

Working Conditions in Central America

[Excerpt] In Central America, there is very little information on working conditions, which hampers policymakers in deciding how best to improve health and well-being in this politically and economically important region. Getting a reliable system of information is a top priority for several global health and development programmes. The First Central American Working Conditions and Health Survey (I ECCTS) (Benavides et al, 2012) was designed with two main goals: to assess working and employment conditions and related health outcomes in order to inform policymaking on occupational safety and health in Central America; to serve as the basis for further Latin American surveys driven by the Ibero-American Strategy in Occupational Safety and Health of the Ibero-American Social Security Organisation (OISS, 2009)

Telework in the European Union

This report examines the phenomenon of telework in the EU – particularly in the context of the European Framework Agreement on Telework, which was signed by the peak social partners in July 2002. The report first assesses the incidence of telework across the 27 EU Members States and Norway, highlighting the overall increase in telework usage. It goes on to examine the regulatory framework for telework, with a particular focus on the European Framework Agreement’s implementation in the context of national industrial relations systems and given the unique nature of this autonomous agreement. The report also looks at issues concerning the employment and working conditions of teleworkers – such as health and safety, data protection, access to training and the voluntary nature of telework. It concludes with an overview of the social partners’ position on telework

Quality of Life in Urban and Rural Europe

Europe has large geographical differences in terms of economic and social development. Differences emerge both between and within Member States and regions, but also between urban and rural areas within regions. This has relevance for the Europe 2020 Strategy with regard to its objectives of inclusive growth and social cohesion (European Commission, 2010). The Social Investment Package (SIP) promotes efficient and effective social policies that respond to and support people’s needs throughout their lives, recognising the spatial dimension as an important element of good governance. To this end, the European Commission’s country-specific recommendations take into account spatial aspects (European Commission, 2012). This policy brief explores differences in quality of life in urban and rural Europe drawing on Eurofound’s third European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS). Previous research has found important differences in material deprivation and living standards between urban and rural areas especially in poorer Member States, while other aspects of quality of life also differ between urban and rural areas in richer countries (Eurofound, 2006). This document builds on these findings, adding analysis of recent data and paying attention to the impacts of the crisis

Work-Life Balance and Flexible Working Arrangements in the European Union

[Excerpt] The reconciliation of work and life responsibilities has become an increasingly relevant policy topic in recent decades. It has an implicit societal value linked to gender equality and quality of life. It also has an economic dimension, with poor work–life balance clearly hampering participation in the labour market, the latter having been defined as a key objective of the European growth strategy. The female employment rate (20-64 years) is lower than that of men across the European Union (65.3% versus 76.9% in 2016), the gap between men’s and women’s employment rates ranging from 27.6 percentage points in Malta and 20.1 percentage points in Italy at one end to Lithuania and Latvia at the other (where the difference lies at only 1.9 and 2.9 percentage points respectively). The overall cost of this gender employment gap is estimated by Eurofound to represent 2.8% of GDP (Eurofound, 2016b). Work–life balance covers several aspects of social life and the range of relevant policy fields is exceptionally broad. It includes taxation, not least as regards second family members and various social services, particularly those related to childcare and long-term care. The proposals in the Initiative to support work–life balance for working parents and carers, set out in the Commission Communication of April 2017, were mainly concerned with the relationship between work and care and outlined legislative and non-legislative measures for parents, fathers and carers (European Commission, 2017). It also had proposals to enhance opportunities for flexible work arrangements and this is the focus of the present note. While flexible working arrangements do not involve any direct additional cost to public budgets in Member States, it may be that if successfully implemented throughout workplaces in the EU they could be a very effective stimulus to work–life balance. While shorter working time and more flexible working arrangements may, in some cases, entail costs for companies, they can also have positive effects on productivity. There are many actors who can actively contribute to achieving more flexible working arrangements. The potential role of the social partners is obvious. But even employers and employees on the ground in the millions of workplaces throughout Europe should be encouraged to examine practical solutions to enhance work–life balance that would suit the specificities of their particular workplace. Care is a highly gendered issue in terms of care for both children and dependent relatives. Data from the European Working Conditions Survey 2015 (EWCS) show that in every Member State women still have the main caring responsibility (Eurofound, 2016c). They also reveal that the involvement of men in care varies quite considerably across Member States

Undeclared Work in the EU

This survey data report examines the main findings on the supply side of undeclared work around the EU based on a Special Eurobarometer survey carried out in 2013. The report examines the survey methodology, the concept of undeclared work, the characteristics of those supplying goods and services on an undeclared basis, the types of work activities that are undeclared, and income levels from undeclared work, including the extent of the practice of offering cash in hand