Wages: A working conditions and industrial relations perspective

[Excerpt] This paper looks at wages from two different angles: from the perspective of individual employees, discussed in conjunction with their working conditions, and from the perspective of the industrial relations system. After a brief overview of EU-level policy developments with a potential impact on national level pay determination, this report gives a comparative overview of the levels of collective wage setting and how they are set throughout Europe and goes on to report on reforms, changes or debates linked to these processes between the different actors at both the Member State and the European level in 2011 and 2012. This includes, for instance, debates on potential changes of indexation mechanisms in Belgium, Luxembourg and Cyprus, as a result of the Commission’s recommendations within the Euro Plus Pact. While in some countries (Estonia, Bulgaria) social partners resumed collective bargaining (either on wages or on minimum wages) and came to agreements, in other countries (Lithuania, Romania), no agreements could be reached. Some changes in the way collective bargaining is organised were recently introduced in Spain, Romania, Greece, Ireland and Portugal. Information on these issues stems from the European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO). Furthermore, this paper also summarises the current changes and debates among the social partners and governments in relation to the setting and the level of minimum wages across Europe. It then looks into the area of ‘working poor’, that is people who are in employment but still at risk of poverty. To what extent do governments and social partners put forth policy responses to address the issue of in-work-poverty? And to what extent did the crisis have an impact? In order to answer these questions, the paper draws on Eurofound research on the situation of the ‘Working poor’. Finally the paper presents a collection of recent ‘information updates’ from the European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO) on various issues in relation to pay from Member States

Foundation Focus: Job Creation, Job Preservation or Job Loss? The Future of Europe\u27s Labour Market

This issue of Foundation Focus looks at the state of play of the European labour market and what governments, social partners and companies are doing to overcome the crisis. Over the last few years, many jobs have been lost, and mass unemployment has become the reality in some Member States. Eurofound’s latest European Quality of Life Survey points to growing inequalities and social exclusion. At the same time, the EU remains committed to the idea of creating and maintaining high-quality jobs. So where are these jobs going to come from? And is job quality being compromised in the attempt to cut costs and maintain competitiveness? All this and more in this issue of Foundation Focus

Greening of Industries in the EU: Anticipating and Managing the Effects on Quantity and Quality of Jobs

[Excerpt] All jobs will be affected as the EU moves to a green economy: new jobs will be created and some will be eliminated, but most existing jobs will be transformed. To ensure a socially responsible transition towards high-quality green jobs, concerted efforts by governments, employees, employers and other stakeholders are crucial in anticipating and managing this process. The research carried out in this study examined green business practices and greening processes aimed at mitigating climate change – if radical mitigation measures are not taken in time, adaptation could eventually prove impossible. The study had two main objectives: to provide an overview at both sectoral and cross-sectoral level in the EU of the effects of greening on the quantity and quality of jobs in 10 sectors (automotive, chemicals, construction, distribution and trade, energy, furniture, non- metallic materials, shipbuilding, textiles and transport); to analyse good practice examples of the anticipation and management of green change at company level in these sectors

Working Time and Work-Life Balance in a Life Course Perspective

[Excerpt] Since the 1980s, most industrial societies have experienced a marked trend towards the diversification, decentralisation and individualisation of working time patterns, driven both by companies’ needs for greater adaptability in order to meet market constraints, and by large changes in the gender division of labour. At the same time, and linked to the increased participation of women in the labour force, various forms of working time arrangements have become more widespread, in particular part-time work. However, it is largely women who have taken advantage of the increased diversity and flexibility of working time. Drawing on data from Eurofound’s fifth European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS), based on interviews with more than 38,000 respondents in 34 countries, this report documents the prevailing working time patterns of employees, the self-employed and lone parents across five country clusters. It also analyses the relationship between paid employment and domestic activities, work–life balance and working time preferences across the life course

The living conditions of children

This paper summarizes the socioeconomic conditions of children around the world. It explores solutions to the main problems, along with a summary of the costs and benefits of some of the solutions. Emphasis is on the results from rigorous studies, impact evaluations, and randomized experiments. Although the cost-evidence literature is scarce, a good case for early interventions and key quality-enhancing education interventions exists.Primary Education,Education For All,Teaching and Learning,Population Policies,Health Monitoring&Evaluation

Internal migration and household living conditions in Ethiopia

Using the 1998 Migration, Gender and Health Survey in Five Regions of Ethiopia, and multivariate regression techniques, this paper examines the relationship between internal migration and household living conditions. The analysis finds significant living condition advantage of permanent and temporary migrants over non-migrants. These advantages are primarily linked to migration selectivity by education and non-agricultural income. Once the independent effects of these variables are controlled, no statistical significant independent association exists between migration status and living conditions. Government policies of resettlement in the 1980s and ethnic federalism of the 1990s may have engendered stress migration and exacerbated poor living outcomes for return migrants. The resort to migration and/or resettlement as an individual or government policy response to periodic unfavorable conditions in places of origin is not strongly supported by this analysis as the key to improved living conditions. Promoting higher education and opportunities for employment outside the agricultural sector are more likely to yield improved living conditions in Ethiopia.Civil War, drought, famine, internal migration, living conditions, living conditions index, migration, resettlement, stress migration

Structural adjustment and living conditions in developing countries

The authors compare trends in per capita private consumption, social sector indicators, and government spending in the social sectors, between countries that received Bank adjustment loans and countries that did not. They point out that there is little reason to believe that the poor are being hurt by adjustment because absorption is reduced. But there is still cause for concern : real per capita spending in the social sectors decreased in many countries, especially those adjusting intensely. Improving the living conditions of the poor calls for growth oriented policies, the effects of which will be felt only in the long run. During adjustment, immediate interventions are needed to mitigate short run welfare losses experienced by readily identifiable groups.Environmental Economics&Policies,Poverty Assessment,Inequality,Health Economics&Finance,Economic Theory&Research

What (If Anything) Do Satisfaction Scores Tell Us about the Intertemporal Change in Living Conditions

This paper looks at the information content of satisfaction scores. It is argued that the information content depends on the extent to which people adapt to living conditions in general. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), the estimation of a dynamic panel data model provides evidence that adaptation takes place within a relatively short window of time: changes in living conditions are, for the most part, absorbed by an adjustment of the adaptation level within one year. This leads to the conclusion that the information content of satisfaction scores accentuates recent changes in living conditions. Remote changes are notcaptured by the according survey questions, even if these changes have long-term impact on living conditions. The usefulness of satisfaction scores as an indicator of people's living conditions is discussed.adaptation, dynamic panel data model, subjective well-being, satisfaction