Industrial Relations Developments in Europe 2004

By Mark Carley

European-level social dialogue has been largely focused on three main concerns in recent years: achieving the objectives of the Lisbon strategy (which aims to make the EU the most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010); preparing for enlargement; and developing social dialogue as a way of improving governance at European level.

This report examines the developments in European industrial relations during 2004, with a specific focus on the employee participation initiatives throughout the EU.

The first chapter reviews 2004's main developments in social dialogue at European level, and outlines the year's most significant EU legislation and other activities of relevance to industrial relations.

Chapter 2 looks at the main developments in industrial relations in 2004 in the countries covered by the European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO) - the 25 EU Member States (including the 10 that joined in May), Norway and two candidate countries (Bulgaria and Romania). It examines the key issues covered by collective bargaining: pay, working time, job security, equal opportunities and diversity issues, and training and skills development. It also looks at legislative developments, the organisation and role of the social partners, industrial action, employee participation, absence from work, psychological harassment, and new forms of work. It begins by summarising briefly the economic and political context for industrial relations in Europe in 2004.

The last chapter considers employee involvement - information, consultation and board-level participation - which has been a key issue on the European Union agenda in recent years, with the adoption of three major Directives on European works councils (EWCs), employee involvement in the European company statute, and national information and consultation rules. This chapter also reviews the legislation and its implementation in the Member States, as at the beginning of 2005, as well as examining the evidence on the operation of EWCs and exploring prospects for the future.

Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2005