IR Notes

Now that the European Commission has announced its intention to present a bill on job quality by the year end, the results of the latest European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) will be scrutinised very closely! The survey provides a comprehensive overview of job quality in Europe, examining the characteristics of the workforce, workplaces, job quality and the quality of working life. The results are based on more than 36,600 face-to-face interviews, each lasting approximately 45 minutes, conducted in 35 countries. This survey provides a unique insight into the state of work in Europe, and is a treasure trove of information waiting to be discovered, by perusing the overview report (see executive summary) and using the online visualisation tools. Much of the report is devoted to evaluation of the seven indicators of job quality: earnings; working time quality; prospects (career, job security, etc.); skills and discretion; work intensity; social environment (support from colleagues, absence of adverse social behaviours); and physical environment. The results are broken down in various ways, including by sector, qualification level, gender, etc., and subsequently by country. The Nordic countries tend to lead the rankings, along with Luxembourg, Switzerland, Estonia and Austria. Bulgaria and Romania occupy the last places, behind three countries that have applied for EU membership (North Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina), Italy and Greece.  The report notes some improvements. For example, in terms of working time, the percentage of workers who sometimes work more than 10 hours a day fell from 37% in 2005 to 28% in 2024, while the proportion of those working more than 48 hours a week fell from 19% to 11% over the same period. Eurofound nevertheless notes that “despite a general improvement in job quality, the benefits are not evenly distributed. Significant gaps remain, in terms of sex, age, place of origin, state of health, occupation and sector.”
In addition to this mine of information, a chapter is devoted to the issue of employee representation in the workplace. The survey shows a strengthening in the presence of forms of workforce representation. When asked whether there was a trade union, works council or similar body representing employees at their company, 53% of workers in the survey responded in the affirmative (up 5 points on 2015). The prevalence of this representation increases with the size of the company, and is significantly higher at companies with more than 250 employees (85.4%) and those with between 50 and 250 employees (68.9%). The distribution by country is very unequal: fewer than one third of employees benefit from such representation in Latvia, Bulgaria and Estonia. At the other end of the scale, two thirds or more of employees in France, Belgium and Finland say they have a form of collective representation in their workplace. The leading countries are Denmark (68%), Luxembourg (70%) and Sweden (80%). Outside the EU, Norway enjoys the largest share of all (82%). Another question concerns the existence of a regular meeting at which employees can express their views on what is happening within their organisation. In total, 62% of employees indicated that they had such an opportunity (9 points more than in 2015), though with significant variations, ranging from 39% in Hungary to 80% in Sweden. However, 21% of EU employees did not have either formal representation or meetings at their workplace, and a further 11% stated that there were meetings at which they could express their views, but there was no collective representation within their company or organisation.

Exposure to dangerous substances : On 15 April, the European Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs adopted its position on the sixth revision of the Carcinogens, Mutagens and Reprotoxic Substances Directive. The text adopted provides for the introduction of new limit values for cobalt and its inorganic compounds, used for battery production; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, used in iron, steel and aluminium production; and 1,4-dioxane, used for chemical and textile production. They also supported the proposal to add welding fumes. MEPs also included a limit value for long-term work-related exposure to isoprene (used in the chemical and rubber industries), which can lead to irritation of the nose, throat and lungs. Chronic and high levels of exposure can result in cancer of the liver and anaemia. The revised law will require employers to provide personal protective equipment (PPE), such as breathing apparatus, where residual exposure levels cannot be brought down below limit values. When wearing such PPE, workers must be entitled to take regular breaks in contamination-free areas. The text also includes additional forms of protection for firefighters and emergency services personnel, who are likely to come into contact with various dangerous materials during their interventions. Negotiations with the Council and the Commission are due to commence on 7 May.

Psychosocial risks : On 15 April, MEP Estelle Ceulemans (S&D) presented her draft legislative own-initiative report on psychosocial risks at work, in which she calls on the Commission to put forward, by the end of 2026, a proposal for a directive on work-related psychosocial risks (see video of exchanges). Any amendments were due to be filed by 20 April. Estelle Ceulemans says the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs will vote on the report at its meeting on 2 September, before a plenary vote in October (see press release). If the report is adopted, the Commission will have to respond to the demands set out by Parliament, probably within the framework of the future law on job quality announced for the year end. At the debate that followed the report’s presentation, most political groupings offered their support, with the exception of the Patriots for Europe representative, Spain’s Margarita De La Pisa Carrión, who denounced a ‘woke’ approach that is poisoning the working environment. The EPP’s shadow rapporteur appeared happy with the report, while Renew announced a number of amendments designed to reduce the burdens on SME.

Private security : On 15 April, EU sectoral social partners in the field of private security services adopted a joint statement in response to the EU Preparedness Strategy, presented by the European Commission on 26 March (see Commission press release). Among other things, the signatories call on the Commission to ensure that the future revision of the Public Procurement Directive “effectively supports quality jobs and high service standards in security”. This strategy also needs to “strengthen the attractiveness, skills and retention of the security workforce” and facilitate “public-private” cooperation (see UNI Europa press release).

A ban on subcontracting in the meat industry : In a decision published on 15 April, the First Senate of the Federal Constitutional Court rejected an appeal challenging the law protecting workers’ rights in the meat industry (GSA Fleisch). Several companies in the sector particularly objected to the ban, accompanied by fines, on using external personnel – in the form of a contract for services. This ban, first introduced on 1 January 2021, was supplemented on 1 April 2024 by a ban on the use of temporary workers. The law also requires businesses or inter-company organisations engaged in slaughtering animals, cutting up carcasses or processing meat to be managed by a single owner. The Constitutional Court rules that the ban on using labour on the basis of contracts for services in the field of slaughtering animals, including the cutting up of carcasses, is compatible with the freedom of trade of companies operating in the meat industry. It pursues at least one constitutionally legitimate objective, namely that of protecting the work and health of persons employed in this core sector of the meat industry, and is appropriate, necessary, and in particular, proportionate to the task of achieving this objective. The ban constitutes only a minor infringement of the principle of freedom of trade (see press release). The decision has been welcomed by the NGG trade union federation, which argues that “the obligation to recruit workers directly has been a help to people working under precarious conditions” in these sectors and “has significantly improved the authorities’ ability to exercise supervision” (see press release).

Moderating wages : With its bill of 23 February, the government is attempting to mitigate the impact of the “index” mechanism for automatically index-linking wages, social welfare allowances and pensions (unique in Europe). This enables household purchasing power to be adapted at regular intervals, as soon as the rate of inflation exceeds a certain threshold, usually 2%. The government has planned to introduce a partial and temporary cap (in 2026 and 2028) on index-linking for gross monthly wages above 4,000 euros and gross monthly welfare allowances above 2,000 euros. Any amount above these thresholds would not be index-linked, so this means imposing wage moderation by law, by endorsing a net loss in purchasing power for employees earning more than 4,000 euros per month. In a joint opinion published by the National Labour Council (CNT) and the Central Council for the Economy on 31 March, the social partners criticised this measure, citing various arguments, including the complexity of its implementation (see press release). On the employers’ side, the criticisms – which emanate primarily from SME representatives (see press release) – are directed at the employers’ contribution to wage moderation included in this mechanism, which, in addition to its complexity, equates to a cost for employers. The trade-union side has been very critical of the idea of interfering with the automatic index-linking mechanism, fearing this might create a precedent that will open the way to other types of intervention in the mechanism. The stakes have been raised by the fact that the government has entrusted the social partners with the task of working, by the end of 2026, towards a reform of the wage norm (a cap fixed on increases in wage costs) and automatic index-linking of wages. The trade-union confederations condemned the move in a joint press release: “It’s not the government’s place to take steps to revise mechanisms that come primarily under the heading of social dialogue”. A vote could be held on the bill in April, so that it comes into effect on 1 June. ”Over and above its effects on purchasing power and corporate accounting, this sequence of events shows that the government is exerting clear pressure on social dialogue”, says Anne Guisset, a researcher at UCLouvain.

Labour Code : On 13 April, the government cancelled plans to refer the bill expanding the possibilities for working on 1 May, to a joint committee staffed by members of both Chambers of Parliament, in the face of strong opposition from all of the country’s trade-union confederations, as set out in a letter to the Prime Minister. In so doing, the government made sure that the bill cannot be adopted as it currently stands. Nevertheless, the Prime Minister still wished to continue negotiations with the various union branches concerned. Following a meeting with bakers’ and florists’ representatives, these establishments should finally be allowed to open, provided they are run by self-employed small-scale retailers, and the employees in question choose to work on 1 May, and are paid double wages. A new text is expected to be drafted shortly.

Cyberviolence : A bill approved on 15 April by the government Council, seeks to combat cyberviolence linked to developments in the world of digital communication media. This bill means that online violence in its various forms, including cyberbullying, will be among the offences covered by the Criminal Code, with penalties of up to 2 years’ imprisonment and fines of 3,000 euros (Article 442-3). This step also forms part of the process of transposing Directive (EU) 2024/1385 of 14 May 2024 on combating violence against women and domestic violence. The text strengthens Article 442-2 of the Criminal Code, which covers the offence of “stalking”. Article 442-2 previously covered the offence of bullying under domestic law but, according to the bill, “in a limited way and not properly covering all of its possible forms that have developed, especially in connection with the latest technological advances”.

Framework agreement renewed : On 22 January, the UK supermarket chain Tesco and the international trade union federation IUF signed a new memorandum of understanding aimed at boosting their collaboration, with a view to promoting and protecting workers’ rights throughout the group’s global food supply chains. The MoU “renews the joint commitments set out in a first agreement signed in 2022 and is based on the experiences learnt from its implementation”, says the IUF. This version of the MoU is more structured and practical, and emphasises the complaints procedure in place for raising cases of labour rights violations by suppliers. It is intended to make an explicit contribution to enhancing responsible business conduct (see press release).