Ενημέρωση για τις εργασιακές σχέσεις από το διαδίκτυο - Εξωτερικό

Warnings of widespread disruption to the economy, labour, and productivity driven by artificial intelligence (AI) are growing, even as immediate job displacement is not yet reflected in aggregate data. This gap between prediction and available evidence should compel the EU to build systematic evidence of AI’s impact on the labour market, preparing for drastic scenarios and for the “messy middle” of patchy transformation alike.

From unpaid work to the informal economy, new international statistical standards are helping capture a more complete picture of the world of work. Through concrete examples, we look at what these standards allow us to see and understand that conventional labour statistics could not.

The proportion of employees involuntarily on temporary and part-time contracts has declined across the EU since 2015. The rate, however, remains high in southern Europe and is increasingly concentrated in a few service sectors. The employees on these contracts are mainly women and young workers. 

This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the organisations involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the railway sector. Their relative representativeness legitimises their right to be consulted and their capacity to negotiate agreements. The aim of Eurofound’s studies on representativeness is to identify the relevant national and European social partner organisations in the sector. This study identifies the European Transport Workers’ Federation, representing employees, and the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies, with added representativeness from the European Rail Infrastructure Managers, representing employers, as the most representative European-level social partner organisations in the railway sector.

A new ILO Brief examines how labour standards and responsible business expectations are increasingly shaping market access, supply chains and business competitiveness in Asia and the Pacific. It highlights the role of employer and business membership organizations in helping companies navigate evolving requirements and promote better labour outcomes.

This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the organisations involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the personal services (hair and beauty) sector. Their relative representativeness legitimises their right to be consulted and their capacity to negotiate agreements. The aim of Eurofound’s studies on representativeness is to identify the relevant national and European social partner organisations in the sector. This study identifies UNI Europa Hair & Beauty, representing workers, and Coiffure EU, representing employers, as the most representative European-level social partner organisations in the personal services sector.

The approach of EU governments towards minimum wages started to change from the turn of the century and national minimum wages have risen sharply, particularly since the mid-2010s, becoming more binding and shaping wage dynamics more broadly. Drawing on recent Eurofound research, this policy brief examines how national minimum wage increases may affect employees’ pay levels, wage inequality, collective bargaining and the wider employment structure. Findings show sizeable knock-on effects along the wage distribution, a compression of wage inequality at the bottom (especially following large hikes in national minimum wages), a narrowing gap with collectively agreed wage floors, and an association with a shift towards higher-paid jobs in the employment structure. However, a national minimum wage should not be seen as a standalone solution to poverty or broader inequalities, while its possible disemployment effects also need to be considered.

This report examines trends in employment in low-paid jobs and whether minimum wage policies influenced employment structures across the EU Member States between 2001 and 2024. Using a jobs-based framework and harmonised EU data, the analysis starts with a description of employment trends in selected low-paid jobs and in the whole employment structure, where patterns of upgrading and, to a lesser extent, polarisation emerge across Member States. The analysis then examines the effects of minimum wages on the distribution of employment across sectors and occupations and on the wage distribution. The results of an econometric analysis indicate that increases in real minimum wage levels may be linked to an upgrading of the employment structure. The analysis also finds that increasing the minimum wage reduces inequality at the lower end of the wage distribution, although no robust systematic relationship between minimum wages and wage inequality was identified. 

This year’s annual review presents the discussions around minimum wage setting that took place in the EU Member States and Norway during 2025 and led to the new rates for 2026. It includes information on countries with and without a national minimum wage. It provides data on the significant progress on national minimum wages over the past decade; minimum wages have typically outperformed inflation and there have been increases in average wages in most countries. In addition, the report discusses the recent ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union on the EU Minimum Wage Directive, recent national initiatives linked to the directive’s transposition and the growing relevance of indicative reference values when setting national minimum wages in Member States. Using data from collective agreements and qualitative sources, it also provides evidence on the ways in which the rising levels of national minimum wages influence collective bargaining on wages in low-paid sectors.

This study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the organisations involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the agriculture sector. Their relative representativeness legitimises their right to be consulted and their capacity to negotiate agreements. The aim of Eurofound’s studies on representativeness is to identify the relevant national and European social partner organisations in the sector. This study identifies the European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions (EFFAT), representing employees, and the Employers’ Group of Professional Agricultural Organisations in the European Union / Committee of Professional Agricultural Organisations in the European Union (GEOPA-COPA), representing employers, as the most representative European-level social partner organisations in the agriculture sector.