Eurofound news. Issue 08, September 2016.
Date: 2016-10-11
Institutions: Eurofound
Subjects: Eurofound, information, serial publication

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 Issue 08 – September 2016

Eurofound

News

The tripartite EU agency providing knowledge to assist in the development of social and work-related policies

The true cost of poor housing
The cost of people living in inadequate housing in the EU Member States is hitting economies 
to the tune of nearly €194 billion per year, a new report from Eurofound states. The cost of 
addressing the shortcomings of the housing stock would be in the region of €295 billion (at 2011 
prices). However, the report maintains, the outlay could be quickly recouped from savings on 
healthcare and a range of publicly funded services.

findings in figures
58% – the percentage of junior 
doctors in the UK who voted against 
contractual changes proposed by the 
country’s National Health Service 
(NHS).

The effect of such investment would have a considerable impact on residents, improving their 
health and well-being. For example, for every €3 invested in basic measures, €2 would be paid 
back through savings in health and social care within one year. These measures include repairing 
ineffective heating and improving poor insulation, fixing broken lifts, updating old plumbing and 
electricity systems, improving security and addressing overcrowding. The report, Inadequate 
housing in Europe: Costs and consequences, aims to improve understanding of the true cost 
of substandard housing for EU Member States, and suggests policy initiatives that might help 
address its social and financial consequences. Read the report at  
http://bit.ly/HousingEurope

Combining work with partial retirement
With people living longer and birth rates falling across Europe, a priority of EU policy is to encourage 
Europeans to remain in work beyond current retirement ages, to minimise pressure on pension systems. 

At present, older workers often leave the workforce before statutory retirement age, with health 
problems and care responsibilities cited as common reasons. Many more people simply wish 
to work less. One possible way to balance this legitimate desire for a better work–life balance 
with the need to address demographic pressures is to make more widespread use of partial 
retirement schemes. These schemes enable older workers to reduce their working hours, while 
the loss of income is compensated for by a partial payment of their pension. At the same time, 
workers continue to earn and to contribute to that pension. A report published by Eurofound 
explores the success of such schemes in extending working lives. No scheme was identified that 
unambiguously extended working lives for all participants. Partial retirement may have extended 
working lives for specific groups: overall, however, the reduction in hours enabled by partial 
retirement outweighs the increased hours due to prolonging the working lives of participants. 
Read Extending working lives through flexible retirement schemes: Partial retirement at  
http://bit.ly/PartialRetirement

64 – the number of employees of 
Siemens Wind Power in Denmark 
known to have developed occupational 
diseases in the last decade.

40% – the proportion of 
respondents in a recent Polish survey 
who feel they do not have sufficient 
opportunities to pursue their 
professional development.

5,000 – the number of job 
losses announced by French 
telecommunications company SFR 
as part of a major reorganisation.

€677 million – the sum 
invested in the production of a  
new Volkswagen assembly line in 
AutoEuropa, Portugal, with the 
creation of 500 new jobs. 

81% – the proportion of 
respondents in a Latvian survey citing 
economic problems as the top priority 
to be addressed in the country.
Source: Eurofound’s network of European correspondents

Irish Minister for Social Protection visits Eurofound

On 7 September, Leo Varadkar (pictured right), 
Irish Minister for Social Protection, visited 
Eurofound. He met with Eurofound’s Director 
Juan Menéndez-Valdés and senior research and 
communications staff to learn more about the 
Agency’s work in the fields of sustainable work 
and inclusive labour markets. Eurofound has 
recently published a report analysing Member 
States’ strategies to make work more sustainable 
– enabling more people to participate in the 
labour market and continue to do so until an older 
age.  
The report, Sustainable work throughout the life 
course: National policies and strategies  
is available at http://bit.ly/SWStrategy

ISSN 2363-3387 CAT. NO. TJ-AI-16-008-EN-N

NEWS IN BRIEF

Publication of the month

Finding win–win solutions to boost competitiveness

Well-functioning social dialogue is a key component in implementing the reforms that 
will boost European competitiveness. A new report from Eurofound examines how 
management, employees and their representatives achieve common solutions to common 
problems. It identifies a number of elements of good practice, such as regular meetings 
between management and employees to follow up on decisions, continuous feedback 
(from both managers and employees) to facilitate adjustment to new practices, supporting 
employees in contributing to decision-making, and training to smooth the implementation 
of new measures. The research was based on 20 company case studies in five Member 
States in a sample drawn from Eurofound’s European Company Survey 2013.  
Read the report Win–win arrangements: Innovative measures through social dialogue at 
company level at http://bit.ly/WWInnovation

Eurofound contributes to ILERA conference

http://bit.ly/HousingEurope

The 11th European Congress of the International Labour and Employment Relations 
Association (ILERA) took place in Milan over 8–10 September 2016. A corporate 
member of ILERA, Eurofound has played an active role in previous European and 
world congresses, contributing to the discussion and sharing information. It continued 
its contribution at this year’s congress, the theme of which – The future of representation 
– is particularly relevant to Eurofound’s work. The Agency presented material and 
hosted workshops on such topics as the prospects for European sectoral social dialogue; 
employment relations and the regulation of representation; trade union membership; 
and labour law and employment policy. Learn more about the Agency’s work on 
representativeness at http://bit.ly/Representativeness

A year in review – working life in 2015

A new report from Eurofound – Developments in working life in Europe: EurWORK 
annual review 2015 – collates information based on research from Eurofound’s network 
of European correspondents. The correspondents report national-level information on 
industrial relations and working conditions for the Agency’s European Observatory 
of Working Life (EurWORK). The material, published in the form of articles over 
the course of the year, focuses on major developments regarding the regulation of the 
employment relationship. It reviews and compares developments, highlighting similarities 
and differences among and across countries. It also seeks to report on debates related to 
working life, at EU and national levels. Read the report at http://bit.ly/EuRWork2015

Latest from EurWORK 

Greece: The 2016 National General 
Collective Labour Agreement signed
http://bit.ly/GRAgreement

Lithuania: Launch of Information 
Centre for posted and migrant workers
http://bit.ly/LTCentre

New developments in the protection of 
whistle-blowers in the workplace
http://bit.ly/WBProtect

Norway: New legislation on temporary 
layoffs
http://bit.ly/NOLayoffs

Poland: Polish employees pessimistic 
about career prospects
http://bit.ly/PLPessimism

Romania: Protests over proposed law 
on wage-setting in the public sector
http://bit.ly/ROProtests

Slovenia: Police end a six-month strike 
following agreement
http://bit.ly/SLPolice

Charting the state of housing across the EU

The prevalence of structural problems 
in dwellings in the EU varies 
considerably between Member States. 
On average, 12% of EU residents 
report damp or leaks in their walls 
and roofs; 9% live in accommodation 
with rot in the windows, doors 
or floors; and 14% of residents 
indicate that they cannot afford to 
keep their home adequately warm. 
Such problems are most common 
in Cyprus, where 51% of dwellings 
have a structural deficiency, and least 
common in Austria and Sweden, 
where 92% of residents reported 
having no structural problems in their 
dwellings.

Source: http://bit.ly/HousingEurope

© 2016 European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, Wyattville Road, Loughlinstown, Dublin D18 KP65, Ireland

Tel: +353-1-204 3100 

fax: +353-1-282 6456 

email: information@eurofound.europa.eu 

web: www.eurofound.europa.eu  

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