A study by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) identifies Denmark, France and Belgium as the most ‘strike-prone’ countries at EU level. Conversely, the number of working days lost through industrial action is far lower in the new member states.

The Eurofound report, published on 25 August, examines trends in industrial action over the five-year period 2005-2009 in the European Union and Norway. It classifies the most strike-prone countries, based on the criteria of the number of working days lost through industrial action per 1,000 employees, although comparisons remain difficult due to national characteristics. For example, major peaks in action have inflated statistics for Belgium and Finland (2005) as well as Norway (2006) and Ireland (2009).

On average, between 2005 and 2009, the highest levels of industrial action were found in Denmark, France and Belgium, while Austria, Estonia and Latvia were essentially strike-free. At the same time, the level of industrial action in the new member states was relatively limited: it was only about a quarter of that in the EU15.

During this period, manufacturing was the sector most prone to conflict, followed by the broad public sector and transport and communications. Pay disputes were the most common cause of industrial action, followed by working conditions and job losses.

In total, for the EU27, the average number of working days lost through industrial action (per 1,000 employees) was 30.6.

The Eurofund study is available at www.europolitics.info > Search = 277530

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