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Abstract

Employment is currently the 'big issue' in the European Union. Against a background of consistently high unemployment rates, governments and social partners have undertaken numerous efforts t o create jobs and get the unemployed onto the labour market. Since the early 1990s, collective bargaining in many European countries has adopted a partnership approach t o improve employment
and competitiveness.
This report describes the recent initiatives known as 'pacts for employment and competitiveness' (PECs) which are a combination of three main elements:
competitiveness, employment and partnership. PECs aim t o influence the level and structure of employment through a mix of market regulation, collective bargaining at the various levels, public policy intervention on tax, social security contributions, training, education and innovation.
Examining social partner activity at company and sectoral level, this report is based on a recent study on collective bargaining and employment carried out by the EIRO (European Industrial Relations Observatory) network. The subject is viewed in the context of national labour market developments, employment policies and collective bargaining. The report includes a European-level overview as well as a description of the employment situation, recent collective agreements, and National Action Plans for Employment for the 15 EU Member States and Norway.