2006 discharge: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound)
PURPOSE: presentation of the final accounts of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions for the 2006 financial year.
CONTENT: this document sets out a detailed account of the implementation of the Foundation’s budget for 2006. It indicates that the Foundation’s final budget amounted to 19.8 million EUR in 2006 (compared with 19.3 million EUR in 2005) 98.9% of which is derived from a Community subsidy.
In terms of personnel, the Foundation, whose headquarters are in Dublin (Ireland) officially had 94 posts provided for in the establishment plan, 89 of which were occupied and 10 further posts (seconded national experts and employment agency staff) amounting to 99 effective posts assigned to operational, administrative and mixed tasks. Expenditures relating to personnel in 2006 amounted to 9.774 million EUR.
The tasks of the Foundation are to contribute to the establishment of better living and working conditions by increasing and disseminating knowledge which is relevant to this subject, fostering the exchange of information and experience in these fields, facilitating contact between universities, study and research institutes, economic and social administrations and carrying out studies or concluding study contracts and providing assistance for pilot projects in the area of working conditions.
In 2006, the work undertaken by the Foundation included:
Monitoring and surveys
- Establishment of one Network of European Observatories (NEO) covering the former three networks attached to the European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO), the European Working Conditions Observatory (EWCO) and the European Restructuring Monitor (ERM),
- Fourth Working Conditions Survey: first results,
- First Company Survey: first results.
Employment and restructuring
- Studies on the Food & Beverage sector and Knowledge Intensive Businesses Services,
- Geographical and Labour Market Mobility in Europe: report,
- Attractive Workplaces for All: a contribution to the Lisbon Strategy at company level,
- Labour Supply in Care Services: report.
Work-life balance and Working Conditions
- Fourth Working Conditions Survey,
- 15 years of European working surveys: trend report,
- Measuring Job Satisfaction in surveys,
- Working-time reports based on the Company survey.
Industrial Relations (IR) and Partnership
- Working Time and Pay Developments,
- European Works Councils: reports and case studies,
- IR Country Profiles,
- Capacity Building for Social Dialogue: reports on New Member States and Turkey.
Social Cohesion and Quality of Life
- EurLIFE database updates,
- Ageing Workforce and Age Management: reports and case studies,
- Employment guidance services for people with disabilities.
Communication and sharing ideas and experience
- 332 publications, 53 press releases, 40 % increase in web use, 16 % increase of press cuttings
- Promotion campaigns ‘Your work, your life; balance company needs with worker satisfaction’ and ‘Fourth Working Conditions survey: what workers say’,
- Foundation Forum 2006 ‘Competitive Europe, Social Europe — Partners or Rivals?’
- Company Network Seminars
- Foundation Seminar Series ‘Flexicurity and Employability’
- National Outreach Centres covering AU, BE, ES, FI, FR, HU, IT, LUX, SP, UK,
- Exhibitions at Employment week in Brussels and at the PES conference in Oporto.
The Foundation’s full 2006 accounts may be found at the following address: http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/about/publicaccess/categories/finance/2007.htm