Working time survey reveals few changes in 2005

The annual working time survey by the EIRO industrial relations observatory found that in almost all countries, average agreed weekly working hours in 2008 were identical to those in 2007. The only exceptions were a small decrease (- 0.4 hours) in Slovakia and a small rise (+ 0.4 hours) in Spain. The survey points out that there have been no notable reductions in hours since 2003 and that the issue has more or less disappeared from the bargaining agenda. The survey also examined working time in local government and found virtually no change across Europe between 2007 and 2008 with the

The latest biennial report from the Eurofound research agency finds that there have not been any significant developments in working time across Europe. The average working week remains at 38 hours. Public administration is one of the specific sectors analysed where weekly hours averaged 37.6 in both 2018 and 2017. The report noted some specific sector developments with particularly negative legislation passed in Hungary affecting public administration allowing for longer hours and more flexibility. More positive agreements were noted in Estonia (health) and Greece (local government and waste)

The latest review of working time developments by the Eurofound research agency notes increased debates around the issue of working time reduction but few examples of where this has been implemented in practice. It reports on a couple of examples of shorter working hours in the private and non-profit health and social care sectors in Austria and a municipal company in Portugal. The public sector agreement in Lithuania includes additional day’s leave for education and training while national legislation there now allows for a 32-hour/four-day week for state and municipal employees who have