Leisure time

Workers in countries with the highest levels of collective bargaining coverage enjoy up to a month a year more leisure time, without loss of pay, than other workers, according to a new analysis by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).

It found that in EU countries where nine in 10 workers are covered by a collective bargaining agreement, average working time is 1,674 hours a year, excluding overtime.

But in those countries where only one in 10 workers are covered, the average working time is 1,848 hours, excluding overtime. That's a difference of 174 hours, equivalent to four weeks' work based on the EU average collectively-agreed working time of 38 hours a week.

"The reduction of working time without loss of pay is proven to increase both productivity and the wellbeing of workers," said ETUC general secretary Esther Lynch.