An anniversary can be a good occasion for reflection. 20 years ago, in 2004, eight central and eastern European countries joined the European Union. Followed by the accession of Bulgaria and Romania in 2007 and Croatia in 2013, these successive enlargements nearly doubled the number of EU Member States. And they came with many hopes for economic an…

This year, after a long and embattled process, the EU adopted new rules to improve working conditions on digital labour platforms, particularly regarding employment status and the use of algorithmic management. The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has called the 2024 Platform Work Directive ‘a policy milestone’ and ‘a testament to the resi…

The term ‘burnout’ has become a common one in recent times. But are we clear on what it really means and, even more importantly, exactly what causes it? The World Health Organization recently recognised it as an ‘occupational phenomenon’. So what should organisations be doing to prevent burnout or, at the very least, to address it when it does occu…

Recent years have arguably seen a ‘social turn’ in EU policymaking, with initiatives on minimum wages, pay transparency, platform work, corporate due diligence, and health and safety coming to fruition, amongst many others. But in this moment of political change and uncertainty, can this 'social paradigm shift' be sustained? Guests Bart Vanhercke, …

The resurgence of the social dimension of the EU raises a number of questions: in what way and to what extent has the EU social dimension indeed been strengthened since the adoption of the EPSR? To what extent are newly adopted social policies actually likely to contribute to improving people’s lives, and in particular the lives of those who face p…

AI is now widely used to automate business processes and replace labour-intensive tasks while changing the skill demands for those that remain. How are AI-based tools deployed to monitor worker conduct and to automate HR management processes? Through the dual lens of comparative labour law and employment relations research, our guest investigate th…

There are almost 2.6 million domestic workers in Europe working in private homes or others. Though representing a huge and vital workforce, their economic and social contribution has often been denied and they are longing for recognition. Although domestic workers are finally enjoying more social rights, trade unions have a key role to play to achi…

How can the European Union steer a course towards long-term social and ecological well-being in the context of incessant emergencies? Two decades of perpetual crisis management have greatly eroded Europe’s capacity to pursue a sustainable future, as considerations of short-term expediency continue to hamper the four necessary transitions – green, d…

Until recently, the discussion of social welfare systems in Europe was disconnected from ecological concerns and policies. The relevant objectives, instruments and actors were largely different. Environmental and climate science, on the one hand, and the analysis and theoretical foundations of welfare systems, on the other, emerged and developed in…

Advanced capitalist societies seem to limp from one existential crisis to the next, becoming ever more fragile and unstable. Yet the dominant theoretical frameworks in political economy view capitalism as fundamentally stable or, at most, subject to incremental change. Baccaro, Blyth and Pontusson emphasise the diversity of capitalist trajectories …

One should be careful using the word ‘historic’. But in the case of the directive on adequate minimum wages in the European Union it might actually be appropriate. Minimum wage directive boost to struggling workers Energy now costs month’s wages for low paid EU confirms prices not wages driving inflation The European minimum wage on the doorstep - …

Even in Continental Europe, trade unions are the most powerful voice defending outsiders in welfare state politics, and reducing their institutional power in unemployment insurance and elsewhere will likely make things worse for outsiders and not – as certain political leaders in these countries often imply – make things better. Unemployment benefi…

In this episode, you will be hearing a conversation between Hamid Ekbia and Nicola Countouris on AI, the concept of Heteromation and how artificial intelligence is impacting and will impact our (working) lives. This episode is part of the Reconstruction Beyond the Pandemic Project.

What are psychosocial risks? PSRs are increasingly impacting all industries in every Member State. The effects of psychosocial risks can be long-lasting and have both physical and psychological impacts on workers’ lives (such as depression, musculoskeletal disorders or burnout). Find out more: https://www.etui.org/publications/psychosocial-risks-eu…

This episode with David Natali (Professor of Comparative and EU politics at the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies) addresses some of the key questions stemming from the pandemic. The magnitude of the crisis, in terms of both its impact on health and well-being, and its consequences on economic prospects, is enormous. The massive spread of the vi…

What type of European social citizenship does the public across the European Union (EU) prefer on the national- and EU-levels? This episode looks into the development of public opinion towards European social citizenship from 1985 to the present from a birds-eye perspective. Further readings: 35 years of public opinion surveys and European social c…

The pandemic seems to have accelerated the expansion of all kinds of platform work and at the same time, platform work is being increasingly associated with difficult working conditions, health and safety risks, and inadequate levels of income for those that rely on it as a source of living. This podcast episode will shed light on some of the key i…

The European Union is currently fighting on two main fronts, Covid-19 and climate change, though with skirmishes elsewhere – including migration and the rule of law. While science seems to be slowly gaining the upper hand in the fight against the pandemic, despite setbacks like the latest Omicron attack, Covid-19 continues to hold global society in…

In this episode, we had the pleasure of interviewing Caroline de la Porte (Copenhagen Business School), Maurizio Ferrera (Università degli Studi di Milano) and Philippe Pochet (ETUI) on the recent developments in EU Social Policy. The discussion stems from their recent contribution to Transfer. In the second half of the episode, we had the pleasure…

In this episode, we had the honour of discussing with pioneer climate activist in science: Klaus Hasselmann, who laid the foundations for linking climate change to human-made CO2 emissions and has been very recently awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics. Show notes: Klaus Hasselmann und Luisa Neubauer, Kriegen wir das hin? (Zeit online) Hasselmann et al…

The ETUI Education department offers a wide range of high-quality training on key competencies and skills to European Trade Union members. The end goal? Strengthening and expanding the labour movement. More info: www.etui.org/education

Inequality has been a growing concern in recent years. The internationalisation of production and markets, the rampant financialisation of the economy, the deregulation of labour markets, and the retrenchment of welfare systems are only some of the factors that have been feeding into increased inequality in terms of income, property, job security, …

The Covid‑19 pandemic is still causing tremendous human suffering, with serious and long-term implications for people’s health, wellbeing and quality of life as well as for the economy, work and employment overall. In this episode, we will be exploring together with Valeria Pulignano how millions of workers especially in the creative industries hav…

International trade union organisations, like unions at national level, commonly affirm their commitment to internal democracy. But what does this mean? We will be discussing this with two academic giants, Richard Hyman and Rebecca Gumbrell-McCormick. Find out more in Rebecca's and Richard's latest article in Transfer: https://journals.sagepub.com/…

In this episode of etui.podcast we will explore the whys and the hows of the Alphabet workers and what this experience means for the wider trade union movement. Show notes: Trabsfer article by Stan De Spiegelaere on transnational trade unionism & the Ryanair case https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1024258920921106 De Tocqueville was righ…

Despite a spectacular economic reaction to the pandemic crisis, which stands in stark contrast to the austerity-driven response to the 2008 financial and economic crisis, Bart Vanhercke and the co-authors of Bilan Social express concerns about the so-called ‘social affairs players’ being sidelined in the new Recovery and Resilience Facility, the fu…

The EU Commission has recently released a proposal for a directive on equal pay. Kalina Arabadjieva will unpack the flaws of such a proposal and spell out why women are still, on average, paid less than men.

In this episode, Romuald Jagodzinsk, points out the main takeaways of the 20th-anniversary issue of Benchmarking Working Europe. The Covid-19 pandemic, and the ensuing economic recession, has proved to be the harshest of ‘stress tests’ for the European Union, probing policymakers’ ability and willingness to emerge from this new crisis without repea…

In this episode, Sotiria Theodoropoulou sheds light on the economic developments in Europe since the onset of possibly the deepest recession in European history. The analysis will contextualize the economic and social challenges of member states and provide a preliminary analysis of the autumn package and the economic policy priorities of the EU.…

In this episode, Paula Franklin, Senior Researcher at the ETUI will shed light on how the Covid-19 has heightened and amplified the pre-existing cracks in the healthcare sector, imposing difficult working conditions for (female) health workers.

In this episode, the ETUI's new Research Director, Nicola Countouris, sheds light on the importance of research for strengthening the trade union movement, the short term and long term goals for the Institute's research department, and provides insights on how the pandemic has hit the EU labour markets after decades of deregulation and austerity.…

In this episode we talk with Ludovic Voet, Confederal Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (www.etuc.org) about the overlooked theme in this current health crisis, which is the migration and refugee crisis and the role trade unions in Europe are playing. All migrant workers, and particularly the undocumented, are among the least prot…

At the end of April 2020, in the EU27 there were more than 42 million applications for support for workers on short-time work or similar schemes. This corresponds to almost 27 percent of all employees. If one includes the United Kingdom and Switzerland, the number of applications for short-time work rises to more than 50 million. Dr. Torsten Müller…

In this episode we look at the struggle of platform workers during the COVID19 pandemic with Jan Drahokoupil, senior researcher at the ETUI. From the issue of health and safety at the workplace to the recent strikes in the Amazon factories in the US and in Europe, Jan talks us through what the EU is doing in this field. Before the Covid19 crisis: e…

In the 8th episode of etui.podcast, Aída Ponce Del Castillo, senior researcher at the ETUI talks with Elisa Bruno (ETUI) about her recent policy brief on Covid-19 and contact-tracing apps (https://www.etui.org/Publications2/Policy-Briefs/European-Economic-Employment-and-Social-Policy/Covid-19-contact-tracing-apps-how-to-prevent-privacy-from-becomin…

In the 7th episode, Silvia Rainone, legal researcher, in conversation with Elisa Bruno (ETUI) about the EU recovery plans and the different instruments put in place at EU level to save the economy and the labour market following the coronavirus outbreak. This episode gives a detailed overview from the resercher's perspective of all the instruments …

Philippe Pochet (directeur général de l'ETUI, Institut syndical européen) discute avec Mehmet Koksal et développe ses arguments sur les quatre scénarios pour l'avenir de l'Europe après la crise. L'article est disponsible en EN sur Four scenarios for Europe’s future after the crisis - https://www.socialeurope.eu/four-scenarios-for-europes-future-aft…

In this episode we talk to Ilaria Costantini, Education Officer at the ETUI about trade union education and how it is evolving in this time of crisis. The ETUI organizes training activities for trade unionists across Europe and Ilaria talks to us about the online courses the ETUI has developed. What are the main differences between the online and f…

For the 4th episode of the etui.podcast series, we talk to Bela Galgoczi, senior researcher at the ETUI about the two crisis humanity is facing:the climate crisis and the health crisis. He walks us through the differences and similarities between the two crisis, in both the way the public opinion and governments are reacting to them both. We go on …

In this third episode we talk with Zane Rasnača, a senior researcher specializing in labour law at the ETUI and an affiliated member at the Institute for European Law (KU Leuven) about social protection for highly mobile workers in the EU. What are the rules which apply to them in normal times and now under COVID-19, what has changed. Then we move …

Laurent Vogel (chercheur sénior à l'ETUI, Institut syndical européen) en conversation avec Mehmet Koksal (ETUI) sur l'angle santé et sécurité au travail de la crise du Covid-19. Voici le lien au livre qui Laurent Vogel mentionne à la fin du podcast: COVID-19 ÉDITION AUGMENTÉE DU 6 AVRIL 2020 UN VIRUS TRÈS POLITIQUE…

This is the first episode of the ETUI.podcast series on "voices on the world of work". In this episode we talk about how COVID19 is re-shaping our societies and the world of work. What are unions doing, can role can they play and what can be the impact on the world of work in the years to come. We talk with Stan de Spiegelaere, senior researcher at…