News

Occupational health in Europe: the Dublin survey shows a slight improvement, but the gap between workers persists

7 May 2012

On 12 April last, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions presented to the European Parliament in Brussels the summary report on its survey of working conditions in Europe, often dubbed the ‘Dublin survey’ on account of the city where this European Union body is based. Some 40,000 workers from 34 countries in Europe, including the 27 European Union members, were interviewed about their work. Part of the survey, conducted in 2010, relates to occupational health risks.

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The Spectre of the Precariat

3 May 2012

A spectre is haunting Europe in the form of a new class-in-the-making called the precariat and it is still unclear how this new class will restructure the political landscape.
This was one of the main messages of a presentation by Guy Standing, Professor of Economic Security at the University of Bath, during the April Monthly Forum of the ETUI on 27 April 2012.

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Economic crisis leads to large-scale deregulation of labour law in Europe

23 April 2012

A new working paper published by ETUI maps the labour law reforms in various European countries either triggered by the crisis or introduced using the crisis – falsely – as an excuse. Such reforms generally render existing labour law provisions more flexible and loosen minimum standards, shifting the emphasis to soft law (deregulation).

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Working conditions in Europe: mounting inequalities

3 April 2012

Working conditions are deteriorating in Europe, helping to reinforce social inequalities between workers, in particular in terms of health. Such is the conclusion drawn at the end of a two-day seminar staged in late March in Brussels by the ETUI. This event, originally intended for the research community, attracted a far wider audience of some 170 participants: proof that even at a time of economic crisis, the question of working conditions remains more than ever a major social issue.

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Stronger social dimension needed in Rio+20 process

27 March 2012

Clear targets and more political emphasis on sustainable growth, employment and social justice are needed if the Rio+20 conference in June 2012 is to become a real success. This was the main outcome of a two-day debate organised by ETUI and ETUC on 12-13 March at the Danish Metalworkers’ School in Jørlunde, Denmark.

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Publications

Sustaining or abandoning ‘social peace’?

Providing a simple quantitative overview and a short macro-comparative analysis of strike activity in Europe since the 1990s, this working paper assesses whether three strike trends observed in the 1990s continued in the next decade.

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Trade unions and transnational projects - 8th Edition

The aim of this publication is to explore the benefits of collaborating on projects with partners in other European countries; to introduce some basic skills for managing transnational projects; to demonstrate the need for fresh approaches in education and training; and to understand the role of the European Commission in supporting transnational initiatives in education and training.

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The crisis and national labour law reforms: a mapping exercise

This Working Paper maps the labour law reforms in various European countries either triggered by the crisis or introduced using the crisis – falsely – as an excuse. Such reforms generally render existing labour law provisions more flexible and loosen minimum standards, shifting the emphasis to soft law (deregulation).

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Manual for European Workers’ Representatives: 01 How to make your meetings more successful

The booklet was developed by the European Workers’ Participation Competence Centre (EWPCC). It is the first of a series of practical and helpfully illustrated manuals for workers’ representatives in transnational information and consultation bodies. The first manual offers some practical tips on how to make meetings European bodies (auch as EWC or SE works councils) more useful, more efficient and more successful. The manual is currently available in five languages

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Firefighters: feeling the heat

The ETUI, in cooperation with the European Federation of Public Service Unions, has recently published a brochure on working conditions for fire-fighters in Europe. It addresses the ‘classic’ risks involved in this profession (risks from smoke, heat, etc.), as well as the impact of the organisation, structure and funding of fire services on firemen’s health and safety.

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Benchmarking Working Europe 2012

Since 2001, the ETUC and ETUI have produced Benchmarking Working Europe for the European Social Summit to draw attention to the state of working Europe. This publication aims to provide a genuine benchmarking exercise applied to the world of labour and social affairs grounded in effective labour and social rights. It establishes what progress – or lack of it – has taken place in selected areas of significance for social Europe and of importance to the trade unions.

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Has the economic crisis contributed to more segmentation in labour market and welfare outcomes?

This paper analyses whether developments on the labour market and in the welfare system during the economic crisis can be seen as perpetuating the trend towards labour market segmentation or whether the crisis may actually have contributed to containing some of the divisions forged in recent decades.

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A triumph of failed ideas: European models of capitalism in the crisis

The current crisis in Europe is being labelled, in mainstream media and politics, as a ‘public debt crisis’. The present book draws a markedly different picture. What is happening now is rooted, in a variety of different ways, in the destabilisation of national models of capitalism due to the predominance of neoliberalism since the demise of the post-war ‘golden age’. Ten country analyses provide insights into national ways of coping – or failing to cope – with the ongoing crisis. They reveal the extent to which the respective socio-economic development models are unsustainable, either for the country in question, or for other countries.

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Women and occupational diseases. The case of Belgium

This report highlights the discriminatory impact on women of the system for the declaration and recognition of occupational diseases in Belgium.

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Trade unions for a change of course in Europe

In the wake of the financial and economic crisis, the trade unions face unprecedented challenges. While the European powers that be are blatantly coordinating the advent of national and European austerity policies, entailing drastic consequences for workers and the weaker members of society, the trade unions are set to mobilize their forces.

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About ETUI

The European Trade Union Institute is the independent research and training centre of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) which itself affiliates European trade unions into a single European umbrella organisation. The ETUI places its expertise – acquired in particular in the context of its links with universities, academic and expert networks – in the service of workers’ interests at European level and of the strengthening of the social dimension of the European Union. Read more

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