European Trade Union Institute (ETUI)

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Highlights

Publication

Brian Fabo and Martin Guzi 06/2019

This policy brief details the necessary amounts for dignified living according to official EU figures and the perceptions of Europeans, as well as the actual disposable income of families in the lower part of the income distribution across EU member states. The research shows that households not being able to fulfil their needs is not just a question of their relative income but in some countries reflects the general low level of wa...

Publication

Gabriela Portela 05/2019

ETUI Education offers a distinctive European Trade union training programme in a multicultural setting. We provide high quality training on key competences, skills and knowledge to European Trade union members and officers, that is focused on strengthening and expanding the sense of belonging to a common community. In this guide you will have an insight into our learning approach, our mission and impact of our training programmes and learning pathways.

Publication

Aïda Ponce Del Castillo 05/2019

Why do foresight? To look at reality from different perspectives. Like any organisation, trade unions have to navigate a complex and interconnected environment where they face constant and evolving social, economic, environmental and technological realities. Foresight can help trade unions by shedding light on ‘blind spots’, enable them to make better decisions and shape different possible futures.

Publication

Sotiria Theodoropoulou 05/2019

This Working Paper addresses the issue of ‘fair’ wage growth over the last few decades. It assesses whether growth in real compensation is systematically associated with labour productivity growth and, if so, whether the two have ‘decoupled’ in recent years. The paper examines country-specific evidence from 25 Member States and finds evidence for a widening of the wage-productivity gap in the 1970s and 1980s which has only been partially closed in recent years.

Publication

Jean-Paul Tricart 05/2019

This Working Paper analyses the development of the interpretation that the European Commission has given to the TFEU provision concerning mechanisms for extensions of collective agreements. The paper examines how the Commission has reinterpreted these provision and the challenges this poses for the social partners.

Publication

Peter Scherrer, Juliane Bir, Wolfgang Kowalsky, Reinhard Kuhlmann and Matthieu Méaulle 05/2019

This collected volume aims to inform and advance the debate on how to achieve a more social and sustainable Europe. Its four chapters and a conclusion address the nature of Europe, the future of the European Union and the political and economic development of the continent. The book argues that strong and assertive trade unions are the most reliable representatives of working people; however they need to change and evolve in order to...

Publication

Mijin Cha, Camille Dupuy, Jane Holgate, Melanie Simms and Maite Tapia 05/2019

This Policy Brief discusses trade union strategies towards engaging young workers in union campaigns or organisational structures, as well as initiatives from young workers themselves directed at gaining a collective voice at work. The brief is based on a three year research project and includes a number of case studies of young worker engagement, as well as some suggestions on strategy for trade unions as they try to reach out to yo...

Publication

Kurt Vandaele 05/2019

This report details shifts in trade union membership and density in 32 European countries since 2000, with a particular focus on the age structure within trade unions. The report uncovers substantial variations in unionisation rates, with the least unionised countries in the 2000s having largely stayed at the bottom of the ‘unionisation league’ in the 2010s and countries with higher incidences maintaining their positions further up. Overall, however, membership and density...

Publication

Eric Van den Abeele 05/2019

This report critically examines progress on the European Union’s ‘Better Regulation Agenda’. Although originally intended to simplify the EU’s legislation and improve its quality, there are suspicions that the Agenda has been hijacked to be used as a tool to make companies more competitive. The author argues that this risks further fueling suspicion of ‘technocratic elites’ by ordinary Europeans. The first part of the report provides...

Publication

Björn Hacker 04/2019

This working paper examines the EPSR’s practical use in the context of European ‘soft’ governance. It studies how the EPSR has been deployed in the 2018 European Semester and suggests some areas for reform in order to enhance its role in coordinating social policy.

News

In memoriam Christos Triantafillou

19 June 2019

It is with great sadness that the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) learned of the passing of Christos Traintafillou, an economist at the Labour Institute of the General Confederation of Greek Workers (INE-GSEE), member of ETUI's Trade Union related Research Institutes (TURI) network, trainer, member of the NETYL network (Young Leader) and member of the Pedagogical Committee of the Education department.

Trade union related research institutes meet on the verge of the ETUC Congress to discuss common research topics

7 June 2019

This year the members of the network of research Institutes close to the trade union movement (TURI) were invited by the Austrian Chamber of Labour (AK) to hold their annual conference on the fringe of the ETUC Congress in Vienna. On 20 May, 52 participants from more than 30 Institutes gathered in the premises of the AK to discuss issues of particular interest to them. Christophe Klein, the AK’s Director, welcomed the participants by underlining the necessity for having such a network, given the transnational nature of the current challenges which trade unions and their research institutes are confronted with. ETUI Director, Philippe Pochet, gave an overview of the Congress agenda and invited the TURI members to support the ETUI in organizing an exchange on the topic of trade union renewal, which is of great importance for the European trade union movement today.

QD85: Burn-out classified as an occupational phenomenon

28 May 2019

Meeting in Geneva on 20-27 May 2019 for its 72nd session, the World Health Organisation's (WHO) World Assembly has taken a landmark decision. Referring to the conclusions of health experts, it has declared burn-out to be an “occupational phenomenon”, opening the door to having it classified in the WHO's International Classification of Diseases (ICD). Codenamed “QD85”, burn-out is now to be found in the section on “problems associated with employment or unemployment”.

ETUI’s major presence at ETUC Vienna Congress

27 May 2019

The 2019 congress of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) took place in Vienna between 20-24 May 2019 (#ETUC19) and the ETUI had a major presence there with a number of events and publication launches.

Brian Bercusson Award 2019 goes to Dr. Pieter Pecinovsky

22 May 2019

On 21 May 2019, at the 14th statutory ETUC Congress in Vienna, the Brian Bercusson Award 2019 was awarded to Dr. Pieter Pecinovsky, legal counsel with the law firm ‘Van Olmen & Wynant’ (Brussels), for his PhD thesis entitled ‘EU economic governance and the right to collective bargaining - a legal research on the problematic relationship of European economic policy and fundamental social rights’.

Play and learn with ETUI: ETUI app for Congress

21 May 2019

We launched today the ETUI app for Congress.

The battle to win back new generations to unions

20 May 2019

Many outside observers have commented on the membership crisis afflicting trade unions in Europe, following decades of economic and financial crisis undermining their position in the labour market. Now, trade unions themselves are attempting to quantify the challenge they face.

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Publication of the month

Socialising the European Semester?

This Working Paper surveys the extent to which Member States comply with CSRs relating to social policy. Read more

Video of the day

Anticipating change, staying relevant: why trade unions should do foresight

Education

Publication

ETUI Education Course Programme 2019-2020
Course Brussels, Belgium, 11 Jun - 13 Jun 2019

Representing and organising platform workers and freelancers
Download

Vacancy Education Officer 2019

All courses

Events

3
Dec

3 Dec - 4 Dec 2019
International Trade Union House (ITUH), Bd du Roi Albert II, 5; 1210 Brussels

Conference: The future of health and safety in Europe

Past events

1
Apr

1 Apr 2019
ITUH, Bd du Roi Albert II, 5; 1210 Brussels, Room B, 1st floor; 12h30-14h30

ETUI Lunch debate: Rebooting Social Europe. Some proposals to improve the social dimension.
26
Mar

26 Mar 2019
Permanent Representation of Austria to the EU, 1st floor; Avenue de Cortenbergh 30, 1040 Bruxelles; 18h30 - 20h

What does it take to have a European union working for workers?

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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