For many years, in most European countries, the public sector has been under pressure to reduce expenditure and increase efficiency. Long-term pressures on the public sector, and especially the recent austerity drives following from the crisis, have led to reforms and cuts in public budgets with serious negative effects on the European Social Model... Find out more

Transfer stimulates dialogue between the European trade union movement and the academic and research community. It contributes research findings on issues of strategic relevance for trade unions, in particular with regard to developments at the European level. Transfer publishes original peer-reviewed research on issues such as new developments in... Find out more

Since the early 2000s, the ‘new social risks’ approach has shifted the focus in welfare analysis from so-called old social risks to the so-called new social risks related to recent changes in the labour market and family structures. This approach captures a number of important changes in contemporary societies. However, it fails to capture fully... Find out more

This Policy Brief provides an overview of collective bargaining responses to the crisis in Europe. It shows clearly that collective bargaining has proven to be an effective instrument to maintain employment and to allow companies to find flexible solutions to deal with the steep economic downturn. They note, though, that the increased pressure for... Find out more