debating progressive politics in Europe and beyond
„It is exactly nine years since our country became a full member of the EU“. The Czech Republic set out to join the EU in a period dominated by the challenging process of transformation to adapt the economy to market conditions and in a situation in which its economy was remarkably open to the dramatic [...]
This is a timely and urgent initiative! More than 380 social and labour lawyers have signed a manifesto urging the EU to respect and promote fundamental social rights in the crisis-related measures it calls for. Members of the Transnational Trade Union Rights Experts Network (TTUR) drafted a manifesto with the intention of raising awareness about [...]
These are dark times for trade unions and workers. They face a strong and European wide political consensus claiming that Member States should exit the crisis by cutting wages and weakening collective bargaining systems. The old and ancient instrument of a devaluation of the national currency is to be replaced with wage devaluations. In Portugal, [...]
Today, millions of workers across the whole of Europe will engage in an action day against austerity and in favour of jobs and solidarity. There will be general national strikes in Spain, Portugal, Greece and Italy, with sector and company level strikes in other member states. Workers will also be marching on the streets in [...]
The issue of youth employment and unemployment in the Czech Republic is a topic whose importance has increased particularly with crisis phenomena that began to be visible in late 2008 and especially during the years 2009-2010. In this period significantly increased unemployment also increased youth unemployment. For a basic illustration we can use this chart: [...]
Beyond the banking and fiscal union – what kind of political and social union is envisaged? Will the crisis shape the future architecture of Europe and who will be the main actors? Listening to the debate on the future of Europe, one could get the impression that the most important challenge is to save the [...]
This piece reports on recent research around the relationship between trade unions and internationalisation in the context of globalisation. It argues for a more open, less pessimistic view than the dominant one. This view builds on the experiences of the 1970s and is cognisant of the depth of the current crisis. Transnationalism Unions and the [...]
The supposedly universal decline in the power of trade unions is often ascribed to unavoidable or desirable trends such as technological progress or globalisation. In a short, clear and well-argued paper John Schmitt and Alexandra Mitukiewicz from the CEPR in Washington DC point out, first, that (de)unionisation trends have been very different across the OECD [...]
I have a piece out on the OpenDemocracy website – which is running an interesting series entitled ‘Can Europe make it?‘ – on whether wage policy can ‘save monetary union’. The short answer is that, given supportive conditions by other policies, enhanced coordination of wage-setting would certainly help. But, even in the unlikely event that [...]
After successfully bailing out banks and adopting a first wave of economic recovery measures, the authorities of the European Union (EU) and its member states began to impose draconian, anti-social austerity plans from the beginning of spring 2010. These plans stem from an increasingly coordinated policy at the EU level, which is entering a new [...]
A majority of Danish voters are prepared to work more if it means that there are no cutbacks in the public welfare. That can be read in an opinion poll commissioned by The Danish Confederation of Trade Unions (LO). According to the poll that was conducted by TNS Gallup, 62 percent of Danes are prepared [...]
As growth is edging timidly forward in most of Europe, attention is increasingly turned to the state of labour markets and, especially, the high levels of unemployment and lack of job creation. Governments and social partners are in search of policies able to promote dynamic job creation and thereby bring down unemployment. In this context, [...]
All Content