The European Trade Union Institute

This working paper is intended to shed light on a pressing issue: the apparent growth-dependency of European welfare states at a time of weak growth prospects and strong criticisms of growth. Indeed, while the notion of going beyond GDP growth is gaining momentum in the European Union, as elsewhere, and seems rational and desirable to a growing number of citizens and policymakers, it might not be feasible. Highlighting a new ‘welfare-growth-transition trilemma’, I first show how European welfare states in the twentieth century were based on a social-economic alliance that was largely blind to mounting environmental challenges that were likely to undermine their financial sustainability. I then explore the link, too often taken for granted, between GDP growth, human well-being and social progress (focusing on employment, inequality and health), and review empirical evidence supporting the growth-dependency of the welfare state hypothesis (focusing on health care and pensions), reaching the conclusion that these relations appear fragile. I then question the need for additional growth in the perspective of climate transition and offer two alternative strategies: progressive social-ecological taxation and social savings induced by environmental policy. I finally insist on the need to turn the welfare state into a ‘social-ecological state’ in the face of the growing human impact of climate change and to a develop social-ecological protection (focusing on old age and heatwaves).

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, and working and living conditions. The weakening of industrial relations institutions has also been regarded as part of this broad picture, since trade unions and collective bargaining have usually been considered as vehicles of fairness and capable of reducing or at least containing inequality (see for instance the recent book edited by Daniel Vaughan-Whitehead, Reducing inequalities in Europe: How industrial relations and labour policies can close the gap, Edward Elgar-ILO, 2018). This issue of Transfer intends to contribute to this strand of research by investigating the analytical premises and the empirical evidence of such claims.

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/doi/full/10.1177/1024258920938499

The strike map shows the average days not worked due to industrial action per 1,000 employees in the periods 2000-2009 and 2010-2020.

Until recently, teleworking has been slower to take hold than many predicted when remote working technology first emerged. This inertia probably reflects intransigent work cultures, as well as a lack of interest on the part of employers in investing in the technology and management practices necessary to operate a tele-workforce. Telework has suddenly experienced an upswing, however, because of the measures implemented to protect people from the Covid-19 virus. Within a year, the percentage of employees working at least occasionally from home rose from 11 to 48 per cent (Eurostat 2019; Eurofound 2020). These figures seem to indicate that large numbers of workers and employers alike are, in all probability, facing new challenges in dealing with the sudden shift to telework.

This training manual deals with two serious forms of obstruction that management may use to block information flows. Firstly, management may label information as ‘confidential’, thus forbidding the EWC to share this information with others (including the employees it represents or local works councils). Alternatively, management may use the specific clause in the legislation (Art. 8 of the EWC Recast Directive and its transposition into national law) that allows them not to disclose information at all, because the disclosure of this information might be harmful to the company. Management often justifies this obstruction by arguing that stock exchange rules forbid the sharing of certain information with third parties.

The need to effectively tackle global warming puts under pressure the existing industrial relations models in Europe. A new logic of sustainability needs to be incorporated into the social contracts in order to (re)build harmonious labour relations. A viable world of labour requires a new sustainability paradigm, which encompasses all three of its dimensions: economic, social and environmental.

Achieving economic sustainability (within the planetary boundaries) has become more challenging. Actual economic growth has come at a critically high cost in terms of inequality of opportunities and outcomes, planetary resources, biodiversity and environmental degradation, thus undermining both social and environmental sustainability. Social sustainability is also likely to come under increasing pressure from the impending fourth industrial revolution. In turn, widening inequality and climate change are forcing us to question the way we measure prosperity and wellbeing.

The discussion around the future of work, which has become ubiquitous in law, policymaking and the media, has so far concentrated on ‘quantitative’ aspects, for instance how many jobs may be replaced by automation, or the introduction of new breeds of technologies, such as artificial intelligence. This mainstream discourse, however, neglects some issues that are crucial for workers. In particular, the risks of invasive work surveillance or discriminatory practices stemming from, or embedded in, algorithmic management and AI systems are too often nderestimated, and the essential role of regulation and social partners in mitigating these risks is overlooked. This is the case, for instance, in the proposal for the EU Regulation on Artificial Intelligence recently presented by the European Commission.

The economic and social crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe and around the world is without precedent since World War II if not before. With more than 40 million known cases in Europe in one year, and over 900 000 deaths (March 2020 to March 2021), governments have stepped up their emergency measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus: locking down their populations, closing non-essential businesses, closing offices, factories, schools and places of worship; cancelling cultural events, suspending sports contests and festivals; restricting people’s movements, closing or monitoring borders, grounding airlines and more. Since March 2020, measures such as these have brought economic activity to a standstill.

The next time you see an attractively packaged food product in a supermarket or an advertisement, take a moment to think about all the links in the chain that that product passed through to get to you. To help stimulate the thought process, this special report offers you an insight into the daily lives of the food chain workers, who are sometimes forced to take disproportionate risks to meet our needs for food. To whet your appetite, Tony Musu sits down with the General Secretary of EFFAT (European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions) to discuss the future of the European agricultural model, providing us with some pointers for a much-needed update. Next, Bethany Staunton takes a hard look at the meat industry and the catastrophic impact of Covid-19 on workers, which prompted Germany’s legislature to introduce a ban on subcontracting. Berta Chulvi and Tania Castro investigate the working conditions of seasonal migrant labourers working for agri-food producers in Spain. Hugo Boursier and Sadak Souici report on fishing, from the lowering to the hauling in of the nets, with the only fisherwoman in Lorient, France. We stay offshore with Angelo Ferracuti for a very moving article remembering the Italian fishermen who have perished at sea. Laura-Maria Ilie and Florentin Cassonnet look into the situation of Romania’s small farmers, who are facing up to strong competition from European supermarkets. Bianca Luna Fabris tells us about the day-to-day lives of bicycle couriers in the United Kingdom who earn a meagre wage while now also having to deal with the virus. Lastly, Louise Pluyaud meets disabled workers in the catering sector, and the restaurateurs who are doing things differently to support them. We look forward to hearing your views. Bon appétit!