Projects
"Groupe de Réflection" on Economic and Employment Policy
In order to support the work of the ETUI-REHS in its efforts to develop policy recommendations and offer advice to the European trade unions on issues of economic and employment policy, in 2003 the Institute set up a team of leading experts in this field. Eleven persons agreed to join the group.
Activation Policies in the Move Towards the KBS
Activation is a key notion in the EES, and a main thrust of the ESM as presented by the European institutions. It has been understood in the EES as a key principle in the process of adapting our societies to changes in the production model, changes conceptualised by the EU institutions in the phrase 'movement towards a knowledge-based society'.
Benchmarking Working Europe 2007
Following the set of strategic targets adopted at the special summit of the European Council in Lisbon, aimed at promoting employment, economic and social cohesion as components of the knowledge-based society, the ETUI-REHS published jointly with the ETUC, a report on Benchmarking Working Europe. Sustained economic growth is a necessary precondition for social progress, but it is far from being a sufficient condition. Social benchmarking is considered an appropriate instrument with which to mould social processes and social policy.
European Employment Policy
This ongoing project, which provides the framework for the ETUI-REHS's work on employment, will continue to monitor the development of the European Employment Strategy (EES), and follow selected developments in labour markets and labour market policy throughout Europe.
Flexicurity
Companies, sectors, national governments and, last but not least, the European Union as a whole are currently facing a twofold expectation. On the one hand there is strong demand for further flexibilisation of labour markets, employment and the work organisation, while at same time an equally strong demand exists for providing security to employees, especially vulnerable groups of employees.
Knowledge Society and Gender Mainstreaming
The aim of this project is to analyse recent trends in the service sector with a special focus on the challenges of the Information technology and to evaluate how these have and will shape the gender mainstreaming of the European employment strategy in selected European countries and Iceland.
Labour market flexibility and security
From the research done under the flexicurity project it has become clear that flexibility and security on the labour market continue to be key concerns. There is a continuous pressure from the Commission, governments and employers for more flexibility to improve competitiveness. At the same time, trade unions and individual employees increasingly call for 'worker-friendly' forms of flexibility to allow for a better balance between work and non-work activities. A constant stream of new and not-so-new concepts is forwarded to package and these pressures and policies to achieve flexibility. These concepts are increasingly accompanied by arguments claiming that it is possible to create win-win situations in which increase flexibility to the favour of employers can be combined with favourable elements for employees as well, be it through worker friendly types of flexibility, the improvements of skills or increased security. Again, our flexicurity project has shown that such arguments should be examined with caution.
Macroeconomic dialogue and economic policy co-ordination in EMU
This ongoing project is an 'umbrella' for the diverse work of the Institute in the area of economic policy coordination and the Macroeconomic Dialogue.
Macroeconomic Framework for Sustainable Employment Growth in the Acceeding Countries
The major goal of the European Employment Pact is to diminish unemployment in a sustainable way and to develop a suitable policy mix through macro-economic dialogue. This presumes the co-ordination of fiscal and monetary policies, wage development processes under the framework of price stability with an overall aim to facilitate employment growth.
This proved to be a very ambitious target even for the present member states.
Monitoring the European Employment Strategy
This ongoing project, which provides the framework for the ETUI's work on employment, will continue to monitor the development of the European Employment Strategy (EES), and in particular the involvement in it - and assessment of it - by trade unions. The purpose is two-fold: to contribute to the debate on employment policies among researchers; and to support the ETUC in the European-level policy debate. The project makes use of networks, bringing together external researchers and trade union experts, which will continue to be a central instrument for cooperation.