Some claim social dialogue is a luxury in a crisis when quick decisions are needed. On the contrary, the pandemic has proved.
Columns & Interviews
‘Veggie burger’ ban: bad for consumers and climate
The meat industry wants terms such as ‘veggie burger’ banned. This is less about confusion, more about competition.
China takes the climate stage
Adam Tooze assesses the significance of China’s goal-setting for climate neutrality.
Evaluating democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights in the EU
The defence of universal norms needs to be broadened beyond Hungary and Poland and beyond the rule of law.
Time for a holistic workplace health-and-wellbeing strategy
The pandemic demands moving beyond the fragmented and compartmentalised approach to occupational health and safety in the EU.
Are there any persuadable voters left in the US?
‘White working-class men’ are seen as the hard core of Trump’s support, yet a big group of working-class voters—black, brown and white—are persuadable.
The public’s business
‘Stakeholder capitalism’ has been promoted to balance the market and society but ultimately the only solution is to make firms more democratic.
The ‘circular economy’—neither safe nor sustainable
The circular economy holds out the hope of living within the planet’s resources. Turning aspiration into action is another matter.
Reviving transatlantic relations after Trump
If Joe Biden were to win the White House, transatlantic relations could return to default or be transformed—with much depending on how Europe reacted.
Golden Dawn verdict—no sunset for the far right
Paul Mason argues that with authoritarian conservatives in the White House and the Kremlin it’s no surprise the far right is thriving in Europe.
Why Europe has a racism problem
The big challenge is to move from a perspective of individual discrimination towards addressing systemic racism.
Taking Europe’s pandemic pulse
A tentative growth in trust shows Covid-19 has not yet torn the social fabric of Europe.
Collective-bargaining rights for platform workers
The pioneering Danish collective agreement on platform-based domestic workers has been vitiated by a misguided ruling by its competition authority.
Mind the gap
The digitalisation of work, despite its potential, risks becoming an impersonal means by which employers tilt the balance of power.
EU legislation on minimum wages is not the solution
Trade unions in the Nordic countries have baulked at proposals which they see as undermining collective bargaining.
Neglected, sacrificed: older persons during the Covid-19 pandemic
Older persons have suffered a terrible toll from the coronavirus—now countries must invest in long-term care.
Industry 4.0: the transformation of work?
‘Industry 4.0’ may be neither so extensive nor advanced as those in whom it arouses hopes and fears.
Avoiding a climate lockdown
The world is approaching a tipping point on climate change, when protecting the future of civilisation will require dramatic interventions.
The EU must overhaul its farming policy to save the Green Deal
European decision-makers are entering the final sprint of reform of the CAP. Their choices will make or break the European Green Deal.
No Realpolitik please: Europe must support the Belarusian people
Proactive engagement to help overcome the stalemate and firm signalling that any autocratic crackdown will trigger strong and effective measures are needed.
Blogs
Fair wages are key to Europe’s recovery
Ensuring a high wage floor in the EU is not just the right thing to do to lift the low paid but is integral to recovery from the pandemic.
EU labour markets in the pandemic: unemployment only part of the story
The good news is that unemployment has only risen modestly so far; the bad news is that hours worked have plummeted.
The ‘bazooka’: Modern Monetary Theory in action
Peter Bofinger argues that large-scale injections of money to bring economies out of the coronavirus coma have vindicated Modern Monetary Theory.
Workers’ rights: negotiating and co-governing digital systems at work
Algorithmic systems are a new front line for unions as well as a challenge to workers’ rights to autonomy.
