Mark Bergfeld and Jaana Ylitalo

Mark Bergfeld is the director of property services and UNICARE at UNI Global Union—Europa, representing cleaners, security workers and private care. He holds a PhD from Queen Mary University of London. Jaana Ylitalo is the elected president of property services at UNI Global Union—Europa and the director of lobbying for the Finnish services union PAM.

Mark Bergfeld and Jaana Ylitalo

Putting Europe’s invisible precariat in the spotlight

Mark Bergfeld and Jaana Ylitalo 18th April 2019

Cleaners and security workers belong at the heart of the political agenda in the forthcoming European elections. The European Commission’s latest Employment and Social Developments in Europe report reveals record employment in the EU, with nearly 240 million Europeans in employment in 2018. Yet, there is little reason to celebrate this much-touted number: both high-paying […]

How can Europe adapt to an ageing workforce?

How can Europe adapt to an ageing workforce? What impediments do older workers face at the workplace? How are changing technologies and job quality influencing the retention of older workers on the labour market?

This episode of the Eurofound Talks podcast series sets out to answer these questions in the context of changing demographics in Europe and the need to make work more sustainable.

Listen to the episode for free. Also make sure to subscribe to Eurofound Talks so you don’t miss an episode!

LISTEN NOW

The policy brief series by FEPS and FES on Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP) offers timely insights into how the EU can advance gender-sensitive and sustainable peace agreements in a time of mounting militarisation.

While current measures being considered are framed as necessary responses to geopolitical instability, especially concerning Ukraine, there are significant concerns from an FFP perspective and broader security critiques.

We highlight five urgent considerations:

Feminist considerations for EU security and defence
Reversing cuts to feminist movements
Learning from Latin America’s Feminist Foreign Policy
Placing Feminist Foreign Policy at the heart of EU External Action
Embedding FFP into EU Foresight Practices

READ THE SERIES

WSI European Collective Bargaining Report 2023/2024

Real wages in the European Union continued their decline in 2023—despite an acceleration in nominal wage growth and falling inflation rates. For the current year, there are only tentative signs of a slow recovery in the purchasing power of wages.

A resumption of real wage growth would stabilize the functional distribution of income and strengthen domestic demand. However, even under this benign scenario, the crisis is far from over from workers' point of view. They have borne the brunt of real income losses associated with the energy-price shock resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The lingering reduction in real wage levels means that wage policy still needs to catch up to contribute to a fairer distribution of the burden between labor and capital.

DOWNLOAD HERE

This new book published by Oxford University Press presents the findings of the multiannual ERC research project “Researching Precariousness Across the Paid/Unpaid Work Continuum”,
led by Valeria Pulignano (KU Leuven), which are very important for the prospects of a more equal Europe.

Unpaid labour is no longer limited to the home or volunteer work. It infiltrates paid jobs, eroding rights and deepening inequality. From freelancers’ extra hours to care workers’ unpaid duties, it sustains precarity and fuels inequity. This book exposes the hidden forces behind unpaid labour and calls for systemic change to confront this pressing issue.

DOWNLOAD HERE FOR FREE

Putting Europe’s invisible precariat in the spotlight

Social Europe

Social Europe Archives

Miscellaneous