Susanne Wixforth and Lukas Hochscheidt, author at Social Europe

About Susanne Wixforth and Lukas Hochscheidt

Susanne Wixforth is head of unit in the Europe and International Department of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB). Lukas Hochscheidt is a research assistant there.

A solidaristic European strategy for public health

by Susanne Wixforth and Lukas Hochscheidt on 26th May 2020

After years of ‘public bad, private good’ ideology in healthcare, the shock of the coronavirus calls for a post-crisis European strategy to advance public health.

Exit of the avant-garde? The European social union at a crossroads

by Susanne Wixforth and Lukas Hochscheidt on 27th April 2020

Can the European Pillar of Social Rights underpin a social union—or must social rights end at national borders?

How the European Court of Justice could become the guardian of social rights

by Susanne Wixforth and Lukas Hochscheidt on 4th November 2019

The privileging of economic freedoms over social rights by the European Court of Justice could be reversed by a thorough harmonisation of European social law.

Read FEPS Covid Response Papers

In this moment, more than ever, policy-making requires support and ideas to design further responses that can meet the scale of the problem. FEPS contributes to this reflection with policy ideas, analysis of the different proposals and open reflections with the new FEPS Covid Response Papers series and the FEPS Covid Response Webinars. The latest FEPS Covid Response Paper by the Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, 'Recovering from the pandemic: an appraisal of lessons learned', provides an overview of the failures and successes in dealing with Covid-19 and its economic aftermath. Among the authors: Lodewijk Asscher, László Andor, Estrella Durá, Daniela Gabor, Amandine Crespy, Alberto Botta, Francesco Corti, and many more.

The Brexit endgame is upon us: deal or no deal, the transition period will end on January 1st. With a pandemic raging, for those countries most affected by Brexit the end of the transition could not come at a worse time. Yet, might the UK's withdrawal be a blessing in disguise? With its biggest veto player gone, might the European Pillar of Social Rights take centre stage? This book brings together leading experts in European politics and policy to examine social citizenship rights across the European continent in the wake of Brexit. Will member states see an enhanced social Europe or a race to the bottom?

'This book correctly emphasises the need to place the future of social rights in Europe front and centre in the post-Brexit debate, to move on from the economistic bias that has obscured our vision of a progressive social Europe.' Michael D Higgins, president of Ireland

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Renewing labour relations in the German meat industry: an end to 'organised irresponsibility'?

Over the course of 2020, repeated outbreaks of Covid-19 in a number of large German meat-processing plants led to renewed public concern about the longstanding labour abuses in this industry. New legislation providing for enhanced inspection on health and safety, together with a ban on contract work and limitations on the use of temporary agency employees, holds out the prospect of a profound change in employment practices and labour relations in the meat industry. Changes in the law are not sufficient, on their own, to ensure decent working conditions, however. There is also a need to re-establish the previously high level of collective-bargaining coverage in the industry, underpinned by an industry-wide collective agreement extended by law to cover the entire sector.

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Social policy in the European Union: state of play 2020

All chapters of Social policy in the EU: state of play 2020 consider the consequences of the unfolding public-health crisis. Contributors were asked not only to analyse key developments in the EU social agenda during 2019 but also to describe the initial Covid 19-driven EU and domestic policies between January and July 2020. The European Social Observatory (OSE) has again worked closely with the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) and renowned scholars to draw up this edition. We aim to contribute to the debate among policy-makers, social stakeholders and the research community, while providing accessible information and analysis for practitioners and students of European integration. This year’s Bilan social complements the 20th-anniversary issue of the ETUI’s Benchmarking Working Europe, a state-of-the-art analysis of the impact of the pandemic on the world of work.

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Industrial relations: developments 2015-2019

Eurofound has monitored and analysed developments in industrial relations systems at EU level and in EU member states for over 40 years. This new flagship report provides an overview of developments in industrial relations and social dialogue in the years immediately prior to the Covid-19 outbreak. Findings are placed in the context of the key developments in EU policy affecting employment, working conditions and social policy, and linked to the work done by social partners—as well as public authorities—at European and national levels.

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