The European Trade Union Institute

Work-related psychosocial risks (PSR) are a major contributor to the burden of disease in Europe. The stress mediated health impacts of PSR are evident in the healthcare and long-term care (LTC) sectors and were brought to everyone’s line of sight by the Covid-19 pandemic. While the effects of these risks manifest at the individual level as... Find out more

This paper explores the EU recovery strategy with a specific focus on its potentially transformative aspects vis-à-vis European integration and on its implications for the social dimension of the EU’s socio-economic governance. It aims, in particular, to provide a reflection on whether the established measures put forward sufficient safeguards... Find out more

The risk of poverty is a key issue for European countries. Irrespective of the uneven evolution of that risk – a sharp increase in the aftermath of the Great Recession of 2008 followed by an overall decrease in the past few years – people at risk of poverty represent a key target of social protection and social assistance schemes across the EU... Find out more

Just transition is becoming an increasingly popular concept to address the social consequences of industrial decarbonization, which EU countries have committed to pursue through the European Green Deal. These consequences include increasing redundancies – especially in carbon-intensive firms – and losses of income and well-being in marginalised... Find out more

It has almost become a cliché to say that the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing inequalities while also generating new ones. However, the following pages of this year’s Benchmarking Working Europe clearly reveal that, far from being a platitude, the nexus between the pandemic and rising inequalities is both increasingly measurable and... Find out more

Policy recommendations The draft Directive on improving working conditions in platform work (Platform Work Directive) clarifies the employment status and working conditions of platform workers. Importantly, it also focuses on regulating algorithmic management. While a step in the right direction, the chapter on algorithmic management fails to... Find out more

This study examines the development and implementation of judicial strategies by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) over the last fifteen years. Firstly, the author shows that this strategy was born in the wake of the Viking and Laval cases, with the aim of using the standards and complaint mechanisms of the Council of Europe and the... Find out more

In France, the legal obligation for private-sector companies to have, under certain conditions, one or two employee representatives on their boards goes hand in hand with the possibility for the company to decide to have its European Works Council (EWC) or SE Works Council (SE-WC) appoint the second member. This has become the preferred option for... Find out more

This battery study analyses the ramping-up of lithium-ion battery cell production in Europe. It outlines lithium-ion battery technology, the value chain, location factors, the innovation system and the employment effects. The report aims to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of Europe as a location and its global role in... Find out more

Policy recommendations The social dimension of the European Green Deal remains underdeveloped. The social and employment-related challenges of the green transition span many dimensions, such as job losses and employment transitions, reskilling and upskilling of the workforce, distributional effects of decarbonisation policies, the protection of... Find out more