
Interview
Why wages fell and profits surged
While disposable income has dropped for the third consecutive year in some EU countries, corporations made record-high profits. We sat down with political economist Mark Blyth to discuss why that is.
Tuesday
6th Jun 2023
While disposable income has dropped for the third consecutive year in some EU countries, corporations made record-high profits. We sat down with political economist Mark Blyth to discuss why that is.
"There are a lot of rural areas in Sweden and we must be able to secure people's right to healthcare and access to water, food and medicines. At the same time, we must protect the workers' right to daily rest."
While president Joe Biden has made the creation of "good-paying, union jobs" a priority, the European Union is pursuing deregulatory policies more akin to those of his predecessor, Donald Trump.
If united, the EU labour market can compete with other migrant destinations, both in diversity and size. But we need to have a frank discussion about workable solutions; a single labour market for international talent and not 27 competing policies.
The aim is to attract and retain highly skilled workers in sectors facing skills shortages by making admission criteria more inclusive, facilitating mobility within the EU, and making access to the labour market easier.
Europe is facing a critical social problem that risks further dividing our society, into one of extreme haves and have-nots.
As the EU is heading towards a bloc-wide law strengthening rights of platform workers, Paris hopes to avoid the future directive by introducing collective bargaining between gig-workers' representatives and the platforms.
Long-term care facilities are subsidised to a large extent by public money. When financial risks aimed at increasing profitability do not pay off, the state must step in to ensure the welfare of care recipients, from the public purse.
Women and frontline workers are most exposed to the risks of bullying, harassment, violence, verbal abuse or threat, resulting in burnout, exhaustion, anxiety and depression according to a study by Eurofound, an EU agency.
"It's important, especially in times of crisis, that we look at the benefits of gender equality," Carlien Scheele, the director of the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) said, adding that losing women in the labour market is a "shame".
While there is a shortage of healthcare workers all over Europe, wealthier European countries are recruiting healthcare workers from other parts of Europe. With dire consequences.
A new report has found regional differences in the tendency for workers to take on low quality online jobs, with workers in less prosperous EU regions taking on more online jobs — often next to their 'traditional' jobs.
The EU's response has been swift and coordinated, but will need adjustments to be sustainable in the long term if they want to effectively adapt their markets to Ukrainian workers.
Telework in the EU has a growth potential of up to 49%—what if a status was created to work from any EU country without major bureaucratic hurdles?
In the spirit of ongoing experimentation, EUobserver presents our very first themed week. It's about work.
For France's over three million 'precarious workers' the retirement age has long been 67 — if they ever do retire.
Coming to Europe to work from outside the EU is hard. Despite dramatic labour shortages across sectors and EU countries, work permits for non-EU workers are few and those that exist often leave workers at the mercy of exploitative employers.
Recent research by the Bruegel think-tank warned that freelancers are, on average, at a much higher risk of poverty in old age than traditional employees. Here's how to fix this.