MF 14 Feb 2018

Monthly forum: Labour Unions, Precarious Work, and the Politics of Institutional Change in Europe

Speakers:
Valeria Pulignano, Professor of Sociology of Labour and Industrial Relations, Centre for Sociological Research, KU Leuven, Belgium
Nathan Lillie, Professor of Social and Public Policy, Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of Jyväskylä, Finland

Comments: Ben Egan, Advisor ETUC

Moderator: Philippe Pochet, General Director ETUI

Briefing:

Work is widely thought to have become more precarious. Many people feel that unions represent the interests of protected workers in good jobs at the expense of workers with insecure employment, low pay, and less generous benefits. Valeria Pulignano and Nathan Lillie will argue the opposite: that unions try to represent precarious workers using a variety of creative campaigning and organizing tactics.
Their research which will be published in the book Reconstructing Solidarity: Labour Unions, Precarious Work, and the Politics of Institutional Change in Europe examines how unions build, or fail to build, inclusive worker solidarity to challenge this vicious circle and to re-regulate increasingly precarious jobs. Comparative case studies from fourteen European countries describe the struggles of workers and unions in industries such as local government, retail, music, metalworking, chemicals, meat packing, and logistics. Their findings argue against the thesis that unions act primarily to protect labour market insiders at the expense of outsiders.

Venue: ITUH,  Bd du Roi Albert II, 5; 1210 Brussels, ETUI meeting room 7th floor
A light lunch will be served after the meeting in the room.