Annual Report. April 2016 March Results of the. European Social Dialogue. Education and Training Programme. of the

Transcription

1 Annual Report April 2016 March 2017 Results of the European Social Dialogue Education and Training Programme of the European Centre for Workers Questions (EZA) Königswinter, August 2017

2 With kind support of the European Union Publisher Information Editor: Translator: Europäisches Zentrum für Arbeitnehmerfragen [= European Centre for Workers Questions] Königswinter, Germany Stefanie Becker Original: German As of: August 2017

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword Introduction to the content European social dialogue issues Integration and participation in the labour market How do you become a worker? Labour migration/mobility project coordination Young people and the labour market project coordination Inclusion of the unemployed, long-term unemployed and sick/disabled workers The shaping of labour relations by workers organisations What has a direct influence on working life? Europe 2020 strategy The digital world of work: scientific/practical education project Green jobs project coordination Capacity building Special project for workers organisations in the Western Balkans Other projects Strengthening the structures of social dialogue Conditions in the workplace What factors of working life influence the quality of workers lives? Working and living after the crisis project coordination The 2016 academic year in publications The 2016 academic year in figures EZA at the International Labour Conference in Geneva EZA official campaign partner of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work The European Centre for Workers Questions (EZA) Collaborating organisations and co-operation partners

4

5 Foreword Dear Sir or Madam, dear Friends, The great aim of education is not knowledge but action. This quotation is from the British philosopher and sociologist Herbert Spencer ( ). This conception of education is still crucial for the European Centre for Workers Questions (EZA) to this day. Of course, our aim with our education work is to impart knowledge. Yet this knowledge does not develop its full value until it is put into practice in effective action. In recent years, there has been a lot of talk about a crisis of social dialogue. In 2015, the European Commission proclaimed a New start for social dialogue. Since then, Brussels has made several efforts to strengthen social dialogue on a national and European level. The European Commission, the Council and the social partners committed themselves in a joint declaration to increasing the involvement of the social partners in policy and law-making and in the European Semester, as well as according more importance to capacity building. Once again, the EZA has played its part in this capacity building process with its 2016/17 education programme. In 74 education activities carried out by the EZA in 27 European countries from April 2016 to March 2017, nearly 4,000 representatives of workers organisations and trade unions were able to increase and exchange their knowledge and to extend their skills for successfully championing workers rights and decent work in Europe. My special thanks go to all EZA member centres and project organisers, our committee members, the project coordinators and EZA secretarial staff, for the contribution they all made to implementing the 2016/17 annual programme and to the successful activities of workers organisations! Königswinter, August 2017 Sigrid Schraml EZA Secretary-General - 5 -

6

7 1. Introduction to the content A total of 74 education activities in 27 different European countries were carried out under the EZA European Social Dialogue education programme in the 2016 academic year. Far more than half of them were part of coordinated projects and series of seminars; never before was the interlinking of the content of the education events and the thematic collaboration of the member centres so close as in this last academic year. In the face of global competition, the impact of the financial and economic crisis on the labour markets and workers that is still being felt, and digitalisation changing the world of work and working conditions at a phenomenal speed, the strengthening of the social dimension of the European Union initiated by the European Commission under President Juncker as also expressed in the European Pillar of Social Rights is enjoying widespread support among workers representatives at the seminars. The abolition of inequalities and the inclusion of disadvantaged groups in the labour market and in society are called for as measures of particular urgency. Equal opportunities for men and women is still a key issue for social dialogue, because there is still no change in pay differences and as a result of the crisis discrimination against young women in accessing jobs has worsened. In the seminars, workers representatives blamed unemployment and insecurity through precarious forms of employment for young people not starting a family until later in life and for birth rates falling with fatal consequences for the demographic change and the funding of social security systems. Elderly workers have a tough time in the labour market; the increasing demands on the ability to cope with pressure at work necessitate the creation and shaping of age-appropriate work on the shop-floor, as also emphasised by the European Agency for Health and Safety at Work in Bilbao whose campaign partner EZA became in October 2016 in its campaign Healthy workplaces for all ages. Reciprocal teaching and learning projects for young and elderly workers in companies were put forward in the seminars as complementary to vocational training and lifelong learning programmes adapted to the current requirements of the labour market, in order to increase job opportunities for both age groups in the age of digitalisation. Workers organisations presented information projects as well as education projects for integrating migrants and refugees in the labour market. The question of how social dumping and exploitation could be prevented in particularly critical sectors, such as the construction industry, was discussed in several seminars. Once again in the 2016 academic year, the EZA placed a regional focus on the Western Balkans with its special project and several other seminars. In the discussions primarily in the working groups set up through the tandem partnerships it was evident, both in terms of equal opportunities and on the issue of health and safety at work, that there was no shortage of appropriate legal provisions and regulations: the actual problem was often the lack of enforcement or in the case of multinationals, deliberate circumvention. Several of the education programme seminars also reported for other regions of the EU an increasing lack of interest in observing existing regulations on working hours, holiday entitlements, health and safety, and many other rights protecting workers. This relates to multinationals, which obviously rely on being monitored less severely in countries in which they are not headquartered, as well as the many small and medium-sized enterprises put under pressure by the crisis which - 7 -

8 fear, for example, the high costs of certain health and safety measures. An increase in, and greater efficiency of, labour inspections was addressed in several seminars in this context. Mass unemployment and the many new forms of employment are increasingly becoming challenges for workers organisations, as these phenomena are jointly responsible for falling numbers of members. In the near future, capacity building for workers organisations will become more and more important as already supported by the European Commission, also with regard to the question of how keeping existing members and acquiring new ones can be improved. The participants in the academic year said that workers organisations should also use digital options for this. They also called for workers organisations to come up with specific programmes and offers for the jobless and those in precarious employment. The financial and economic crisis, which now turns out to be first and foremost a labour market crisis, has a dramatic impact on the lives of workers and their families. At the same time as stated in one seminar it is the family that in these difficult times is also a place of stability and security, making it especially valuable for society as a whole. The importance for workers organisations of being guided by values was stressed in a number of the academic year s seminars, as only an approach based on values can produce results in social dialogue re-iterating the central idea of the EZA publication Conditions and criteria for social dialogue in Europe from a worker s perspective from the 2015 academic year

9 2. European social dialogue issues 2.1. Integration and participation in the labour market How do you become a worker? A total of 21 education activities relating to the issue of Integration and participation in the labour market How do you become a worker? were carried out in the 2016 academic year. Seven projects focused on the issue of Labour migration/mobility (six of them coordinated projects), ten education activities were projects coordinated on the subject of Young people and the labour market, and another four seminars related to Inclusion of the unemployed, long-term unemployed and sick/disabled workers Labour migration/mobility project coordination Aims and general questions In the 2014 academic year, the EZA coordinated projects on labour migration/mobility focusing on the question of how the social security of workers from EU member states working permanently or temporarily in another EU state could be guaranteed throughout the EU. In the 2015 academic year seminars, it became clear that the increasing migration and integration of refugees would become a new task for the European Union. The aim of the coordinated projects in the 2016 academic year was to identify factors for shaping a new European migration policy, giving special consideration to the integration of migrants and refugees in the labour market and to the role of workers organisations in this regard. The aim of the ACLI seminar was to study how the transition from measures decided in the short term to an integration policy effective in the medium to long term could succeed. Migration policy in Europe as a challenge for national employment policymakers was the focus of the Beweging.academie project, in which additionally facts and figures on the refugee question were to be conveyed to evince that the concern prevailing in some parts of the population of not being able to integrate all refugees was objectively unfounded. With its seminar, CSDR intended to present the different legal situation on labour migration in individual EU member states and to illustrate the impact of emigration and immigration on the labour markets and on the workers affected and their families. Melilla was the venue of the Humanismo y Democracia Foundation project and at the same time a trigger for making the participants aware of migration, exodus, labour market integration, and the cultural and religious co-existence of the population groups of Muslims Jews, Christians, Hindus and Roma living there. The political definition of a new European migration policy and the question of how the disunity in the European Union on this could be overcome were to be discussed in the Katholisch-Soziales Institut (KSI) seminar. Ethical aspects of the shaping of a new migration policy were emphasised in the UNAIE seminar, which aimed to approach the issue both from an academic-analytical perspective and through emotionally moving personal testimonies of life

10 In addition to the coordinated projects, MCL/EFAL held a seminar in Tirana to analyse the rapprochement of the Western Balkan states to the European Union as well as emigration and immigration in these countries. Seminar content 2016 was the year in which Europe became aware of the refugee issue. According to the ACLI seminar-goers, the aim of migration policy had to be the integration of as many refugees as possible in the labour market as well as in the education and training systems. By creating knowledge and skills, education and vocational training opened up prospects and was the starting point for successful integration. The living conditions of migrants and refugees also had to be projected much more strongly into the public consciousness. Reporting in the media was also responsible for this: for instance, the subject of migration was given 100 times more space in the Italian media in 2016 than only three years earlier, although the focus was too much on individual political measures and too little on the people affected. The situation of migrants and refugees in the European labour market was the subject of a seminar organised by ACLI in Rome. In the Beweging.academie seminar, it was pointed out that the issue of migration policy had to have an employment policy dimension, for the rapidly ageing population in Europe was creating greater demand for additional manpower in the health and welfare sector, which could not be met without migrant workers from Eastern Europe. A second aim of the seminar was to analyse the dimension of the refugee movement. It was pointed out that the proportion of refugees in the total population in Europe was not more than 0.5%, and that expenditure on aid for refugees did not exceed 0.1% of EU gross domestic product. On the other hand as one speaker stated at 4.5% the economic growth in Sweden, which has admitted relatively many refugees, was particularly high, and this was also due to increasing government expenditure on housing, schools and healthcare, as well as to a rise in consumption. How much the emigration of workers could alter a society was illustrated in the CSDR project based on the example of Romania: many of the roughly two million Romanians living and working abroad send money to their families to support them in their native

11 land, but a generation of children who see their parents only very seldom is growing up in the homes of their grandparents or other relatives. The Humanismo y Democracia seminar-goers were particularly impressed by the peaceful and mutually tolerant co-existence of different population groups in Melilla, which is one of the few direct external borders of the EU with Africa. The programme included a visit to the border fortifications and a reception centre for migrants from Africa. In the further course of the seminar, examples were presented of the successful labour market integration of migrants in various European countries and the role of trade unions in this. For instance, Austrian trade unions offer training and information events for migrants on labour laws, their rights and duties at work. CFTC in France assists the poorest migrants with mentoring, language courses, information on health and safety requirements at work, ensuring the correct calculation of working hours and pay, and equality at work. The KSI project called for a fair system of distributing asylum seekers in the EU as a component of a new European migration policy. The project also emphasised that the active involvement of the social partners in the integration of migrants in the labour market was indispensable for preventing their exploitation. At the UNAIE seminar, a trade union representative pointed out that labour migrants often suffered from particularly poor working conditions. They were working in precarious working conditions; in some cases not all the work was declared; their wage was 50% lower than the normal wage; working days of 12 hours were the norm. The systematic exploitation of migrant workers was rampant in agriculture. It took much longer to integrate refugees in the labour market than migrants; that is why, according to the participants, a key element of a migration policy was for refugees to be given a work permit during their ongoing asylum process. An important aspect of ethical action also related to the operation of multinationals in the migrants countries of origin. These companies often destroyed the living conditions of the residents there by, for instance, misusing fields important to the cultivation of food for growing flowers. Complaints about this were raised in several seminars. In addition to the coordinated projects, MCL/EFAL held a seminar in Tirana in which the specific situation of the Western Balkan countries was discussed. Speakers and participants stressed that extending civil society networks with the involvement of trade unions was crucial for further rapprochement to the EU, as this could promote good governance and the rule of law. It was also important to create prospects for young people in their own country in order to prevent more and more of them emigrating. Results/recommendations on the need for action At the end of the coordinated projects, project coordinator György Lajtai stated the following results and recommendations: There is no perfect model of integration, but we have to search for better and better solutions was one of the conclusions. There are several issues demanding urgent solutions, like: - To simplify and speed up the procedure of granting the refugee status and the citizenship to the refugees, or to migrants,

12 - To provide more public work, useful activity for refugees and migrants, - To keep the rules of labour regulations on the workplaces, to protect the human rights of the vulnerable, defenceless migrant people, - To acknowledge the inevitability of migration and to elaborate the necessary social infrastructure that can manage the migration flow. Trade unions have to focus on both the humanitarian and on the employment aspects of the integration of migrant workers. They have to focus their support for the poorest part of migrants, with mentoring, language teaching, keeping the labour safety rules, assuring the correct calculation of labour time and wages. Safeguarding gender equality is also a key task to solve. The positive result of this activity is reflected in statistics: trade unions in Italy, France and Spain have a significant number of migrant workers among trade union members. (Extract from: György Lajtai, Labour migration/mobility, EZA contributions to social dialogue 31, 2017) Young people and the labour market project coordination Aims and general questions The drastically high level of youth unemployment in most European Union states has already been the focus of many seminars held by EZA and its member centres for some years. Projects coordinated in the 2015 academic year on combating youth unemployment prioritised the need for high-quality vocational training geared to the labour market. The series of ten seminars designed by the EZA in 2016 on Young people and the labour market addressed the creation of opportunities for young people in the labour market and the improvement of the business location Europe and lasting stability in the labour market. Combating youth unemployment in the art and culture sector was the focus of the Association of Christian Artists (ACA) project. The aim of the Nowy Staw foundation seminar was to discuss what successes the Youth Guarantee had achieved so far in combating the unemployment of young people in Europe and what further measures would be necessary. FIDESTRA continued the working group of vocational training experts set up two years ago and devoted its event to the question of what had been achieved so far in improving the situation of young people in the labour market from their viewpoint. The Napredak seminar aimed at analysing the current status of vocational training systems in the states of South East Europe a significant reason for the emigration of many young people and possible measures for improvement. Proposals and recommendations for action to improve youth employment were to be drawn up in the IFES project carried out in conjunction with the EZA Platform for Young Workers in Europe. The KAP seminar discussed how the concept of sustainability could improve the quality of youth employment. In the KIKEA-DEOK project there was a call for a more active role of the trade unions in creating good work for young people. The USO seminar focused on an analysis comparing employment trends and vocational training for young people in the different countries of Europe. The aim of the Nowy Staw project, comprising two educational activities, each building on the content

13 of the other, was to illustrate the social consequences of youth unemployment and draw up aspects of good quality work for young people. Seminar content Projects promoting the exchange of older and younger workers were of benefit to both generations and helped young people access the labour market this was highlighted in the ACA seminar taking the example of artists. In addition the seminar-goers stressed that the digital revolution was resulting in new opportunities and new jobs, especially for creative young people. This enabled more young artists to really remain active in their profession, and not as was hitherto the case having to look for other employment after just a few years. However, the digital development also made it easier to reproduce, use and commercialise. Creative artists (composers, designers, authors, choreographers, script writers etc.) expressed their concern that this was depriving them of their livelihood. The situation was similar in many areas of science, teaching and research. In the seminar there was an appeal to politicians to protect intellectual property rights and copyright, as well as to uphold related property and trademark rights, and to adapt them to technological progress. Suggestions on how to avoid and end unemployment among artists were discussed at the seminar organized by the Association Christian Artists in Bad Honnef (Germany). There are considerable differences between the labour markets in Europe, not only from country to country but also from region to region. Therefore to facilitate youth employment, action on a regional level is effective, e.g. with partnership agreements between government institutions, trade unions and non-governmental organisations, companies, education and research institutions that was the comment of participants in the Nowy Staw seminar. They also suggested special job creation schemes for small and medium-sized enterprises, including family firms. Moreover, previous experience with the Youth Guarantee showed that projects assisting a career start with coaching achieved the best results in combating youth unemployment

14 Participants in the FIDESTRA working group urged for the low societal value placed on vocational training (versus university education) in some countries to be improved. Vocational training adapted to the actual realities and requirements of the labour market promised graduates good chances of a successful career start. The vocational training experts in the working group reiterated that each country should pursue its own vocational training model to accommodate its own realities, as copying other states models was not necessarily successful. The Napredak seminar identified an urgent need for reforming vocational training systems in South East Europe. In particular, the lack of coordination between course content and the companies requirements was resulting in many young people emigrating to Western industrialised countries. The participants said that improving vocational training systems had to give young people job prospects in their own country to prevent the domestic labour markets losing out on an entire generation. Better coordination of the content of vocational training with companies was also called for in the IFES seminar. Moreover, better guidance of pupils and their families when deciding on a career was both sensible and necessary. The IFES seminar in IFES (Romania) highlighted the important role of the social partners in combating youth unemployment. In the KAP seminar, speakers and participants emphasised that sustainable development was precisely the concept for the future that was important for young people. A major problem for young people was that they were working mainly in precarious jobs and thus experiencing insecurity that was also transferred onto the other areas of their lives. If sustainable business concepts created new jobs, it was important for them to be of good quality and offer young people long-term employment prospects

15 The participants in the seminar organised by KAP came to the conclusion in Velehrad (Czech Republic) that a combination of different approaches, taking into account the global dimension and based on solidarity and subsidiarity, is necessary to improve the employment situation of young people in a sustainable way. Those attending the KIKEA-DEOK seminar stated that unemployment and precarious jobs had a negative impact on young people, as they entailed a high risk for them of social exclusion, poverty and health problems, as well as disadvantages in terms of further career opportunities and their future old-age pension. Responsibility for the problems facing young people in the labour market was placed firmly at the door of austerity policies in the Southern European countries hardest hit by the financial and economic crisis. Although Spain and Portugal, for instance, had succeeded in substantially restoring stability to the national budget, it was at the expense of lower public investment, resulting in public service job cutbacks and overall hindering economic growth. Some speakers in the USO seminar stressed that the Southern European crisisstricken countries in particular lacked sustainable support for industrial development. Only the tourist industry was booming, but it could offer young people only temporary and seasonal contracts. In the two working groups set up by the Nowy Staw foundation in conjunction with the EZA Platform for Young Workers in Europe, it was pointed out that besides proven successes with the Youth Guarantee there were also problems implementing it. There were reports of employers releasing young workers on a normal employment contract only to take them on again under one of the Youth Guarantee schemes. Others engaged young people only for the period prescribed in the Youth Guarantee, and then took on the next young jobless after the end of the funding period. In every seminar it became clear that the statistical recording of youth unemployment was difficult, and the number of young people affected by problems in the labour market was far larger than shown in the statistics. For instance, those in precarious, temporary and often underpaid jobs are also recorded as employed in the statistics. In Poland, for example, in rural areas there are many young people, estimated to number one million, who are not covered by any employment statistics because they live and work in small family farms. There are similar examples in many other countries

16 Several seminars took a critical look at whether the Europe 2020 strategy aim of 40% of a cohort having a university degree was helpful in terms of youth employment. It was stressed repeatedly that countries with an exceptionally high degree of academisation also have an above-average youth unemployment rate (like Portugal and Spain), and that on the other hand nations with a low unemployment rate among young people have a high proportion of vocational school pupils (like Germany and Austria). It was crucial to improve the bad social image of vocational training in some countries and in the public perception, to put it on an equal footing with academic education. With regard to the future need for skilling, reference was made to a Cedefop study which shows that the need to re-train employees to work in a totally different greener sector may not be as great as expected. That is because qualifications in sectors of the economy that are old or even in decline can still be of value for a low-emission economy. For instance, employees with experience in shipbuilding and in the oil and gas industries are in great demand in the wind energy sector owing to their skills in welding, surface treatment and equipment design. [ ] What is more worrying than the lack of new green skills are the deficiencies in leadership skills and job-related specialist expertise, often relating to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). As a result of the demographic change, in some countries there is already a lack of engineers female engineers in particular to replace those retiring. This trend was confirmed in the series of seminars by representatives from numerous countries. So it is of utmost importance to promote these studies and professions more intensively and make them attractive to young women as well. (Extract from: Helmut Skala, Young people and the labour market, EZA contributions to social dialogue, 28, 2017) Results/recommendations on the need for action The following concrete proposals and recommendations were expressed in the seminars: - Young people should be better prepared for being self-employed (ACA, Napredak). - Trade unions should assume an even more active role in combating youth unemployment (IFES, Napredak, FIDESTRA). - Trade unions should be more active in approaching young people and making them interested in their work, even if the poor situation in the labour market often keeps young workers and the jobless away from the trade unions (KIKEA- DEOK). - Trade unions should focus their activities more sharply on creating decent work and less on employment in general (KIKEA-DEOK). - We call on the social partners and other stakeholders involved to make more use of existing instruments to facilitate youth employment that are successfully applied in some countries but not yet in others (IFES)

17 - When youth employment schemes are implemented, greater attention should be paid to the employment of young people being permanent (and not just for the funding period) (Nowy Staw). - Sustainable concepts (like social companies, social housing etc.) that enable young people to enter the labour market and lead their own self-determined lives, should be encouraged. - Vocational training must be given a better social image (FIDESTRA, USO). - An industrial revival in the Southern European states hardest hit by the crisis is crucial for job creation (USO). The Youth Guarantee is a key instrument in the fight against youth unemployment, but is certainly no long-term panacea, as no government in a market economy-oriented state can create jobs. ( ) what is vital, though, is solely a healthy, prospering economy in the long term. An economic system can only be sustainable and of benefit to society as a whole if it applies the market mechanism yet creates additional prudent mechanisms of governance that take social and ecological dimensions into consideration. In times of crisis, relying solely on the market s power of self-healing is a wrong and more than anything inhuman approach. The model of the ecosocial market economy provides a sustainable economic policy supported by the people that results in justice, the common good and social peace. ((Extract from: Helmut Skala, Young people and the labour market, EZA contributions to social dialogue, 28, 2017) Inclusion of the unemployed, long-term unemployed and sick/disabled workers Aims and general questions As a result of the financial and economic crisis there has been a rise in unemployment practically throughout the European Union. In many cases there are all but no prospects of the long-term unemployed and jobless over the age of 50 in particular returning to the world of work. In view of the increase in the retirement age introduced in many countries, more sick workers, chiefly those with chronic illnesses, are surging onto the labour market. The inclusion of these groups of people is gaining in importance when it comes to preventing social exclusion and a division in society. The purpose of the C.E.A.T. seminar was to study structural challenges for the welfare state and social security systems. Best practice for specific inclusion projects and their component elements were presented in the working group organised by the European Platform for Social Inclusion (EPSIN) and discussed in terms of their transferability into other contexts. The ÖZA seminar demonstrated what part workers organisations could play in coming up with effective strategies for combating structural and long-term unemployment in the EU. The Humanismo y Democracia foundation seminar-goers discussed what shape a good inclusion policy could take in a labour market still rocked in many EU countries by the financial and economic crisis

18 Seminar content The best model of social protection is that which creates employment, for it is the only way of combating inequality and poverty that, in a nutshell, was the content of the speeches and discussions in the C.E.A.T. seminar. After the financial and economic crisis, it was now necessary to strike a balance between consolidating the budget, structural reforms and social justice. In the EPSIN working group, too, the concern was expressed that, owing to the requisite austerity policies resulting from the financial and economic crisis, social justice would be scrapped. That is because governments reacted to decreasing revenue with severe cuts in social expenditure, and are combining them with increasing demands on workers and recipients of welfare benefits, as well as incursions in their rights. Throughout Europe, public responsibility for societal developments was being passed onto lower levels of government (state and local authority government), without corresponding resources being made available in return. According to the participants, in this context it was necessary to develop not-for-profit and private sector projects for job creation that were rooted in a local environment and secured by comprehensive networks, state support and the cooperation of large commercial enterprises. Examples of this presented were projects from the Netherlands (Young disabled people acquire knowledge and skills in a restaurant), Germany (a large retail chain takes on disabled staff) and Slovakia (socially responsible health & fitness centres that create jobs specifically for disabled people). Long-term unemployment in Europe has risen owing to the financial and economic crisis; more and more people have not found a job, or done so only with great difficulty. According to an EU Council recommendation, the long-term unemployed should be reintegrated in several stages: registering as jobless individual stocktake and advice information on vacancies reintegration agreement close cooperation with employers. Some speakers from Austria and Germany stressed in the ÖZA seminar that a properly functioning social partnership, high-quality vocational training, access to life-long learning measures, and a stable economic development, were the cornerstones for a good situation in the labour market and thus for preventing longterm unemployment. In this light, economic and social policy belonged together, as Commissioner Marianne Thyssen unfailingly emphasised. The implementation of employment-promoting policies by public authorities was called for in the Humanismo y Democracia seminar. Creating jobs was the best social policy and the key to successful integration, speakers and participants said. In the integration into the labour market a focus had to be on elderly workers, equal opportunities for women, migrants and rural areas in general. Results/recommendations on the need for action The following recommendations are derived from the seminars referred to. - Initiatives for promoting employment are particularly successful on a regional and local level; workers organisations should be more intensively involved in this (EPSIN, Humanismo y Democracia)

19 - Best practices and initiatives ought to be gathered from the workers own organisations as well as from specialist literature and online sources, and made accessible to the general public (EPSIN). - Life-long learning and more incentives to set up companies for young people are key instruments in promoting labour market integration (C.E.A.T.) The shaping of labour relations by workers organisations What has a direct influence on working life? A total of 46 education activities were carried out in the 2016 academic year on the issue of The shaping of labour relations by workers organisations What has a direct influence on working life?. Six projects were within the framework of EZA s scientific/practical project on the Europe 2020 strategy focusing on The digital world of work, and five seminars were held in the Green jobs coordinated projects. Eighteen projects were devoted to the issue of Capacity building, seven of them on the special project for workers organisations in the Western Balkans. Strengthening the structures of social dialogue was addressed in seven education activities. Ten projects were carried out on Conditions in the workplace Europe 2020 strategy The digital world of work: scientific/practical education project Aims and general questions The EZA has been accompanying the implementation of the Europe 2020 strategy with an academic-practical education project since the 2011 academic year. Its aim is to come up with recommendations for action from the perspective of workers organisations on the topical issues of European employment and social policy. The method used by the EZA is as follows: each year an academic working paper is drawn up in conjunction with a research institute, the theses of which are introduced in the following year in a series of seminars on the same issue. The observations and recommendations made by the workers representatives in the seminars are incorporated in the academic final report. In collaboration with the Austrian Centre for Workers Education (ÖZA) and the Viennabased Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS), the EZA drew up an academic working and discussion paper on the Digital world of work in the 2015 academic year. Following the method mentioned above, this was presented for discussion in the 2016 academic year in five seminars, the aims of which are described below. The aim of the CIFOTIE seminar was to study what need for digital skills workers will have in the future, and what skill requirements this will produce for elderly and younger workers. The aim of the Eurofedop seminar was to convey what impact digitalisation has on the public sector and to discuss what role trade unions have in shaping changes at work. The Fondazione Luigi Clerici aimed with its seminar to analyse what shape vocational training would have to take in future in order to prepare young workers

20 properly for the digitised world of work; another aim was to address the question of how the digitalisation of the world of work impacted on the compatibility of family and job. Krifa s aim with its project was to discuss the consequences of the digital internal market for consumers, workers and trade unions. MOSZ aimed with its seminar to present the pros and cons of digital work for workers as well as the challenges for workers organisations. Seminar content Comprehensive training in digital skills was required for every worker that was the core statement made by the speakers and participants in the CIFOTIE seminar. There had to be wide scope for the acquisition of digital skills in vocational training curricula, and lifelong learning programmes for elderly workers had to be developed. In the seminar it was pointed out that elderly workers in firms found it hard to keep up with digital demands. Hence particular importance was attached to the cooperation between elderly and young workers in companies; in this way older workers could benefit from the digital skills of younger workers, and newcomers from the experience of elderly workers. In the Eurofedop seminar it was established that the structure of public administration was no longer geared to each individual public service with its own task, but to a combination of all public services in terms of their common task, viz. serving the citizen. The digitalisation of public services was facilitating this process and resulting in a streamlining of work entailing the risk of job losses. The pressing task for trade unions was to become involved in shaping digitalisation and champion the preservation of jobs in public service. It is essential that trade unions be involved in the transformation of public service employment tasks, which is also caused by increasing digitisation (which is becoming more and more prevalent), so that workers can work under good working conditions. This was one of the conclusions of the seminar organised by EUROFEDOP in Vienna (Austria). The speakers and participants in the Fondazione Luigi Clerici seminar said that in terms of employment the digital internal market involved three changes. Firstly, totally new professions were created for which a vocational training curriculum had to be

21 designed. Secondly, traditional occupations were increasingly necessitating digital skills; for instance, nowadays vocational training as a mechanic was inconceivable without the imparting of digital skills. Thirdly, forms of work were also changing, as evidenced by the increasing proliferation of teleworking. The new technologies could make the compatibility of family and work easier, as well as harder. It is indisputable that the digitalisation of work is causing traditional occupations and jobs to disappear and new ones to appear. Trade union representatives attending the Krifa seminar doubted that once the two effects were set off against each other there would be just as many jobs as beforehand. With the scenario of this development it was necessary for the individual worker to improve his digital skills through training courses, not least because the digitalisation of work was unstoppable and in a few years 90% of all jobs would require digital skills. Another aspect of the seminar was the question of how trade unions could use digital opportunities to acquire new members, to explain their views to non-members, and to ensure their long-term relevance to society. A successful example of this presented by one speaker was the use of online groups. The MOSZ seminar-goers said that digital work enabled homeworking and flexible working hours in a number of occupations, facilitating the compatibility of family and job. It was the workers organisations task to negotiate the right boundary conditions for workers. In the overall context of the digitalisation of work a constantly changing, unstoppable phenomenon workers organisations were called upon to engage in the process not defensively but in a creative way. The research work elaborated in conjunction with ÖZA and IHS stresses that the details of the impending structural change brought about by digitalisation cannot be reliably predicted. For the workers, permanently updating vocational training curricula and lifelong learning programmes was a crucial prerequisite for keeping pace with the development. In the view of the study s authors, politicians and social partners had to ensure that the digitalisation of work meant opportunities and potential for workers, and did not result in the exclusion of individual groups from the labour market, such as elderly workers or people with disabilities. Results/recommendations on the need for action The following proposals and recommendations for action were drawn up in the seminars: - Digitalisation in the world of work is inexorable. Trade unions and workers organisations must play a part in shaping it (Eurofedop, Krifa, MOSZ). - Employees, works councils and trade unions should be involved in introducing new working methods and the digitalisation of work practices (Eurofedop). - Trade unions should ensure that the revolution is not at the expense of the workers (keywords: work contracts, working hours, compatibility of job and family) (Krifa). - Vocational training should be geared even more to imparting digital skills. Vocational training and lifelong learning must enable workers to keep up with

22 the pace of innovation, and should furnish skills in working with and on the machines of the digital age (CIFOTIE, Krifa). - Trade unions should use all means to fight against job losses caused by automation (Eurofedop). - Trade unions and government bodies must prevent the threat of a deep division in society between winners and losers of digitalisation or between workers with the knowledge required for success in their occupation and those without (Krifa). - It is necessary to promote the digitalisation of small and medium-sized enterprises, for although the degree of digitalisation of small and medium-sized enterprises is less than that of large companies, the vast majority of businesses in the EU are small and medium-sized enterprises (MOSZ, ÖZA). - Workers organisations should also use the achievements of digitalisation to their advantage. In the course of further digital development it is important that they also use the positive aspects of digital possibilities and opportunities for their own work e.g. in contact with their members or for acquiring new members (Krifa, MOSZ) Green jobs project coordination Aims and general questions Three years ago in an academic study carried out in conjunction with HIVA, the EZA had examined the employment potential in the three future sectors of the green economy, information and communication technologies, and the health sector (especially care and nursing), classified by the European Commission as particularly labour-intensive. A significant result was that although many new jobs would be created in the field of renewable energies in the near future, the total number of them would not make up for the jobs lost through the decreasing dependence on traditional energy sources. What is more, the study established that although new job profiles would be created, at the same time the skill requirements in existing occupations would change because of increasingly green production methods, resulting in new demands on basic and further vocational training. (Monique Ramioul, The quality of new jobs and challenges for workers organisations The Europe 2020 Employment Package and the quality of jobs in the green economy, the ICT sector and the care sector. EZA contributions to social dialogue, 18, 2014) Of the projects coordinated in the 2016 academic year, the aim of five of them was to establish how workers could be prepared for green jobs through appropriate basic and further training. Further points to be discussed in the seminars were the work of workers organisations for creating sustainable jobs, and concepts of alternative sustainable economic activity. The aim AFB set itself with its seminar was to come up with an answer to the questions of which sectors had the greatest potential for creating new jobs through sustainable development, and what new occupations were being created. The aim of the CET seminar was to see how vocational training could ensure that (young) workers were sufficiently prepared for the specific skills required in green jobs. What CNV was

23 endeavouring to do with its project was sound out possibilities and limits of applying the model of the ecosocial market economy in Eastern Europe. The aim of the KAB seminar was to discuss alternative sustainable concepts of economic activity and their employment potential. The NKOS seminar aimed to point up how trade unions could help create environmentally-friendly decent jobs. Seminar content In the AFB seminar, although workers representatives saw considerable potential for jobs in the Western European industrialised nations in the renewables sector (e.g. photovoltaics), they also expressed the fear that far more jobs could be lost in the traditional energy sectors (e.g. coal), meaning that the overall outcome of the energy transition would tend to be unfavourable for the labour market. The situation in Eastern Europe looked totally different: the governments primary objective was to produce an economic upturn, albeit one heavily dependent on the use of fossil fuels. So the main precondition for a common European Climate Policy was to come up with a suitable solidarity mechanism with staged climate policy objectives. The trade unions in Eastern Europe would back this line, since they feared that an accelerated energy transition would exacerbate the employment situation and social problems. The CET seminar demonstrated that jobs in the green economy could often only be done by highly specialised workers, which is why vocational training and ongoing onthe-job training were very important. Given this scenario, the speakers regretted that a number of states cut public expenditure on education and training under austerity policies. The ecosocial market economy dates back to a concept of the Austrian politician Josef Riegler from the 1980s, who defined protection of the environment and social justice as fundamental criteria for any economic activity. The speeches made in the CNV seminar in Belgrade illustrated that even for economically weaker nations the ecosocial market economy could be a meaningful policy-making approach with long-term goals that could create and secure (primarily high-quality) jobs. In order to successfully combine ecology and a free market economy, it is necessary to establish framework conditions. Environmental protection, social justice and economic development should be taken into account. The participants in Belgrade (Serbia) pleaded for this approach at the CNV seminar

24 The KAB Deutschland seminar discussed concepts for developing a solidarity-based and sustainable economy in Europe. Good economic systems ought to back social equity and face the pressing ecological challenges by creating green jobs, promoting regional economic activity, being guided by the principles of an economy for the common good, offering wide scope for the sharing economy and boosting cooperatives, in the energy and water sectors, for instance. The participants at the seminar organized by KAB Germany, discussed the significance and importance of the eco-social market economy, especially from the point of view of the employees. The venue was Linz in Austria. The hypothesis of the NKOS seminar was that there was potential for green jobs in every country on every level of economic development. However, green jobs called for a wide range of skills, training backgrounds and professional profiles. Trade unions should play a leading role in designing basic and further vocational training to ensure that workers were sufficiently prepared for the green economy. Results/recommendations on the need for action The following proposals and recommendations for workers organisations and politicians were drafted in five coordinated project seminars: - European environmental policies should be coordinated with employment and industrial policies, and not exist in isolation (NKOS). - A policy which, like the concept of the ecosocial market, focuses on balancing the interests of business and society in the social and ecological sphere, calls for a clearly defined regulatory framework (CNV). - Trade unions should become involved in the political debates on green issues (green jobs, low-carbon industry, waste management, aid for rural regions) (NKOS). - Trade unions should be more active on a local level, chiefly in coordinating with all stakeholders involved in ecological economic activity: public training institutions, companies and social organisations (CET)

25 - Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) should already be promoted at school, because these subjects provide the basis for ecological knowledge and advanced environmental protection skills (NKOS). - Trade unions should be involved in developing new vocational training curricula for green jobs (CET, CNV, NKOS). - Trade unions should encourage employers to shape jobs more ecologically, and advocate a safer and healthier working and living environment (CNV, NKOS). - Small and medium-sized enterprises should receive funding for ecological audits (NKOS) Capacity building A total of 18 education activities were carried out on capacity building in the 2016 academic year. The first part of this chapter describes the seven seminars held in the framework of the special project for workers organisations in the Western Balkans. The second part concentrates on the other capacity building projects Special project for workers organisations in the Western Balkans Aims and general questions The Western Balkans region is characterised by societal schisms, historical upheaval, and difficult situations for large sections of the population in terms of employment and social questions. It substantially lacks a culture of social dialogue as found in many EU countries. This results in only slow progress, recurring stagnation and occasional setbacks. The aim of the special project for workers organisations in the Western Balkans is to develop and strengthen a culture of social dialogue in the Western Balkans region and to foster collaboration within the EZA network, particularly with Western Balkan states through education work. The purpose of this is to: - offer workers organisations in the Western Balkans region the opportunity for European exchange; - be able to better meet the specific challenges of workers organisations in the region in education; - establish, reinforce and further links between EZA members and partner organisations from the region. In the 2016 academic year, six education alliances, each comprising one EZA member and workers organisations from the Western Balkans region, worked to achieve this aim

26 The aim of the Eurofedop working group in Montenegro was to create an exchange among workers representatives on best practices of social dialogue and trade union work, particularly with regard to the societal significance of trade unions. The focus of the working group in the FYR of Macedonia was the role of trade unions in creating high-quality jobs, taking into account the compatibility of family and work. With its project in Croatia, WOW s intention was to study the impact of stress, psychosocial health problems and burnout on the workers affected themselves, on companies and on society as a whole. The aim of the BIE International working group in Serbia was to take a critical look at the behaviour of multinationals from the construction industry in the social dialogue in the Western Balkan states. MCL/EFAL s aim with the working group in Skopje was to analyse the refugee movement, especially on the Balkan route, and European measures for social cohesion. The aim of the education event carried out by MOSZ in Szeged was to discuss the development potential for trade unions in the Western Balkans in particular Serbia, in this case. At the close of the academic year, ÖZA held an evaluation and prospects seminar on Legal certainty, rule of law and representativeness of trade unions in the Western Balkans in Podgorica. The intention of the seminar together with all the education alliance partners was to: - establish education results from the education alliances, - evaluate the consequences resulting therefrom, and on that basis prepare a working plan for the following year, - foster cooperation beyond the education alliances, - address region-specific issues. Seminar content In the 2016 academic year, the education alliances discussed strategies for strengthening trade union action, the creation of decent jobs, social protection, the implementation of the right to freedom of association in trade unions, and collective bargaining in multinationals. Projects also addressed the objectives of workers organisations in terms of the European integration process, the strengthening of social dialogue in the region, migration issues, and stress at work. Here follows a brief recap of the content of the individual working groups and of the evaluation and prospects seminar. According to the participants in the working group set up by Eurofedop in Podgorica, the predominant mission of the trade unions in Montenegro was to fight for a wage level that guarantees every employed person a decent standard of living. In doing so, they ought to focus on equal opportunities for women and men. It was also important that through their actions the trade unions make their role and significance in society clearer, as trade unions had also experienced a reduction in member numbers in Montenegro. In Macedonia, too, trade unions were in a poor situation: that was the complaint of workers representatives in the UNASM working group. They said that although the legal framework provides for good social dialogue in Macedonia, in the country itself

27 there was only social monologue. One of the reasons for a falling degree of unionisation was that many workers still did not trust trade unions also on the basis of previous experiences. The speakers in the WOW working group in Zagreb emphasised that stress at work was an increasing phenomenon. The most important aims of stress management for healthy jobs in companies had to be to make all workplace stakeholders aware of the problem, to make them conscious of the positive impact of successful psychosocial risk management, and to help prevent potential psychosocial risks at work. Some participants underlined that the greatest stress for workers in the Western Balkans was not the pressure of work at the workplace, but in the insecurity from the fear of losing one s job and there being no social safety net. Workers representatives from the construction industry expressed concern in the BIE International working group at the discriminatory treatment by some multinationals of workers and trade unions in the Western Balkans. They called on governments of the Western Balkan states to ensure that multinationals guaranteed decent work and social protection for workers as well as the right to freedom of association in trade unions and collective bargaining. Trade unions had to come up with an answer when corporate mergers meant workers were to be laid off or when workers rights were infringed owing to a large number of subcontracts. The participants in the working group set up by MCL/EFAL discussed in detail the refugee movement via the Balkan route. They were unanimous that integration in the European Union was the only way for lasting stability in the Western Balkans, and that social, cultural and interreligious dialogue formed the basis for this. A severe fragmentation of the trade union movement and weak employer associations were the main reasons for there not yet being any effective social dialogue in Serbia that was the complaint of Serbian trade union representatives in the MOSZ working group. All the same, it was possible to unite the trade unions of two sectors, although this could only be seen as a first small step in the right direction. Participants at the seminar organised by MOSZ in Szeged (Hungary) searched intensively for ways to intensify social dialogue in the Western Balkans. A severe fragmentation of the trade union movement and weak employer associations were the main reasons for there not yet being any effective social dialogue in Serbia

28 that was the complaint of Serbian trade union representatives in the MOSZ working group. All the same, it was possible to unite the trade unions of two sectors, although this could only be seen as a first small step in the right direction. Results/recommendations on the need for action Workers organisations in the working groups of the six education alliances and in the evaluation and prospects seminar were furnished with the following recommendations for action: - The new information and communication technologies ought to be used more for trade union work (Eurofedop). - Maintaining close contacts with workers is fundamental to any successful trade union work (Eurofedop). - Trade unions should boost their capacity through suitable education measures (UNASM). - Workers representatives from different multinationals ought to maintain a constant exchange of information in order to benefit from their opposite numbers knowledge and experience (BIE International). - Trade unions in the Western Balkans must concentrate more than anything on safeguarding jobs and their right to represent interests (MOSZ). - The trade unions in the region must find ways of positioning themselves vis-àvis the other social partners, their own members and the new challenges in the world of work, e.g. with regard to digitalisation and migration (ÖZA, evaluation and prospects seminar). Here are some of the achievements of the special project for workers organisations in the Western Balkans: - awareness of the positive effects of the Western Balkan states European links through the workers representatives has grown, and from now on this issue is taken on board in daily activities; - despite the fragmentation among trade unions in the region, mutual trust especially among the regional partners has increased; - it was made clear to workers representatives that values are a good foundation for trade union work and its societal effects; - the possibilities of cooperation with partners from the European Union were made tangible and usable. It is evident that strengthening social dialogue in the region is also necessary in the long run, and there will be special challenges in this respect for some time to come. The EZA s commitment in the Western Balkans region is regarded by the education alliance partners as unreservedly positive and as a key measure for capacity building

29 Other projects Aims and general questions The objective of the HIVA research project was to draw up an academic working and discussion paper on the European Pillar of Social Rights. The MOSZ working group s intention was to give workers organisations from the EZA network an insight into what opportunities European funding could open up for shaping employment and social policy. HIVA aimed to analyse in its seminar to what extent companies business and financial information was made available to works councils and trade union representatives, and how it was then used by them in social dialogue. The aim of the PODKREPA seminar was to discuss what strategies trade unions had to pursue in order to help overcome the consequences of the economic and financial crisis. The UHM seminar was held to discuss current challenges in the labour market especially the integration of refugees and the new situation regarding the free movement of workers caused by Brexit. With its two education platform working group meetings, Solidarność s intention was to discuss possibilities of adapting education better to the needs of the labour market and the impact of demographic decline on the education system. The KSI education course was intended specifically for education leaders from Southern European workers organisations, focusing on imparting methods for the innovative, participative and interactive design of seminars. The aim of the Nowy Staw foundation s education course for leaders of workers organisations was to convey to them the importance of an ethical foundation for trade union strategies. Seminar content Right at the start of his term of office, the President of the European Commission Jean- Claude Juncker called for a new start for social dialogue, including a greater involvement of the social partners in the European Semester and support for capacity building. The European Pillar of Social Rights underscores the European Commission s endeavour to strengthen the social dimension of the European Union. Some EZA member organisations took part in the consultation process on the European Pillar of Social Rights. Their major concerns were equal opportunities in the labour market, good working conditions, and fair, sustainable social security guaranteeing a decent standard of living. HIVA addressed these issues in its research work, and drew up an academic working and discussion paper, which is presented to workers representatives for discussion at seven seminars in the 2017 academic year. In the working group set up by MOSZ, trade union representatives regretted that the ESF funding programmes were often too bureaucratic and too work-intensive in relation to their trade union resources. Sometimes there was also a problem in properly understanding and correctly interpreting a call for proposals. It was also established that the EU institutions preferred working together with well trained and well prepared partners, meaning that organisations less capable of applying for projects but which in fact represented a part of the EU population were not given a chance

30 The working group set up by MOSZ in Budapest (Hungary) also discussed the possibilities and difficulties of applying for funding. Proposals for simplifying the system have been presented. In the HIVA seminar, scientists and works council members from various European countries were agreed that the sharing of business and financial information to works councils and trade union representatives worked well in most countries and in conformity with the regulations. Only in Poland was there still need for improvements, though these were emerging through the new Social Dialogue Act. The seminar pointed up ways in which workers representatives could make better use of companies business and financial information. Participants in the PODKREPA seminar agreed that the financial and economic crisis had a negative impact on wages, working conditions and labour protection rights in most European states. They stressed that even after the crisis, social dialogue and collective bargaining had to be indispensable instruments in developing and implementing labour market reforms. High wages, strong trade unions and well trained workers were the solution for the problems in a globalised economy. The impact of migration on the labour markets of the EU member states was studied in the UHM seminar. The seminar incorporated two topical developments: the integration of refugees and Brexit. The participants agreed that the supply of information and assistance from workers organisations to work migrants and refugees had to be extended, in order to prepare them better for successful labour market integration. In the first of the two education platform working groups, both organised by Solidarność, the social partners were accorded a key role in recognising informal skills, developing curricula for vocational training, evaluating educational programmes, and recognising vocational qualifications. The second working group discussed how a decrease in population impacts on a country s education system. The participants expressed their worry that low birth rates were leading to unemployment among young teachers and school closures, especially in rural regions

31 The focus of the KSI education course was on imparting innovative and flexible strategies and methods of organising and designing the content of an education event. The speakers showed how important the role of the moderator and strategies were for the dissemination of results. Innovative seminar methods are needed to disseminate knowledge about social dialogue sustainably during the seminars. The participants learned these during the seminar organized by KSI in Bad Honnef. In conjunction with USO, the Nowy Staw foundation organised a three-part cycle of courses for young trade union leaders which was completed in the 2016 academic year. Speakers and participants highlighted values as the basis for trade union action in social dialogue. A crucial factor for the bargaining power of trade unions was also how much they encouraged young talents in their own ranks and carried out capacity building measures. The concrete issues tackled in the Nowy Staw foundation course were: organisation culture in trade unions; modern methods of motivating trade unionists; and the mentoring and coaching of young trade union leaders. Among other things, young trade union representatives continued their training in coaching and mentoring to ensure that professional trade union work will continue in the future. This course was organized by Europejski Dom Spotkań - Fundacja Nowy Staw in Gdańsk (Poland)

32 Results/recommendations on the need for action The following recommendations were stated in the education events on capacity building: - EU funding programme procedures should be simplified to give smaller workers organisations the chance of successful participation. Workers organisations should not wait for calls for project proposals, but instead approach the EU and national leaders with their own proposals (MOSZ). - Workers rights to lifelong learning must be guaranteed (Solidarność). - Trade unions must be more committed to young people having employment stability and fair wages, enabling them to start a family (Solidarność). - Trade unions must redefine and increase their role. They must be both social partners and advocates of reforms for efficient social and employment policies (PODKREPA). - Workers representatives must be trained and outside experts brought in to enable business and financial information to be correctly understood and assessed. However, even well trained workers representatives who bring in outside experts seldom make use in their daily work of the business and economic information made available. Future education events must therefore focus on how the information can be used in, say, collective bargaining (HIVA). - The new start for social dialogue sought by the European Commission necessitates a constant increase in workers representatives knowledge and capacities (PODKREPA). - Trade unions need capacity building measures, since the administration and leadership of trade unions must be improved (Nowy Staw foundation) Strengthening the structures of social dialogue More than 30 years after the establishment of the European social dialogue in Val Duchesse, workers organisations in a number of EU member states especially in Central, Eastern and Southeast Europe operate under difficult general conditions. That is one of the main reasons why the President of the European Commission, Jean- Claude Juncker, called in his inaugural speech for a new start for social dialogue and said he wanted to be a President of social dialogue. In its European Social Dialogue education programme, the EZA regularly tackles the question of how trade unions can boost their own structures and social dialogue. A synopsis of this question and associated issues is provided by the study drawn up jointly with HIVA and published in 2015 entitled Conditions and Criteria for Social Dialogue in Europe the Workers Perspective: From scientific evidence to practiceoriented guidance

33 The seven education activities on this issue carried out in the 2016 academic year had the following aims and general questions: The aim of the BIE International seminar was to discuss European policies, practical examples and strategies of action for trade unions to combat social dumping in the building sector. With its project, Beweging.academie intended to examine social indicators that could be important for the European Semester in the next few years. The purpose of the CIFOTIE seminar was to analyse the structures of social dialogue in the sphere of the ILO on a European and transcontinental level. The Solidarność project aimed to test the mode of action and effectiveness of the Council for Social Dialogue set up a year earlier in Poland, and to carry out a comparison with similar institutions in selected other European countries. The aim of the Solidarumas seminar was to define factors that make up decent, high-quality and sustainable jobs, as well as to examine the role of the social partners in designing constructive industrial relations. At the 28 th Conference for Trade Union Cooperation in Europe (KGZE) organised by ÖZA, the intention was to identify the importance of social dialogue as an instrument for safeguarding legal certainty and social justice. With its project, WOW intended to point up the role of ethical and socially responsible management in strengthening the structures of social dialogue. Seminar content According to the trade unionists at the BIE International seminar, social dumping was a great danger, especially in the building sector. European Commission measures such as better monitoring of compliance with existing regulations were urgently needed. In this context the creation of the European platform tackling undeclared work, set up to coordinate greater cooperation between the labour inspection units of the member states, was the right step. Attention in the sector should be focused on letterbox companies. In the Beweging.academie seminar, participants discussed what social indicators in the EU were important and how they could be evaluated. Social indicators were absolutely essential for measuring progress in the social sphere, although it was difficult to evaluate them if they were expressed in financial figures. The question was therefore whether the decrease in expenditure on employment promotion per jobseeker was related with job agencies now being more efficient in providing jobs or if it concealed a cut in the corresponding services. Social dialogue was taking place on a national, European and international level, but it could also be a success factor on a regional level in less developed areas, for instance when it came to maintaining endangered jobs this was highlighted by several experts in the CIFOTIE project. At the Solidarność seminar, trade unions from Poland emphasised that the work of the Council for Social Dialogue set up a year earlier in Poland was assessed by the social partners as altogether positive, but the Council had to be better known. Participants from several Western European countries underlined their experience that developing

34 a culture of dialogue as well as willingness for cooperation and consensus was an important guarantor of success in social dialogue. The Solidarumas seminar made it clear that trade unions in Lithuania had to contend with the flexibilisation of labour relations. In companies which operated only temporary and atypical work contracts, it was practically impossible to establish a trade union, although it was precisely workers in precarious jobs who needed trade union representation. The new forms of employment were not creating any sustainable jobs, nor were they solving the problem of poverty. To combat poverty, the participants advocated a minimum wage ensuring minimum standards of living. Factors that made up decent, high-quality and sustainable jobs were discussed, and it was established that good regulation of working hours had a positive impact on health, family and quality of life. Since it was founded in 1989, the Conference on Trade Union Cooperation in Europe (KGZE) has provided a platform for exchange between trade unions from all over Europe, performing an important bridge function between Western and Central and Eastern Europe. Since the 25 th KGZE, the regional focus has been on the Western Balkans. In preparation for the 28 th KGZE, a questionnaire was sent out to the participating trade unions from a total of 18 countries with questions on the rule of law, such as the separation of powers and the independence of justice, questions on social dialogue, for instance in terms of functioning structures, and the role of the trade unions, as well as questions on the general situation and on specific changes in the countries. At the seminar, the national reports underscored the importance of democracy, tolerance, the rule of law and freedom for the further development of the Western Balkan states and for their rapprochement to the European Union, as well as an indispensable basis for a functioning social dialogue. Results/recommendations on the need for action The following recommendations for strategies and action were given to the workers representatives at the seminars for them to take away: - Workers organisations everywhere in Europe should push for sociopolitical measures to be taken that reduce existing social inequalities and show longterm prospects, for future generations as well (Beweging.academie). - Workers organisations should campaign for the economic differences between Western and Eastern Europe being increasingly balanced out in order to prevent social dumping (BIE International). - Exchange on best practices in social dialogue must be promoted throughout Europe, as social dialogue in Central and Eastern Europe was in difficulties (Solidarność). - In social dialogue, workers organisations ought to point up even more strongly the advantages of a minimum wage; namely that a minimum wage solves the problems of demand, stimulates the economy, allows company profits to grow, grants workers more freedom, and gives more security to the most vulnerable people in the labour market (Solidarumas). - Trade union leaders should be guided by ethical values, stand back from dayto-day business and take a long-term view (WOW)

35 Conditions in the workplace On hardly any issues negotiated in social dialogue in Europe are there as many agreements as well as statutory regulations and provisions as on equal opportunities and on health and safety at work. Yet what has been achieved in theory seems only all too seldom put into practice in an ideal way, even though both issues are still right at the top of the agenda of workers organisations in Europe. What strategies they can pursue in order to achieve progress in both areas was discussed in the ten projects on Conditions in the workplace. The projects had the following aims and general questions: Women are more frequently victims of aggression at the workplace than men; what workers organisations in companies could do to counter this was to be discussed in the AFB project organised in conjunction with the International Platform for Equal Opportunities (IPEO). The Cartel Alfa seminar aimed to identify how and with what issues European trade unions could position themselves in an increasingly globalised economy. FEDER.AGRI. intended to examine in its seminar what employment opportunities were emerging specifically for young people from current developments in agriculture and agricultural policy. The ICRA working group s aim was to identify the role of social dialogue in sustainable agriculture and employment growth. The LDF seminar aimed to create awareness of the benefits good quality jobs with a high level of health and safety had for workers, companies and society in general. Social work is an area in which employees rarely come into contact with trade unions; thus the aim of the LKrA seminar was to show the opportunities for this sector to organise itself in trade unions. The intention of NBH s project was to draw attention to the importance preventive health promotion at work had at a time in which the retirement age was being increased in many countries. The UNASM seminar for the Western Balkan states aimed to analyse how to ensure that a statutory minimum wage was paid by companies, and what influence it had on workers satisfaction and dignity as well as on company productivity. Problem areas in implementing regulations governing health and safety at work were analysed in the WOW seminar organised in conjunction with Bofos. The purpose of the Eurofedop seminar was to discuss what the tense security situation in some European countries meant for workers in this area and what challenges it created for European sector-specific trade unions. Seminar content The participants in the International Platform for Equal Opportunities established that workers organisations in Europe were increasingly confronted with violence at work; the gamut of the use of violence ranged from psychological pressure right through to physical attacks. Women were predominantly exposed to sexual harassment; most frequently this affected younger women, female employees relatively new to a company, apprentices, trainees and migrants. The seminar described perception of the problem in companies as inadequate; the prevalent conviction was the objectively false one that sufficient in-house preventive measures had already been put into effect in the area of health and safety, such as regular risk assessments and training courses. The platform called for greater prevention in companies by informing and creating awareness; the key players in this being the social partners

36 "Violence against women in the workplace: the loss of respect and esteem women as victims of workplace aggressions" was the topic of the working group, which met in Bressanone (South Tyrol, Italy) and was organised by AFB. The Cartel Alfa seminar-goers stressed that the European Pillar of Social Rights could strengthen not only the social dimension in the EU but also the EU altogether in globalised competition. An important factor in this was trade unions operating on a Europe-wide basis whose international campaigns the national trade unions in the individual countries should give even better backing. Agriculture certainly gave young people an opportunity to find employment. There were possibilities, for example, in marketing and trading a region s typical products and/or bioproducts. Several speakers at the FEDER.AGRI. seminar pointed out that although the seasonal work common in agriculture offered no stability, it did give young people the chance to become familiar with agriculture and consider a subsequent career start. The ICRA seminar also established that the unemployment level of young people, especially in Southern Europe, was still far too high. A significant problem in combating youth unemployment was that the financial and economic crisis had exacerbated not only directly the situation in the labour market but also the socioeconomic environment for social dialogue. What had to be counteracted in particular was the decrease in coverage by collective bargaining agreements, as they were a key instrument in securing employment. The LDF seminar presented the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work in Bilbao campaign on the issue of Healthy workplaces for all ages. Several speakers emphasised that, given a rising retirement age in many European states and a resultant longer working life, only good health and safety at work could ensure productivity in companies in the medium term. The speakers at the LKrA seminar stressed that so far there had been no sectorspecific trade union for social workers in the three Baltic States. However, workers had the opportunity to join a trade union federation and thus address the development of key criteria for social dialogue in their companies. The most important result of the seminar was that the trade union representatives at the seminar set up a sector

37 specific trade union for social workers in the Baltic States, which affiliated itself to an umbrella trade union federation in each of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. In the NBH seminar, experts from science, health professionals and trade unions emphasised that psychosocial risks and work-related stress were among the major challenges in terms of health and safety at work. The retirement age was rising in many EU member states, and many workers would have to work longer. Health prevention at work, primarily burnout prevention, was therefore particularly important. Reports from various countries showed that there were very different approaches to health in the EU. For instance, people in Estonia go to work when they are sick, because they are afraid of losing their job (presenteeism). From Portugal it was reported that there was no legislation on preventing psychosocial risks, and there were no questionnaires, surveys or detailed statistics on burnout and mental illness caused by work. In the UNASM seminar, workers representatives from Albania, Kosovo, Turkey, Slovenia and Montenegro reported on minimum wage regulations in their countries. They were all fighting for an increase in the minimum wage, because at its level to date it did not cover the needs of a decent life for workers. Another problem was that although there were provisions for the application of the minimum wage, they were not being put into practice. In view of the tense security situation in some European countries, the trade unions attending the Eurofedop seminar emphasised that interdisciplinary cooperation between public services was indispensable for those countries. First and foremost, cooperation should be coordinated between the public services whose duty was to safeguard law and order, viz. the police, defence and the judiciary. Members of Eurofedop representing the workforce of these security forces explained that demands on these services had increased considerably of late. In Tallinn (Estonia), consideration was given to how security can be guaranteed nowadays and how employees working in the security sector, for whom EUROFEDOP stands for, can also be supported with the help of interdisciplinary cooperation. In October 2016, the EZA became the official partner of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work in the framework of their campaign Healthy workplaces for all ages

38 In conjunction with Bofos, WOW held a seminar on the main theme of this campaign. The experts at the seminar stressed that the result of the demographic shift and an ageing workforce was that more people with poor health and chronic diseases were in work, entailing new demands on age-appropriate work. Workers organisations had the important task of promoting the integration of older workers, as currently only 30% of the 60+ generation was still in gainful employment. The national reports made it clear that broadly speaking there was no lack of legislation on health and safety at work in the European states, but the implementation thereof was often problematic. The issue was not being given enough attention, especially in small and medium-sized enterprises (primarily in micro-companies with two to nine employees), in which representation of workers interests was weaker, and generally in the countries hit by the financial and economic crisis. Various aspects of maintaining healthy workplaces were considered and elaborated at the conference organised by WOW in cooperation with SS BOFOS in Belgrade. Results/recommendations on the need for action The following core statements and recommendations for further action were drawn up in the seminars: - Violence at work can only be prevented by comprehensive prevention measures in companies. These include carrying out and promoting information and awareness measures, as well as setting up/extending counselling facilities for employees affected by discrimination and violence (AFB/IPEO). - Good social dialogue in companies is a key precondition for implementing high quality standards in health and safety at work (LDF, NBH). - The prevention of burnout in companies should be taken seriously by all social partners and viewed as a mission for a better, healthier world of work (NBH). - Trade unions and workers representatives should create greater awareness in companies, among employers, in social dialogue and among the general public of the importance of health protection and promotion at work (WOW). - The correct payment of the minimum wage requires better monitoring and enforcement (UNASM)

39 - Governments should invest more in the training and equipping of staff in public services (Eurofedop) What factors of working life influence the quality of workers lives? Working and living after the crisis project coordination Since the beginning of the financial and economic crisis almost a decade ago, its impact on the labour market has been the subject of many seminars in the EZA s European social dialogue education programme. The focus has been on the question of what strategies workers organisations can pursue to create and secure good quality jobs. The seven seminars on the issue of Working and living after the crisis pooled together in a project coordination in the 2016 academic year showed that primarily young workers were still particularly hard hit by unemployment and precarious jobs. The resultant insecurity impacts on the timing of starting a family, on the birth rate, and thus on demographic development; in one seminar participants spoke of a demographic winter. Since the beginning of the crisis, the employment rate of young women in particular has worsened; achieving equal opportunities and promoting the compatibility of family and job are still right at the top of the agenda of workers organisations in Europe. The Working and living after the crisis project coordination pursued the aim of focusing on the situation in the various countries of Europe and developing recommendations for action for workers organisations. Aims and general questions The aim of the C.F.T.L. seminar was to analyse the development of social security systems in Europe in the last 20 years; this included examining the question of what consequences the policy of austerity pursued in the context of the financial and economic crisis has had on the efficiency of the systems. The EBCA seminar aimed to discuss how the precariousness of employment influenced workers lives. The concern of the FIDESTRA project was to develop concepts and instruments for better compatibility of job and family for young female workers. The intention of the JOC Europe (Young Christian Workers YCW) seminar was to illustrate how young people in Europe lived and worked under the conditions of unemployment and precarious jobs. With its project, LOC/MTC intended to examine how families experienced (long-term) unemployment, precarious employment, and poor economic conditions. The UNASM seminar aimed to develop strategies for action for trade unions to scrap existing gender-specific differences in access to the labour market and in some countries also on vocational training. The ZD N.Si seminar s aim was to discuss how sustainable employment for young workers could be guaranteed

40 Seminar content The social security systems were described by participants in the C.F.T.L. seminar as the heart of Europe. However, the financial and economic crisis, the attendant high unemployment rate and the austerity policies in the European states hardest hit by the crisis had resulted in a weakening of social protection. The sharp rise in precarious jobs, often not subject to social security, was another reason for the poor financial situation of the social security systems. Several speakers stressed that precarious employment was not a new phenomenon, though; what was currently new was that precariousness was no longer affecting only the fringes of society but the entire middle class. The EBCA seminar also stressed that the financial and economic crisis had not triggered off but only exacerbated already existing social problems. For instance, although the number of socially excluded people had risen because of the crisis, two thirds of those affected today had already been socially excluded before. The crisis had further worsened the integration prospects primarily of the long-term unemployed, the working poor, single parents and their children, as well as migrants. The participants regretted that the increasing precariousness of gainful employment and the problem of the working poor resulted in growing insecurity among the population, in the impossibility of starting a family, and in a decrease in civic involvement. The FIDESTRA seminar-goers established that demographic winter had erupted in Europe. Discrimination against young women in access to a job had further increased during the financial and economic crisis. This combined with frequently precarious employment resulted in the decision to start a family being postponed. Another challenge for young families today was mobility, meaning that other family members could no longer help take care of the children, and this was incumbent solely on the parents or educators. The far-reaching effects of precarious jobs on young workers and society as a whole were described in the JOC Europe (YCW) seminar as follows: impossibility of planning, a permanent feeling of insecurity, a reduction in sociopolitical involvement, the postponement of starting a family, an increase in mental illness among those affected, a decrease in consumption, and a manifest loss of trust in democratic institutions and political parties. Although families were particularly hard hit by the impact of the financial and economic crisis, they also guaranteed stability and took responsibility for one another. So because of their use to society, they had to be encouraged, and family-policy measures had to be placed at the centre of politics and social dialogue that was the demand of the LOC/MTC seminar-goers. The UNASM project highlighted problems implementing labour laws in the Western Balkan states. This related to regulations on safety at work and on the compatibility of family and job. The ZD N.Si seminar-goers explained that bogus self-employment was a problem that was little discussed but a real one for many young people. Pseudo-contracts for work and services were regarded by companies as a mechanism for shifting the burden of social security contributions and long-term responsibility to the workers

41 Results/recommendations on the need for action he following recommendations were expressed in the seminars: - Trade unions should increasingly address target groups such as jobseekers and socially excluded people (C.F.T.L.). - General weekly working hours should be reduced to enable more people to participate in the labour market (C.F.T.L., EBCA, UNASM). The reduction in weekly working hours could also be a specific measure for older workers, who could assume a mentor role for younger workers (ZD N.Si). - Minimum wages should be raised, and compliance with statutory minimum wage regulations better monitored (C.F.T.L., UNASM). - Measures on the compatibility of family and job should be extended (such as quality childcare institutions (including at work), state support for kindergartens and creches) (FIDESTRA). - Consumers should review their consumption behaviour and show a sense of responsibility (EBCA, JOC Europe/YCW). - More normal working conditions must be created, unemployment significantly reduced, and informal work combatted (JOC Europe/YCW). - After completing compulsory education, young people must be given a guarantee of employment, stability and security (LOC/MTC). Irrespective of the focuses of the individual seminars, today s living and working conditions in Europe are cause for concern. The austerity policies of recent years have obviously produced no real improvements but only worsened the consequences of the crisis. ( ) There was considerable agreement on the necessity for social protection as a guarantee of decent living, social justice and social peace in Europe. There was equally a need for strong workers organisations and real, effective social dialogue. There was a great deal of agreement on the necessity for social protection as a guarantee of a decent life, social justice and social peace in Europe. There was also a need for strong workers organisations and real, effective social dialogue. The situation in the labour market conflicts with human and as centres with a strong Christian motivation showed Christian values. A large number of concrete proposals for reform to regulate the labour market were discussed ( ). One result of the analysis was the striking frequency with which working time reductions were demanded. These are advisable both in terms of reducing unemployment and from the perspective of a better work-life balance. On top of that, measures for safeguarding work-family balance and to promote gender equality seem necessary both from an ethical perspective and in the face of demographic challenges. (Extract from: Sarah Prenger, Living and working in Europe after the crisis. EZA contributions to social dialogue, 32, 2017)

42 3. The 2016 academic year in publications The EZA reported on the key events and results of its work in its newsletter EZA News, which is published four times a year in German, English, French, Spanish and Italian (alternating) and Croatian. In addition, publications as a result of the 2016/2017 academic year appeared in the following project series: EZA: Mobility and migration coordination of social security (György Lajtai, project organisers involved: ACLI, Beweging.academie, CSDR, H+D, KSI, UNAIE). EZA: Young people and the labour market (Helmut Skala, project organisers involved: ACA, Nowy Staw Foundation, FIDESTRA, Napredak, IFES, KAP, KIKEA-DEOK, USO). EZA/ÖZA (in conjunction with IHS): The digital world of work (Susanne Kirchner, Barbara Angleitner, project organisers involved: CIFOTIE, Eurofedop, Fondazione Luigi Clerici, Krifa, MOSZ). EZA: Working and living after the crisis (Sarah Prenger, project organisers involved: C.F.T.L., EBCA, FIDESTRA, JOC Europe, LOC/MTC, UNASM, ZD N.Si). These publications are available in various European languages. They are published in electronic form on the EZA website and appear in hard copy in the EZA contributions to social dialogue series. The EZA distributes the brochures at its seminars and in its network, and also forwards them to representatives of European institutions to ensure that the recommendations for action from the seminars reach the social partners and politicians. Furthermore, every report on the education activities carried out in the 2016 academic year is documented on the EZA website in German, English, Spanish and French

43 4. The 2016 academic year in figures In the 2016 academic year the EZA network had 71 members in 29 European states (Diagram 1). Number Full Members Development of EZA's member organisations Candidates for Membership Associated Members Observers Year Diagram 1 The breakdown of the 74 education activities by individual issues was as follows: 1.1 Labour migration/mobility Young people and the labour market Inclusion The digital world of work Green jobs Capacity building Structures of social dialogue Conditions in the workplace Working and living after the crisis 7 Relation of theme groups ,46% 9,46% Integration in the labour market Migration / labour mobility 13,51% 13,51% Youth and labour market Inclusion Shaping of labour relations Digital world of work 9,46% 5,41% Green jobs Capacity building Social dialogue structures 8,11% Workplace conditions Quality of work and life 6,76% Quality of work and life 24,32% Diagram

44 The education activities took place in 27 different EU member states/candidate countries (diagrams 3 and 4). Number Number of seminar activities per country ( ) AL AT BE BG CY CZ DE DK EE EL ES FR HR HU IT LT LU LV ME MK MT NL PL PT RO RS SI SK UK Country Diagram Number of seminar activities per member organisation per country ( ) Number AL AT BE BG CY CZ DE DK EE EL ES FR HR HU IT absolute number, as EZA had no member organisation in the corresponding year in this country LT LU LV ME MK MT NL PL PT RO RS SI SK UK Country Diagram 4 42 projects (equating to 56.8%) were coordinated in the series of seminars on the Europe 2020 strategy, the four project coordination series, the special project for workers organisations in the Western Balkans, and the education course cycle. In the past academic year, the total number of participants was 3,959 (diagram 5) and so as in previous academic years was a third more than the planned number

45 Number of participants Number of participants in total 2008 bis realized planned Year Diagram 5 1,415 participants (36%) came from the EU-13 and 362 participants (9%) from the Western Balkan candidate countries (diagram 6). Diagram 6 At 9.09 the average number of nations represented in education activities is very high being almost equally distributed among the EU-15 nations on the one hand and the EU-13 nations and candidate countries on the other

46 5. EZA at the International Labour Conference in Geneva In June 2016, the European Centre for Workers Questions (EZA) attended the International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva for the first time with its own observer status. EZA President Bartho Pronk and Norbert Klein from the EZA Secretariat followed the discussions during the conference and took the opportunity to hold talks with International Labour Office (ILO) officials, including with the Deputy General Director of the ILO and Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, Heinz Koller. There was a lively exchange on the current situation of workers in Europe and worldwide with the Deputy Director of the Bureau for Workers Activities (ACTRAV) of the International Labour Office, Anna Biondi, and with the socio-religious adviser to the General Director of the ILO and official for cooperation with partners, Pierre Martinot- Lagarde SJ. During a lunch organised by the EZA with delegates from EZA member organisations attending the conference, Bartho Pronk was particularly pleased to welcome the Vice- President of the Governing Body of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and President of the Workers Group of the ILO, Luc Cortebeek. Snapshot from the conversation between representatives of EZA and delegates of the International Labour Conference in Geneva (Switzerland) [from left to right:] Luc Cortebeek (President of the ILO Employee Group), Bartho Pronk (President of EZA), Pierre Martinot-Lagarde SJ (Socio-Religious Affairs Advisor to the General Director of the ILO), Anna Wolanska (KK NSZZ "Solidarność") and Roel Rotshuizen (President of WOW)

47 6. EZA official campaign partner of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work Healthy workplaces for all ages is the title of the 2016/2017 campaign of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), whose official partner the European Centre for Workers Questions (EZA) became in November More than 100 partners throughout Europe workers and employers associations, European and international companies, as well as non-governmental organisations are committed to the campaign, which focuses on the sustainability of working life in light of the ageing working population in Europe. The aim of the campaign is to raise awareness of the importance of good health and safety management and risk prevention at work, throughout working life and by means of work geared to the individual s abilities whether at the beginning or at the end of the working life. The issue has been a mainstay of the EZA education programme from the very start, both in individual seminars and in series of seminars. The EZA has published the results of past series of seminars on the issues of Stress a challenge for health at work and New challenges in promoting health and safety at work in its series of publications Contributions to social dialogue. Representatives of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work and their national focal points have presented its work at seminars in the two series of projects and made the case for becoming involved in the campaigns. The EZA gave its member centres information on the current campaign during its kick-off seminar in Marseille in early December The 2016 academic year also saw the first seminar on the issue: Healthy jobs good practice: Let s learn from one another!, run by WOW in conjunction with Bofos in Belgrade in March 2017 (see page 38). The seminars of the 2017 academic year will come up with recommendations for action for preventive health promotion at work, putting the gender and generation aspect right at the forefront

48 7. The European Centre for Workers Questions (EZA) The European Centre for Workers Questions (EZA) is a network of 71 workers organisations from 29 European countries established on Christian-social values. EZA members are trade unions, socio-cultural workers organisations, as well as education and research institutions that address workers questions. The EZA s European social dialogue education programme promotes social dialogue on a national and European level and tackles social challenges in Europe. Its aim is to help solve workers and social questions. The EZA s work is funded by the European Union. Together with its member centres and partners, the EZA runs about 70 seminars a year on European social dialogue issues. Its target group consists of multipliers and leaders of workers organisations. The EZA advises its member centres and partners on developing projects, enabling them to carry out European education measures autonomously or in conjunction with others. To build the capacity of leaders and staff of workers organisations, the EZA runs courses to consolidate and extend knowledge and skills in the European context. The EZA promotes thematic networks and platforms among its member centres and other organisations. The focuses of the EZA s work are important and topical issues of the European social dialogue, such as: labour migration/mobility Young people and the labour market The digital world of work Green jobs Capacity building Strengthening the structures of social dialogue Conditions in the workplace Changes in industrial relations and new forms of work Winning new target groups for workers organisations and for the social dialogue

49 The EZA Management President Co-President Treasurer Secretary-General Bartho Pronk Piergiorgio Sciacqua Dr. Norbert Schnedl Sigrid Schraml (NL) (IT) (AT) (DE) Vice-Presidents: Josep Calvó García (ES), Bogdan Hossu (RO), António José de Matos Cristóvão (PT), Herbert Metzger (DE), Vesselin Mitov (BG), Józef Mozolewski (PL), Janina Švedienė (LT) Assessors: João Paulo Branco (PT), Diomides Diomidous (CY), Søren Fibiger Olesen (DK), Bjørn van Heusden (BE), Silviu Ispas (RO), Anton Kokalj (SI), Fritz Neugebauer (AT), Imre Palkovics (HU), Sofie Put (BE), Robert Schadeck (LU), Gabriele Stauner (DE), Joseph Thouvenel (FR), Franjo Topić (HR), Josef Vella (MT) Auditors: Bert van Caelenberg (BE), Heidi Rabensteiner (IT), Alfonso Luzzi (IT)

50 EZA Secretariat staff in Königswinter and Brussels Back row from left to right: Dr. Victoria Znined (Public Relations) Ilona Mosler (Finances) Matthias Homey (Seminars and Research) Piera Sofia (Seminars and Research, Finances) Esmeralda Van den Bosch (Brussels Office, Seminars and Research) Sigrid Schraml (Secretary-General) Yara Katayama (Seminars and Research) Front row from left to right: Norbert Klein (Seminars and Research) Carmen Böhmert (Secretariat) Barbara Goeden (Public Relations) Natascha Fassbender (Finances) Not on the foto: Janis Wetzig (Secretariat)

51 8. Collaborating organisations and co-operation partners ACLI Associazioni Cristiane Lavoratori Italiani Italy ENAIP Ente Nazionale ACLI Istruzione Professionale Italy ACV-BIE Algemeen Christelijk Vakverbond bouw industrie & energie Belgium BIE int. Bouw-Industrie & Energie International Belgium Association Christian Artists Association Christian Artists Netherlands Beweging. academie Beweging.academie Belgium AFB Arbeiter-, Freizeit- und Bildungsverein Italy BASE-F.U.T. Base-Frente Unitária de Trabalhadores Portugal CFTL Centro de Formação e Tempos Livres Portugal CEAT Centro Español para Asuntos de los Trabajadores Spain CET Centre Européen du Travail Belgium

52 CFTC Confédération Française des Travailleurs Chrétiens France CIFOTIE Centro Internacional de Formação dos Trabalhadores da Indústria e Energia Portugal CNS "Cartel Alfa" Confederația Națională Sindicală "Cartel Alfa" Romania F.N.CORESI Fundația Națională CORESI Romania CNV Christelijk Nationaal Vakverbond Netherlands CSDR Confederației Sindicatelor Democratice din România Romania Departamentul Educare - Formare al CSDR Departamentul Educare - Formare al Confederației Sindicatelor Democratice din România Romania DEOK Democratic Labour Federation of Cyprus Cyprus KIKEA Cypriot Institute of Training/Education and Employment Cyprus ECWM MTCE EBCA European Christian Workers Movement Europe

53 EPSIN European Platform for Social Integration Belgium EUROFEDOP Europese Federatie van het Overheidspersoneel Europe Europejski Dom Spotkań Fundacja Nowy Staw FIDESTRA Europejski Dom Spotkań Fundacja Nowy Staw Associação para a Formação, Investigação e Desenvolvimento Social dos Trabalhadores Poland Portugal FLC Fondazione Luigi Clerici Italy H+D Fundación Humanismo y Democracia Spain HIVA HKD Napredak HIVA Onderzoeksinstituut voor Arbeid en Samenleving Hrvatsko kulturno društvo Napredak Belgium Croatia ICRA Europa International Catholic Rural Association Europa Italy IFES Institutul de Formare Economică şi Socială Romania JOC Europe Jeunesse Ouvrière Chrétienne - Europe Europe

54 KAB Deutschlands Katholische Arbeitnehmer- Bewegung Deutschlands e.v. Germany KAP Hnutí Křesťan a práce Czech Republic KK NSZZ Solidarność Komisja Krajowa NSZZ Solidarność Poland Krifa Kristelige Fagbevægelse Denmark KSI Katholisch-Soziales Institut Germany LDF Lithuanian Labor Federation Lithuania LDF Education Center VsI Lithuanian Labor Federation Education Center Lithuania LKrA Latvijas Kristīga Akadēmija Latvia LPS Solidarumas Lietuvos Profesinė Sąjunga Solidarumas Lithuania LOC/MTC Liga Operária Católica - Movimento de Trabalhadores Cristãos Portugal

55 MCL Movimento Cristiano Lavoratori Italy EFAL Ente Nazionale per la Formazione e l'addestramento dei Lavoratori Italy FEDER.AGRI. Federazione Nazionale per lo Sviluppo dell'agricoltura Italy MOSZ Munkástanácsok Országos Szövetsége Hungary NBH Nell-Breuning-Haus Germany NKOS Nezávislé krestanské odbory Slovenska Slovakia ÖZA Österreichisches Zentrum für Arbeitnehmerbildung Austria PODKREPA Confederation of Labour PODKREPA Bulgaria SS Bofos Autonomous Trade Union of Employees in Banks, Insurance Companies and other Financial Organizations of Serbia Serbia UĦM Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin Malta

56 UNAIE Unione Nazionale delle Associazioni degli Immigrati ed Emigrati Italy USO Unión Sindical Obrera Spain CCFAS Centro Confederal de Formación y Acción Social Spain WOW World Organisation of Workers World YHACM UNASM UIATUM Union of Independant Autonomus Trade Unions of Macedonia Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia ZD NSi Združenje delavcev Nove Slovenije Slovenia

57

58

59 The EZA Quality Management System is certified under ISO 9001:2008 by TÜV Rheinland.

60 With the kind support of the European Union EUROPÄISCHES ZENTRUM FÜR ARBEITNEHMERFRAGEN (EZA) [= European Centre for Workers Questions] Johannes-Albers-Allee 2 D Königswinter Tel.: Fax: eza@eza.org Web site: