This Working Paper aims to shed light on the machinations behind recent developments regarding the Better Regulation agenda. How should we interpret the Commission's insistence on relentlessly attacking its own legislation? Why does it constantly refer to the costs, yet never once mention the...

Based on a comparative survey of members of fourteen European trade unions in twelve countries, this working paper tries to answer the questions why people retain their trade union membership in times of declining unionisation. The paper shows that the presence and performance of workplace...

This working paper maps out developments of industrial relations in Central-Eastern Europe (CEE) during the period 2008-2014. It looks at wage trends and public sector austerity measures, collective bargaining practices, social dialogue performance and the incidence of strikes and protests.The...

This working paper looks at recent structural reforms of the Spanish labour market and evaluates them against the government's stated objectives to reduce unemployment.It concludes that the labour market flexibilisation approach has not helped to reduce unemployment, nor has it contributed to...

While the European intersectoral social dialogue has been, according to the Commission's own admission, dragging its feet for the last few years on account of a lack of commitment on the part of the private sector employers, the sectoral social dialogue is often presented as a more dynamic and...

This working paper reviews the findings of the most prominent studies on the economic impact of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), focussing on those commissioned by the European Commission and by the German government. It casts doubt on the methods used and concludes...

This Working Paper critically reviews the empirical evidence and the basic assumptions on which European and national policymakers base their strategy of cutting and freezing public sector pay as one central element of the current crisis management. Using comparative studies and new statistical...

This Working Paper on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) highlights the controversial benefits of speeding up free trade and puts the negotiations between the EU and the US in the context of the fall-out of the financial crisis. It looks at the contentious issues of public...

The European Commission has time and again promoted intra-EU labour mobility as a major contributor to the better functioning of European labour markets. On the other hand, concerns about increasing labour mobility are mounting in a number of member states and populist parties are trying to...

This working paper presents arguments for a stronger policy to eradicate occupational cancer in Europe and globally. The cancer epidemic is a major public health concern all over the world. There is an increasing awareness of the role of working conditions as a central determinant of social...