Wages should never leave workers and their families living in poverty. However, that has been the reality for one in ten workers in Europe. The EU minimum wage directive is a step in the right direction for fairer wages across Europe. Nonetheless, this directive is not an end in itself. More work needs to be done to maximise its potential benefit and ensure that wages are collectively bargained. Collective bargaining is a collective benefit: it means better outcomes for workers, the economy and society as a whole.
Society
The last 40 years have seen a remarkable – and prolonged – global experiment in inequality. While the post-war years of social reform led a new drive towards greater equality, that trend was then set in reverse. Today most rich nations are significantly more unequal than in the 1980s. This reversal has been driven in […]
Migrants are disproportionately impacted by Covid-19, both in terms of health and socioeconomic fallout. Yet, the pandemic also shines a light on the often-overlooked relation between migrant health and migrant integration. The Covid-19 pandemic offers an opportunity to reimagine how health and integration policies interact and can mutually reinforce one another. The physical and mental […]
Europe faces a foundational moment, as it debates how to put the digital transition onto a path that is in the interest of citizens and society. Regulatory efforts focus on reigning in Big Tech, reducing potential harms, and increasing market competition. This is a necessary step. But if Europe wants to develop its own, sovereign […]
Like many other European countries, on 4 April Bulgaria faced the challenge of its parliamentary elections in the pandemic times of Covid-19. While it is noteworthy that for the first time in ten years the Bulgarian parliament managed to escape early elections, the way the elections were to be held raised many concerns, due to […]