The role of the social partners in the European employment strategy

1999 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 522-541 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Foden
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
European Council ◽  
Employment Policy ◽  
European Level ◽  
The Core ◽  
Amsterdam Treaty ◽  
The Social ◽  
National Implementation ◽  
Social Partners

This article considers the part played by the social partners in the development of the European employment strategy over recent months, and in particular their role with reference to the European employment policy guidelines for 1999. The guidelines and national implementation reports are central to the "Luxembourg process" defined in the Employment Title of the Amsterdam Treaty (which has been in force since May 1999, though the Employment Title was largely implemented by political agreement from 1997 onwards). Much of the European-level debate on employment during 1999 has concerned the "European pact for employment", which was heralded by the Vienna European Council of December 1998, and which all the relevant actors were urged to support. Agreement on the pact was reached at the June 1999 European Council in Cologne. This article begins, therefore, by describing the different elements which constitute the pact. The role of the social partners in relation to these components, including the Luxembourg process where it is most developed, is set out in the core of the article, with greater emphasis on trade union than employer involvement. The concluding section provides an overview.

Building social partnership? Strengths and shortcomings of the European Employment Strategy

2005 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 045-063 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernard H. Casey
Keyword(s):  
Trade Unions ◽  
Social Partner ◽  
Employment Policy ◽  
European Level ◽  
Social Partnership ◽  
Imple Mentation ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Partners ◽  
Working Together ◽  
Partner Participation

The European Employment Strategy is now seven years old. Whilst its contribution to improving labour market performance has been evaluated, less attention has been paid to the manner in which the EES has worked, in particular the ways in which policy has been formulated and implemented. In particular, there has been little investigation of the extent to which one of the stated objectives of the strategy – the improved involvement of the social partners in the formulation and imple-mentation of policy – has been achieved. This paper argues that in many respects this objective has not been met. Even in countries where social partnership structures appear relatively well developed, the Luxembourg process has added little – in part because it is seen to be concerned with technical matters. Employment policy is ‘settled’ elsewhere. In addition, realisation of those elements of the strategy where social partner participation is most critical has often been frustrated by the lack of mechanisms to implement commitments made at the centre at places of work. Moreover, by subscribing to the strategy, social partners were also subscribing to a wider approach to economic policy – an approach that was scarcely compatible with the approach advocated by trade unions. Accordingly, the conclusion has to be that the Luxembourg process failed to develop social partnership. An exception might be the closer working together of the European-level social partner associations. However, their involvement in the strategy has been little noticed by their constituents, and it might even be argued to have encouraged elitism rather than to have promoted greater participation in policy-making.

scholarly journals MUSEUMS, MIGRATION AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY – RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MUSEUM WORK

Muzealnictwo ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margherita Sani
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Institutions ◽  
European Level ◽  
Social Responsibilities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Migration Flows ◽  
Methodological Approaches ◽  
Theoretical Issues ◽  
Effective Integration ◽  
The Eu

The role of museums in society has expanded significantly in the last decades: from temples of knowledge to forums for debate and discussion, from repositories of objects to people-centred institutions with social responsibilities and functions. This shift reflects an ongoing trend to democratise museums and make them more accessible to wider audiences and responsive to the public’s changing needs, in particular the interests of local communities, whose composition has changed in recent years to include migrants and people of different ethnic backgrounds. With annual migration flows to the EU as a whole projected to increase from about 1 043 000 people in 2010 to 1 332 500 by 2020, the question of how cultural institutions can contribute to effective integration and dialogue has become more relevant than ever. Funders and society at large expect museums to play their part in facilitating the integration and peaceful coexistence of newcomers, with financial resources being made available, also at the EU level, to support them in this effort. Many questions can be raised as to whether it is right and appropriate to charge museums with these responsibilities and whether this would push the boundaries of their work too far and give the social function an exceedingly prominent role over the traditional conservation and educational tasks museums already fulfil. But this discussion seems to be already obsolete in the light of the growing body of evidence on good practices available at the European level. This essay aims to illustrate some of them, as well as to discuss some underpinning theoretical issues and methodological approaches.

Conclusion

2020 ◽  
pp. 244-260
Author(s):  
Stefanie Walter ◽  
Ari Ray ◽  
Nils Redeker
Keyword(s):  
Policy Implications ◽  
European Council ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Policy Options ◽  
European Level ◽  
Eurozone Crisis ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
The Core ◽  
Scant Attention ◽  
Almost All

The concluding chapter begins by summarizing and discussing the insights that this book has generated. It has addressed three aspects that have received scant attention in existing research: The importance of analyzing the Eurozone crisis in comparative perspective, the importance of examining the whole range of policy options, including the ones not chosen, and the importance of analyzing crisis politics not just in deficit-debtor, but also in surplus-creditor countries. Because the bulk of the book’s analyses have focused on domestic distributive struggles, the concluding chapter turns to the question to what extent the book’s approach is useful for understanding the distributive struggles on the European level as well. For this purpose, the chapter examines how surplus and deficit states positioned themselves with regard to the core EMU-related issues and reforms that were discussed in the European Council during the Eurozone crisis. The analysis shows that on policy issues related to questions of adjustment and financing, deficit and surplus countries aligned in opposing camps. Moreover, creditor-surplus countries managed to secure policy decisions in line with their preferences on almost all adjustment-related policy issues. This meant that deficit countries had to carry the bulk of the adjustment burden. In contrast, surplus countries showed more willingness to compromise on issues related to financing. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the policy implications of the findings and offers an agenda for future research.

Reply to Comments

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-300
Author(s):  
Allen Buchanan ◽  
Russell Powell
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Moral Psychology ◽  
Moral Theory ◽  
Moral Progress ◽  
Evolutionary Explanation ◽  
The Core ◽  
Use Of Data ◽  
The Social ◽  
Core Elements

Abstract Commentators on The Evolution of Moral Progress: A Biocultural Theory raise a number of metaethical and moral concerns with our analysis, as well as some complaints regarding how we have interpreted and made use of the contemporary evolutionary and social sciences of morality. Some commentators assert that one must already presuppose a moral theory before one can even begin to theorize moral progress; others query whether the shift toward greater inclusion is really a case of moral progress, or whether our theory can be properly characterized as ‘naturalistic’. Other commentators worry that we have uncritically accepted the prevailing evolutionary explanation of morality, even though it gives short shrift to the role of women or presupposes an oversimplified view of the environment in which the core elements of human moral psychology are thought to have congealed. Another commentator laments that we did not make more extensive use of data from the social sciences. In this reply, we engage with all of these constructive criticisms and show that although some of them are well taken, none undermine the core thesis of our book.

A Profitable Education

2020 ◽  
pp. 359-381
Author(s):  
Rohit Mehta ◽  
Edwin Creely ◽  
Danah Henriksen
Keyword(s):  
21St Century ◽  
21St Century Skills ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Educational Practice ◽  
Educational Systems ◽  
Critical Approach ◽  
Political Influences ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Social

In this chapter, the authors take a multifaceted critical approach to understanding and deconstructing the term 21st century skills, especially in regard to technology and the role of corporations in the discourses about education. They also consider a range of cultural and political influences in our exploration of the social and academic meanings of the term, including its history and politics. The application of the term in present-day educational contexts is considered as well as possible futures implied through the term. The goal in this chapter is to counter ideas that might diminish a humanized educational practice. Specifically, the authors offer a critique of neoliberal discourses in education, particularly the neoliberal and corporate narrative around 21st century teaching and learning. They raise concerns about what an undue emphasis on industry-oriented educational systems can mean for the core purposes of education.

scholarly journals Jointly Building an Evaluation Culture: A Workshop Methodology for a European Project in the Field of Adult Education

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Elisabetta Biffi ◽  
George Kritsotakis
Keyword(s):  
Adult Education ◽  
Collaborative Approach ◽  
European Level ◽  
Cooperative Research ◽  
The Core ◽  
European Project ◽  
European Culture ◽  
Academic Researchers

<p class="IATED-Affiliation">This paper presents a reflection on the role of cooperative research in addressing the topic of evaluation within the field of adult education. To this end, the authors outline a specific cooperation initiative that involved academics and practitioners from the field of adult education in different European countries.The project presented here is based on the hypothesis that in order to enhance evaluation at the European level, it is necessary to build a European culture of evaluation, which may be developed by creating a concrete space for collaboration among practitioners and researchers from a range of European adult education contexts.</p><p class="IATED-Affiliation">Specifically, the project wasdesigned to promote an exchange of experiences, expertise and practices among academic researchers and “practitioners” (Schön, 1983)involved in the evaluation of adult education. A key role was played by a Mobility Workshop: viewed as the core of the collaborative approach proposed, the Workshop provided a concrete opportunity for collaboration amongevaluators and researchers from different countries within Europe.</p><p class="IATED-Affiliation"> </p>

scholarly journals The Humble Reason. On Education in Kant and Fichte

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 26-45
Author(s):  
Lara Scaglia
Keyword(s):  
Human History ◽  
Human Reason ◽  
Political Role ◽  
The Core ◽  
Ethical Education ◽  
Core Function ◽  
The Social ◽  
Historical Phenomenon ◽  
Critical Writings

In this paper I will focus on education as the core function of reason in Kant and Fichte. The notion of reason carries an intrinsic tendency to universality, which is difficult to be reconciled with its local (cultural, historical, anthropological) background and actualisation. I believe that the stress on the importance of learning, which can be seen in the works of both Kant and Fichte, might provide useful clues to approaching the relation between universality and particularity. I will start by focusing on Kant’s narration on the genealogy of human reason in the Conjectural Beginning of Human History, and then move on to the critical writings and selected lectures in order to focus on the role of human dignity and ethical education for the moral appraisal and the practice of virtue. Later, I will consider Fichte’s lectures on the Vocation of the Scholar, the Vocation of Man and The Characteristics of the Present Age, which are crucial to understanding the social, ethical and political role of the scholar. For Fichte, education is the best instrument to eradicate selfishness, regarded as a historical phenomenon which can lead a nation to ruin. I will then provide some conclusions concerning the two accounts and their implications.

The difficulty of reconciling flexibility and security in Spain: the paradigmatic case of part-time work

2004 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 248-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Valdés Dal-Ré
Keyword(s):  
Employment Policy ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Partners ◽  
Time Work ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Time Part ◽  
The Government ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Part Time Work

The level of part-time employment in Spain tripled during the period 1984–93. The increased prevalence of part-time work reflected an employment policy during that period and beyond that aimed to establish maximum flexibility in the use of fixed-term contracts, whether fulltime or part-time. Part-time work was, and still is, to some extent, associated with a high degree of employment-related precariousness. This article examines the successive and not always consistent measures which since April 1994 have been adopted by the social partners and the government in order to improve the quality and security of part-time work. It assesses to what extent these measures have achieved their objectives.

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