Europe’s Precariat

Labour contracts without health and social insurance. Involuntary part-time. Fixed-term and agency jobs.

December 2017

RACE-TO-THE-BOTTOM-EUROPES-PRECARIAT.jpg
Labour contracts without health and social insurance. Involuntary part-time. Fixed-term and agency jobs. Across the continent, millions of Europeans must deal with insecure and low-paid employment, though the economy, overall, is doing better than at any point in the last decade.

In the eurozone alone, more than five and a half million people found new jobs since the end of 2012. But four out of five are part-time or fixed-term and largely low-paid, according to Eurostat.

The majority of those affected want something else, namely permanent, full-time positions, the European Commission notes in its latest report on the EU labour market.

Europe’s job boom is mostly of “low quality”, concludes Merrill Lynch, the wealth management division of Bank of America. This is bad news for most.

“All these uncertain forms of work are extremely expensive for both the affected and the society,” warns Olivier Blanchard, until 2015 the long-serving chief economist of the International Monetary Fund.

But why has the “precarisation of labour”, as sociologists call it, reached this scale? And what must be done to stop it?

HELP US CONNECT THE DOTS ON EUROPE

Support cross-border journalism

Publications

Labour reforms, the big lie of the eurocrisis
Labour reforms, the big lie of the eurocrisis

EfSyn, Greece

29 December 2017

The big lie of the labour reforms – part II: The myth of the German miracle
The big lie of the labour reforms – part II: The myth of the German miracle

EfSyn, Greece

29 December 2017

Norvegia, le politiche da copiare sul lavoro
Norvegia, le politiche da copiare sul lavoro

Il Fatto Quotidiano, Italy

29 December 2017

Bakom den europeiska jobbexplosionen
Bakom den europeiska jobbexplosionen

Dagens Arbete, Sweden

29 December 2017

Prekariusze z domina. Dlaczego polski rynek pracy to tykająca bomba?
Prekariusze z domina. Dlaczego polski rynek pracy to tykająca bomba?

Newsweek Poland, Poland

29 December 2017

Arbeitsmarkt: Europas neue Reservearmee
Arbeitsmarkt: Europas neue Reservearmee

Der Tagesspiegel, Germany

29 December 2017

Governments in Eastern and Western Europe fight about child benefits in a cold war
Governments in Eastern and Western Europe fight about child benefits in a cold war

Ugebrevet, Denmark

29 December 2017

Hold-up social : comment le droit du travail a été démantelé en Europe, sans aucun bénéfice sur l’emploi et les gens
Hold-up social : comment le droit du travail a été démantelé en Europe, sans aucun bénéfice sur l’emploi et les gens

Basta!, France, Basta!

13 December 2017

Zerschlagenes Recht
Zerschlagenes Recht

der Freitag, Germany

22 November 2017

Comment le cimentier Lafarge a demandé et obtenu le démantèlement du droit du travail en Grèce
Comment le cimentier Lafarge a demandé et obtenu le démantèlement du droit du travail en Grèce

Basta!, France, Basta!

22 November 2017

Dorf ohne Mütter
Dorf ohne Mütter

taz, Germany

17 November 2017

How Romania sold out its workers to foreign investors for IMF and EU cash
How Romania sold out its workers to foreign investors for IMF and EU cash

The Black Sea, Romania

23 October 2017

How Romania became an EU workers’ rights “guinea pig”
How Romania became an EU workers’ rights “guinea pig”

EUobserver, Belgium

23 October 2017

«Η Γερμανία συχνά κινείται εκτός ευρωπαϊκής συναίνεσης»
«Η Γερμανία συχνά κινείται εκτός ευρωπαϊκής συναίνεσης»

EfSyn, Greece

17 October 2017

El aumento de la precariedad laboral cambia el discurso de la Unión Europea
El aumento de la precariedad laboral cambia el discurso de la Unión Europea

infoLibre, Spain

15 October 2017

Como o aumento da precariedade está a mudar o discurso da UE
Como o aumento da precariedade está a mudar o discurso da UE

Público, Portugal

8 October 2017

Where have all the mothers gone?
Where have all the mothers gone?

The Black Sea, Romania

4 October 2017

Four out of five jobs in the EU are precarious jobs
Four out of five jobs in the EU are precarious jobs

Ugebrevet, Denmark

2 October 2017

Mit prekarizacije: namesto gospodarskega razcveta slabša delovna mesta
Mit prekarizacije: namesto gospodarskega razcveta slabša delovna mesta

Pod Crto, Slovenia

2 October 2017

Sjefen hans er en app
Sjefen hans er en app

Stavanger Aftenblad, Norway

29 September 2017

Dieci anni di riforme: l’Europa del lavoro precario è in ginocchio
Dieci anni di riforme: l’Europa del lavoro precario è in ginocchio

Il Fatto Quotidiano, Italy

28 September 2017

Interview with Tomasz Misiak, co-owner of one of Poland’s biggest temporary work agencies
Interview with Tomasz Misiak, co-owner of one of Poland’s biggest temporary work agencies

Newsweek Romania, Romania

28 September 2017

De stille tårenes land
De stille tårenes land

Stavanger Aftenblad, Norway

27 September 2017

Det er håp for unge grekere. Bare ikke i Hellas
Det er håp for unge grekere. Bare ikke i Hellas

Stavanger Aftenblad, Norway

26 September 2017

«Mange vil heller jobbe 70 timer i uka enn 37,5»
«Mange vil heller jobbe 70 timer i uka enn 37,5»

Stavanger Aftenblad, Norway

25 September 2017

«Να επαναφέρουμε τις ανισότητες σε βάρος των εργαζομένων»
«Να επαναφέρουμε τις ανισότητες σε βάρος των εργαζομένων»

EfSyn, Greece

24 September 2017

Kald krig om Agnieszkas barnetrygd
Kald krig om Agnieszkas barnetrygd

Stavanger Aftenblad, Norway

23 September 2017

Selv om Tommy er fast ansatt, har han ikke rett til lønn mellom oppdragene: - Vi kan tvinges til lydighet
Selv om Tommy er fast ansatt, har han ikke rett til lønn mellom oppdragene: - Vi kan tvinges til lydighet

Stavanger Aftenblad, Norway

22 September 2017

Å være eller ikke være i EØS - det er spørsmålet i arbeidslivet
Å være eller ikke være i EØS - det er spørsmålet i arbeidslivet

Stavanger Aftenblad, Norway

20 September 2017

Pier Carlo Padoan: Italiens Finanzminister fordert eine europäische Arbeitslosenversicherung
Pier Carlo Padoan: Italiens Finanzminister fordert eine europäische Arbeitslosenversicherung

Der Tagesspiegel, Germany

13 September 2017

Die Flexibilisierungslüge
Die Flexibilisierungslüge

Falter, Austria

11 September 2017

Wer geliefert ist: Arbeiter bei Foodora und Amazon kämpfen für bessere Arbeit
Wer geliefert ist: Arbeiter bei Foodora und Amazon kämpfen für bessere Arbeit

Der Tagesspiegel, Germany

8 September 2017