The International Seminar “For a social Europe of citizens”, organized by the Centre for Training and Leisure (CFTL) took place between 19th and 22nd October, 2017, at Costa da Caparica. The seminar benefitted from the support of EZA, the European Union and BASE – United Workers’ Front (BASE – FUT). The event gathered more than 60 participants from thirteen countries of the European Union (EU): Portugal, Spain, Germany, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland and Romania. The high level of the participation of all those presents and the richness of the communications that were made at the seminar should be pointed out.
The participants had the chance to visit the Portuguese Parliament, witnessing the ongoing parliamentary debates and benefitting from a guided tour to the exhibition “Death to Death! 150 years of the abolition of the death penalty in Portugal: 1867 – 2017” and also had the opportunity of witnessing the ongoing parliamentary debate on workers’ right to disconnect. A delegation composed of EZA, CFTL and BASE-FUT representatives was received by the MP Wanda Guimarães, Vice-president of the Parliamentary Commission for Labour and Social Security. The delegation took the opportunity to present the EZA network and its works and the goals of the seminar. The delegation also pledged to send a document with the conclusions of the seminar to the Commission as soon as it was finished.
Back in 1994, the first international seminar organized by CFTL and BASE-FUT had as its subject “The Social Europe of the 1990s” and took place in a context of profound political and economic transformations in Europe. 20 years on, it was judged worthy to return to this debate at a time the EU faces a series of harsh political, social and institutional challenges, such as breaking with the straightjacket of austerity, the reform of the European institutions, the decision of the United Kingdom to leave the Union, the integration of refugees or the growth of nationalist currents in several European states.
Europe has thus arrived at a fork in the road. It can either choose to carry on with the race to the bottom regarding social rights; or return to the pathway of harmonization in progress. If it takes the former, we will stay on the path of degradation of working conditions and social rights, weakening social dialogue and democracy itself. This path will forcibly lead to the crumbling of the European project, undermined by the exacerbation of social dumping and the sacrifice of social cohesion in never ending quest for competitiveness.
The pathway of harmonization in progress, by contrast, implies: rethinking the architecture of European institutions in order to close the chasm between the latter and European citizens; to subjugate the economy to the common good; and to place people at the centre of policies. It is crucial to confer to social goals and social indicators the same status that up to now was reserved only to their economic and financial counterparts. This would only mean a return to the foundations and values of the European project, the project of a Union based on solidarity and the perspective of social progress for all. In this scenario, sound cohesion policies – decent work, social protection, social justice, fight against labour precariousness and social inequality – become themselves competitiveness factors.
Work was the underlying theme of the different panels. The discussion went beyond employment to capture other aspects – often underplayed – of work, such as unemployment, precariousness, asymmetries of power between labour and capital or the value and meaning of work in society. From it, emerged the conclusion that the changes stemming from the introduction of new technologies in the production process – uberization, automation, permanent connection – have weakened the position of workers. The spreading of precarious work and the dilution of the idea of career for the newer generations have threatened the identity, motivation, aspirations and life projects of workers.
It is paramount to reverse this situation. We are in need of reforms that promote gender equality and life-work balance. It is vital to fight and win new and old battles such as the right to disconnect and the reduction of working hours, in order to allow workers to reassert control over their own time. It is also of the crucial to define the responsibility of States in the new institutional architecture of the Europe Union. The preservation and strengthening of the Welfare State is as necessary as ever. It is of the utmost importance the setting in motion of European policies for regulating economic activity and achieving fiscal harmonization, so as to allow justice in the redistribution of wealth and higher investment in public services. Also, firms should acknowledge and fulfil their obligations towards their workers and towards the State.
The subject of migrations and its challenges for the EU was also ever present during the discussions. These migrations ought to be seen in a wide perspective, comprising both the arrival of people from outside Europe and population fluxes from the periphery to the centre of the UE.
It is important to debunk ideas conveyed by some political quadrants and by the media that look to spark fear and favour the growth of xenophobic movements. We need to stress in no uncertain terms that migrations – particularly those that originate outside Europe – represent unique opportunities for the EU to reverse its demographic crisis, which is threatening the sustainability of social protection systems. We should also bear in mind the contribution of immigrants in terms of cultural diversity. It is thus very important to devise and improve mechanisms of integration and of guarantee of non-discrimination in access to work and citizenship. The combat against the exploitation of immigrants and the fight against human trafficking should be given priority. The question of welcoming refugees is a question of humanism.
Given these challenges, workers’ organization have an important role in opening a new chapter in the construction of social Europe. Trade unions, associations and other democratic institutions must have an important role in the life of workers, fostering their civic participation and their personal and cultural development. These organizations ought to be tools of education for democracy and for an active European citizenship. The mobilization of workers is the only way to avoid the erosion of social Europe, the degradation of European democracy and the of trade unions in Social Dialogue instances.