Under the title “Work – decent and fair! Growing the good in Europe” a seminar with almost 30 managers from Christian employee organisations and trade unions from four European countries took place from June 12th to 18th, 2022 at the Cusanus Academy in Brixen (South Tyrol).
The project planning and implementation was the responsibility of the German Catholic Workers' Movement (KAB); Co-organisers of the project were the Austrian Catholic Workers' Movement and the Catholic Association of Working People in South Tyrol (KVW) and the Swiss Catholic Workers' Movement as a guest. In preparation, the four workers' organisations formed a transnational working group (consisting of full-time and voluntary leaders of the movements), which met to focus on the general conditions and the content of the seminar. The seminar was carried out in cooperation with the European Centre for Workers Questions (EZA) and funded by the European Union.
The question of decent work is still very topical. When people talk about inhumane work, they usually think of textile workers in Asia. In fact, however, even in Europe (gainful) work is often anything but humane - both in terms of employee rights and the often bad conditions that make working life relevant - with corresponding effects on the quality of life of those affected and their families. There is an urgent need for action regarding humanising the world of work in Europe too. The Covid-19 pandemic has once again revealed the many abuses of precarious work.
Humane working conditions were the focus of the seminar: Fair work requires a different way of doing business, requires a rethink. The connections between economic interests and employee rights as well as the increase in social upheaval in Europe were analysed. The importance of employee organisations and trade unions and their cooperation at a European level was also considered and further developed, since they play an important role in ensuring humane working conditions and expanding social rights.
In a first step, current developments in (employment working) society and its effects. A presentation on the history of work – from industrialisation to digitisation – made it clear that precarious work (unfortunately) has a long tradition. An exemplary look at the current conditions, with special consideration of the effects of the corona pandemic in individual countries (Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Romania, Spain), right from the start broadened the view of social inequalities in Europe (keywords in this context were working hours, among other things, security at work, minimum wage, precarious employment, unemployment, temporary work, gender equality, social security, fair wages). The inventory was deepened in country-by-country dossiers and presented by the participants through the creation of wall newspapers, whereby it became clear that inhumane working conditions can be found everywhere in Europe, but to different degrees.
The connection between fair work and growth was presented by Prof. Dr. Niko Paech in his film "New work in Europe - What growth do we need?". His model of a post-growth economy with less gainful employment to reduce resource consumption, while at the same time expanding subsistence work led to intensive discussions in the subsequent working groups: What does this mean, broken down for the lives of each and every one of us? What can we do without and where is the limit of what is reasonable? There was consensus that the future depends on solving the ecological and social issue, but it also became clear that there are different starting points. Those who work precariously cannot do without half their income.
Stefan Perini gave a lecture on the conditions of "good" work 4.0. He made it clear that the attitude towards gainful employment (work-life balance) has already changed among the younger generation. He presented the "Good Work 4.0" roadmap from the South Tyrolean Employment Promotion Institute, which presents 20 current problem areas and ways to achieve better, fair work, such as modulated work phases, the right to information, occupational safety, digital training for everyone, smart working, the right to be unavailable, and additional ones operational benefits.
The fact that decent work is possible was made clear during a visit to the "Forget-me-not" cooperative, an inclusion project in the form of a sewing workshop in Brunico, which has grown from an idea into a functioning project in seven years, in which fair working conditions are a matter of course for everyone and regionality, social issues and sustainability work together.
In addition to intensively dealing with the described content, the offer to try out various upcycling ideas as a contribution to a sustainable needs of economy and to get suggestions for educational work on site via a joint ideas exchange was of great importance for the participants.
At the same time, it was important to develop political action options across national borders and to work out concrete fields of action and steps together with the aim of giving impulses for another solidary economy beyond growth thinking with decent working conditions, further developing networks of Christian social movements and trade unions in Europe and them as actors in civil society. Concrete agreements such as regular digital meetings were made in working groups for further work and further options for action were developed.
In summary, it can be said that both the definition of the content of the seminar and the methodological approach proved to be appropriate and motivating. This should have a positive effect on the further work in terms of content and methods in the individual movements and the joint work at European level.