Today, the European Commission presents Guidelines to ensure the protection of seasonal workers in the EU in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. It provides guidance to national authorities, labour inspectorates, and social partners to guarantee the rights, health and safety of seasonal workers, and to ensure that seasonal workers are aware of their rights. Cross-border seasonal workers enjoy a broad set of rights, but given the temporary nature of their work, they can be more vulnerable to precarious working and living conditions.
It’s been proposed, probed and pushed to the margins of the European Union for more than two decades.
BLOG: The 2010-decade was a challenging period for the world. Latin America’s economy was doing relatively well at the beginning of the decade. However, the region’s economy is stagnated. The European Union has been struggling too. Besides economic stagnation, right-wing populist candidates have been on the rise. The populists’ slogans on preserving national identity and tackling uncontrolled immigration have gained traction. Further, the Brexit movement has made analysts and pundits question the European Union model of economic interconnectivity.
A stress test of pension schemes across the European Union wiped out €270 billion or almost a quarter of investments at funds that took part, the EU’s insurance and pensions watchdog said on Tuesday (17 December). Many of the schemes were also not considering the impact of environmental, climate and social risks on their investment decisions, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) said in a statement.
OPINION: The European economy is expanding for the seventh year in a row despite a slowdown at the global level. However, social and economic inequalities within EU member states have been increasing significantly in the last decade. Not all citizens are benefitting from the current economic growth and the advancement in productivity, which creates an excellent window of opportunity for the populist radical rights to thrive and amass electoral support.