Flexibility and Security: towards a new European balance

Huws U |   | Citizen's Income Study Centre | Nov 1997

As we move into the global Information Society, a profound restructuring of work is taking place across Europe. New, flexible forms of employment offer both opportunities and threats.

Whilst they open up new possibilities for groups previously disadvantaged in the labour market, they also create new forms of insecurity for those who used to think they had a permanent, full-time job for life.

It is becoming increasingly obvious that a mismatch exists between the structure of labour markets and the social protection systems in place in most European countries.

What sort of welfare system will be most appropriate for the new conditions of the 21st Century is now a question on the political agenda of virtually every state.

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