Europe. The right to childcare places in six European countries: what lessons for France?
Catherine COLLOMBET
A recurring subject in French public debate, the right to a childcare place is already a reality in several European countries. Guaranteed childcare is universal in most cases, full time or part time, and fits into varied systems. It has been implemented progressively, in line with parental leave and as part of decentralised government. Financial accessibility has been ensured. Lessons may be extracted by comparing the conditions for the implementation of such a right in France.
Keywords: Europe, childcare, right to a place, parental leave, government, European comparisons.
Spain. National minimum income: a tool to combat poverty, with mixed results
Catherine VINCENT
Poverty is a structural problem in Spain, due partly to the high number of working poor in the jobs market and the degradation of unemployment services over the last 20 years. However, Spain was the only EU country without a national minimum income until the creation in 2020 of the Ingreso mínimo vital (IMV) by the coalition government between the Socialist Party (PSOE) and Unidas Podemos (UP). The rapid implementation of this measure, however, has been the subject of very little consultation with union bodies and raises a number of criticisms, in particular in relation to the poor coverage of vulnerable populations.
Keywords: Spain, minimum income, poverty, working poor.
Denmark. A labour shortage and highly selective immigration
Christèle MEILLAND
Danish immigration policy has, in recent years, been founded on a discourse painting foreigners, especially refugees, as a burden on the welfare state. Denmark has passed ever stricter immigration laws, with limited access to employment and family reuni-fication. The effects on the Danish labour market are significant, including serious labour shortages. The aim of this article is to examine the tense situation of the Da-nish labour market and the new migratory policy in effect in recent years.
Keywords: Denmark, immigration policy, labour shortage, labour market.
United Kingdom. Fire and rehire
Jacques FREYSSINET
The Covid-19 pandemic has seen British businesses increasingly resorting to the practice of firing followed immediately by making a job offer on less favourable terms. Unions are protesting, raising public awareness and pressurising the govern-ment to intervene. While industrial blackmail is often effective, a few major disputes have demonstrated, at least at a local level, mobilisation capabilities which have sometimes proved partly successful. It does however seem that, in the absence of legislative amendments, effective protection may be too much to hope for.
Keywords: United Kingdom, fire and rehire, industrial blackmail, disputes.
United States. Two historic union victories at Starbucks and Amazon. What comes next?
Catherine SAUVIAT
Two major events stand out in recent trade union history in the United States: an uninterrupted wave of unionisation within the Starbucks coffee shop chain since December 2021 and the establishment of an independent union in April 2022 at one of Amazon’s largest warehouses in New York. These events confirm the emergence of a revival of union activism, driven by a new generation of activists keen to take charge of their own destiny in the workplace. But will they be enough to halt the decline of trade unionism?
Keywords: United States, trade union presence, Starbucks, Amazon, trade unionism revival.