Labour context in Europe

Teacher(s)

Léonard Evelyne;

Language

English

Main themes

They will give them an initial understanding of the economic, political, institutional and industrial relations context in these countries (i.e. France, Germany, Great Britain, It-aly, Portugal and Spain). It will also seek, through reading and discussions during ses-sions, to lead a reflection on the issue of working time in these countries. By the end of the course, students will understand how this issue presents in the country that they are working on as a group. Content: To deal with the 'contextual factors of work', students will have take an interest not only in the contexts in which the work is carried out, but also in the work itself. In order to address it concretely, the seminar will be based on a study of a particular issue such as working time or equal opportunities. In the framework of a research project sce-nario, we will attempt to find out whether there is convergence of working time in various countries of the European Union, and, if so, why. The focus will therefore be on identify-ing the regulations in force in these countries, the debates that are taking place, any negotiations under way on the subject, and the economic, political, institutional and in-dustrial relations contexts in which this issue occurs.

Aims

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	- To describe to students the contexts in the various countries of the European Union that give them the ba-sic information they need in order to embark on comparative studies of labour issues. - Students will be encouraged through supervised reading to work in the three following areas: - comparative economic and social geography in the countries of the European Union; - comparative political systems in countries of the European Union; - technology, work organisation and ergonomics. The seminar will aim to familiarise students with the key features of the world of work environment in European countries participating in the 'Master européen en Sciences du Travail'

Content

Welcome to the fascinating world of work! And welcome to Europe!

Do all Europeans work similarly? Do the Austrians, Belgians, Finns, French, Greeks, Italians, Spaniard, Swedes, etc. work equally, with the same wages, with similar working time and with equivalent working conditions? The answer is, obviously, ‘no’. What are, then, the differences between the countries? Why do situations vary from one country to another?
This course will help you address these questions.
At the end of the course, you will be able to approach work-related issues in relation with specific national contexts, within the European Union.
you will have a first understanding of the relationships between national institutions, and in particular the political context and the system of industrial relations, in the regulation of employment relations.
You will also have acquired the capacity to consider a comparison between national situations, carefully and without preconceptions.
Each year, the course focuses on a new work-related topical issue, on which students are invited to work in small teams, with a view to understand how the issue is dealt with in different countries, and to analyse the role that the political context and industrial relations play in the regulation of employment relations.

Teaching methods

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the information in this section is particularly likely to change.

Evaluation methods

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the information in this section is particularly likely to change.

Other information

This course is part of a study programme that takes place in the evenings and on Saturday mornings

Online resources

All course material is on Moodle. See:

Faculty or entity

TRAV