Programme

Online public hearing on "Imbalances in social protection in general and specifically for the "new forms of work" and "atypical workers"

(SOC/802)

The debate can be followed via webstream on Thursday, 6 June from 10.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.

The current state of social protection systems in Europe reveals significant imbalances, particularly concerning workers in non-standard or new forms of employment such as temporary contracts, part-time work, on-call work, platform work, self-employment and other. Consequently, many workers face deficits in social protection coverage, with women experiencing lower pensions on average due to employment and institutional gaps. The COVID-19 crisis further exposed inequalities in access to social protection, highlighting the need for reforms to accommodate changing labour markets and ensure fair transitions amidst digital and demographic shifts. While the European Pillar of Social Rights aims to address these issues, gaps persist, necessitating improvements in legal frameworks and policies. Against this background, this own-initiative opinion aims to identify the imbalances in social protection in standard and atypical forms of work and presents concrete recommendations on how to achieve a better balance in social protection systems and to reduce the gap in social security among workers irrespective of their type of employment.

The outcomes of the hearing will feed into the EESC's opinion.

09.30 a.m. - 10.00 a.m. | Testing possibility for the Interactio tool

10.00 a.m. - 10.10 a.m. | Welcome and introduction

  • Juliane Marie Neiiendam, EESC Study Group President
  • Maria del Carmen Barrera Chamorro, EESC Rapporteur 

10.10 a.m. - 10.55 a.m. | Panel I - European and international framework for identifying and addressing the imbalances in social protection

Moderator: Juliane Marie Neiiendam, EESC Study Group President

  • Christina Behrendt, Head of the Social Policy Unit, International Labour Organization
  • Carmen Salcedo Beltrán, Professor of Labour Law, University of Valencia, Spain, Member of the European Committee of Social Rights, Council of Europe
  • Dana-Carmen Bachmann, Head of Unit, European Commission, DG EMPL, Social Protection Unit

Q&A

10.55 a.m. - 11.40 a.m. | Panel II - The role of social partners for identifying and addressing the imbalances in social protection

Moderator: Maria del Carmen Barrera Chamorro, EESC Rapporteur

  • Giulio Romani, Confederal Secretary, ETUC
  • Maxime Cerutti, Director, BusinessEurope
  • Yannis Natsis, Director, European Social Insurance Platform

Q&A

11.40 a.m. - 12.50 p.m. | Panel III - EU/national (good) practices for identifying and addressing the imbalances in social protection and ways forward 

Moderator: Christa Schweng, EESC Study Group Member 

  • Slavina Spasova, Director, European Social Observatory, Belgium
  • María Luz Rodríguez Fernández, Professor of Labour and Social Security Law UCLM, Spain
  • Claire Marzo, Assistant Professor, University Paris Est, France
  • Adrián Todolí Signes, Lecturer in Labour and Social Security Law, University of Valencia, Spain
  • Eleni de Becker, Assistant Professor, Free University Brussels, Belgium
  • Catherine Jacqueson, Professor, Centre for Legal Studies in Welfare and Market, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Q&A

12.50 p.m. - 12.55 p.m. | Conclusions

  • Maria del Carmen Barrera Chamorro, EESC Rapporteur 

12.55 p.m. - 01.00 p.m. | Closing remarks

  • Juliane Marie Neiiendam, EESC Study Group President

Interpretation requested from French, English, Spanish and Romanian into French, English, Spanish and Romanian