Austerity

The Swedish government’s attack on development aid is an attack on trade union organising and democracy

Therese Svanström: “In a globalised world, corporate operations extend across borders; therefore, trade union activities must do the same.”Read the full article

The economic odyssey of promising Greek wrestling star Nikoleta Barba

12 February 2024

The economic odyssey of promising Greek wrestling star Nikoleta Barba

Until the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greek athletes had world-class funding, trainers and facilities. This golden age ended when the economic crisis broke out and the Greek government cut funding to sport. What does this mean for promising young athletes like wrestler Nikoleta [...]Read the full article

24 January 2024

Has the global healthcare workforce crisis finally reached a tipping point?

Veronica Nilsson: “A commitment made by representatives of 40 national governments will not on its own end the global healthcare workforce crisis. But ministers and officials have made that positive commitment and we should hold them to account and work with them to achieve [...]Read the full article

Here's how governments can tackle the cost-of-living crisis and protect workers from inflationary pressures

15 November 2023

Here’s how governments can tackle the cost-of-living crisis and protect workers from inflationary pressures

Ronald Janssen: “Strong wage formation institutions together with robust social dialogue allow workers to catch up with inflation by bargaining for higher wages and, more generally, to negotiate a fair sharing of the cost-of-living crisis. It is shocking to observe that in 2022 top CEOs benefitted from [...]Read the full article

How about giving human security a chance?

1 June 2023

Human rights

How about giving human security a chance?

Jesús A. Núñez Villaverde: Global military spending has continued to rise for the eighth year in a row. Seen from a traditional state security perspective – which generally assumes that more weapons means more security – this could be interpreted as good news. But is [...]Read the full article

Are the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse just a series of shocks, or signs of a systemic crisis?

27 April 2023

Are the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse just a series of shocks, or signs of a systemic crisis?

Daniel Kostzer: “The response to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse are both powerful examples of the underlying logic of capitalism, that a bank can be bailed out in a matter of hours but during the Covid-19 pandemic it took most governments several months before deciding to intervene to [...]Read the full article

13 October 2022

It’s time to stop handing over the keys of state administrations to private consultancies

Nadja Salson: The use of consultancies often goes unnoticed because it is seen as a transfer from the public to the private sector that also generates jobs. The fact that they provide much more than advice is raising concerns about transparency, accountability and the cost of public [...]Read the full article

In Belgium, debt mediators play a crucial role in the fight against over-indebtedness

11 July 2022

In Belgium, debt mediators play a crucial role in the fight against over-indebtedness

When excessive levels of debt are reached, the dialogue between creditors and debtors is often broken. In Belgium, debt mediators are at hand to re-establish this dialogue and enable both parties to reach an agreement.Read the full article

A ‘new normality' is only possible with a modern welfare state

3 June 2021

A ‘new normality’ is only possible with a modern welfare state

Nicolás Sartorius: This health, economic and social pandemic has shown the need for strengthened welfare states, and the political risks associated with weakening them, as well the need to build welfare states where they do not exist in order to avoid permanent conflicts and the crisis of dislocated [...]Read the full article

Is the end of corporate tax evasion and tax havens finally in sight?

21 May 2021

Is the end of corporate tax evasion and tax havens finally in sight?

The billions that the most powerful corporations avoid paying in taxes are crucial for a just economic recovery in the post-pandemic era. The G20’s stance on global tax justice will be decisive in turning the tide.Read the full article

Amador Fernández-Savater: “Spain's 15M movement was undervalued and turned into something else; it was then that it lost the energy that was inherent to it”

14 May 2021

Amador Fernández-Savater: “Spain’s 15M movement was undervalued and turned into something else; it was then that it lost the energy that was inherent to it”

On the 10th anniversary of Spain’s citizen, anti-austerity movement 15M, the Spanish writer and activist Fernández-Savater takes stock of the Indignados.Read the full article

In 2019, the Democratic Republic of Congo introduced free education; here's what happened

12 May 2021

In 2019, the Democratic Republic of Congo introduced free education; here’s what happened

In a country where the need for education is enormous and families have little income, the idea of tuition-free schooling should enjoy unanimous support. Instead, the government’s initiative has been met with strikes. Parents and teachers are concerned about the conditions under which the [...]Read the full article

29 April 2021

Britain’s outsourcing scandal

Robert Maisey: This cosy relationship between private companies and government, leveraging a national crisis to facilitate an accelerated transfer of wealth from public to private, can only be given one name: corruption.Read the full article

#2020InReview: How Covid changed the world of work

21 December 2020

#2020InReview: How Covid changed the world of work

Reporting from the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic.Read the full article

28 October 2020

After Sunday’s historic vote, Chileans are now faced with the once-in-a-lifetime responsibility of drafting our future

Tamara Muñoz: In the 25 October referendum, 78 per cent of voters opted to ‘approve’. On the horizon is the drafting of a new constitution that will replace the one inherited from Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship.Read the full article

Kinshasa's new generation of artists are seeking recognition and support

9 September 2020

Kinshasa’s new generation of artists are seeking recognition and support

Thanks to its constant motion, its excesses and its contradictions, the city of Kinshasa is a true source of inspiration for Congolese artists, but few manage to make a living from their art.Read the full article

29 July 2020

Artists in Greece are fighting for their rights and accessible culture for all

Hard hit by the pandemic, artists and culture workers in Athens are mobilising locally and nationally to stand up for their rights and for their place in society.Read the full article

Less is more: exploring the Dutch tiny house movement

10 June 2020

Less is more: exploring the Dutch tiny house movement

Since the COVID-19 outbreak began, people everywhere have been spending a lot more time in their homes, thinking about how and where they want to live. In the Netherlands, this retrospection is having a positive impact on the burgeoning tiny house [...]Read the full article

Can the EU's COVID recovery formula save Europe's workers from poverty?

26 May 2020

Can the EU’s COVID recovery formula save Europe’s workers from poverty?

The governments of Europe are trying to maintain employment even if it means that the states themselves assume payment of a portion of salaries. Will they be able to save millions of families from ruin? What formula is being developed by the EU [...]Read the full article

In planning a global economic recovery, it's time to turn the page on inequality

7 May 2020

In planning a global economic recovery, it’s time to turn the page on inequality

Lara Merling: The support of the World Bank and IMF for action on debt burdens and immediate crisis response measures is welcome, but does not indicate a significant shift away from the austerity, privatisation and deregulation that has increased inequality and failed to produce sustained [...]Read the full article

Serena Sorrentino: “The same workers that have been attacked by policies aimed at making the public sector ‘more efficient' are now on the frontline in the fight against Covid-19”

7 April 2020

Serena Sorrentino: “The same workers that have been attacked by policies aimed at making the public sector ‘more efficient’ are now on the frontline in the fight against Covid-19”

“Covid-19 has shown us that we do not need to rethink the values of the Italian National Health Service but to implement them, revising the roles of the national and regional governments, and linking health expenditure to the needs of the [...]Read the full article

The ILO's Global Social Protection Week needs to address austerity, the elephant in the room

21 November 2019

The ILO’s Global Social Protection Week needs to address austerity, the elephant in the room

Evelyn Astor: “Financing social protection systems that are both adequate and sustainable is not a fantasy; it is merely a question of political will.”Read the full article

Mass protests in Latin America against the neoliberal model

13 November 2019

Mass protests in Latin America against the neoliberal model

The one thing that most defines these protests is their sheer size and diversity.Read the full article

The accomplices to austerity are also responsible for human rights violations

29 October 2019

The accomplices to austerity are also responsible for human rights violations

Juan Pablo Bohoslavsky: Can international financial institutions be deemed responsible for the human rights violations spawned by the austerity measures they advocate?Read the full article

Argentina heads to the polls amid ever-worsening crisis

25 October 2019

Argentina heads to the polls amid ever-worsening crisis

“Sometimes, I tell the children: there’s nothing to eat. And they’re getting used to it. It’s awful, and it makes me angry. But I don’t want to fall apart, for their sake.”Read the full article

Finland's ‘Housing First' policy proves that homelessness is avoidable

4 September 2019

Human rights

Finland’s ‘Housing First’ policy proves that homelessness is avoidable

The only European country where homelessness is on decline, Finland has pioneered an approach to housing that asserts everyone has the right to a roof over their head.Read the full article

2 September 2019

The invisible workplace accident rate

In 2019, you no longer have to hang from scaffolding to risk your life while at work. Precariousness, stress and overwork can make you sick, and even kill you, at a much higher rate than workplace accidents.Read the full article

What's behind the rise in defensive design?

19 August 2019

What’s behind the rise in defensive design?

“Sustainable security and safety are always only ever achieved by good urban design, with involvement from the community and stakeholders.”Read the full article

Argentina is forging a new crisis under the counsel of the IMF

26 July 2019

Argentina is forging a new crisis under the counsel of the IMF

Argentina, in the midst of economic turmoil compounded by the highest interest rates in the world and the insistence on pressing ahead with failed policies, is heading towards a presidential election marked by socio-economic strife, political polarisation and a range of [...]Read the full article

Time has lost its value – how can we get it back?

20 June 2019

Time has lost its value – how can we get it back?

We sell our time to our bosses, we use it to pay the bills, for our food and little luxuries. We do not lose time, we waste it or sell it for less than it is worth. At times, in return for inadequate wages. At others, in exchange for precarious, irregular hours of work that are difficult to [...]Read the full article

Two years on, Grenfell survivors are still waiting for justice

14 June 2019

Human rights

Two years on, Grenfell survivors are still waiting for justice

It has been two years since 72 people lost their lives following a fire at Grenfell Tower in London, but survivors and families of the bereaved still have very few answers.Read the full article

Ahead of the EU elections, neo-fascists are inciting anti-Roma violence in Rome's disillusioned suburbs

22 May 2019

Ahead of the EU elections, neo-fascists are inciting anti-Roma violence in Rome’s disillusioned suburbs

The facts are meaningless when it comes to exploiting the allocation of social housing to a Roma family for electoral purposes.Read the full article

Australian unions seek to “balance the power of the powerful” in historic election

17 May 2019

Australian unions seek to “balance the power of the powerful” in historic election

Emerging as a powerful campaigner in this election, the Australian trade union movement is calling on Australians to vote to “change the rules” in favour of workers.Read the full article

Vote for a progressive Europe, trade unions say

16 May 2019

Vote for a progressive Europe, trade unions say

Luca Visentini: The outcome of the elections will dictate whether the EU will make progress towards greater social equality and cohesion, or start to break up under the weight of national self-interests and xenophobia.Read the full article

#Makeallwomensafe: a campaign changing the terrain for sex workers

30 April 2019