Quality Jobs

This project is dedicated to examining the nature of quality jobs and their relevance in the context of emerging workplace technologies.

What exactly constitutes a “quality job”? Is it simply a source of income, or should it also provide dignity, security, fairness, and opportunities for personal and professional growth? If a job offers wages but lacks stability, safety, or recognition, can it truly be considered quality?

Quality jobs are characterised by stable contractual arrangements, safe and supportive working environments, adequate social protection, meaningful training opportunities, recognition of workers’ voices, and the ability to balance work with private life. They also uphold equality, non-discrimination, and fair wages.

Yet, as workplaces become increasingly shaped by AI and algorithmic management systems, can these principles be maintained, or are they at risk of being undermined?

07 October 2025, Vienna - World day for Decent work: Quality Jobs Roadmap

As part of Decent Work Day in Vienna, a high-level panel on the Quality Jobs Roadmap took place, moderated by Tea Jarc, Confederal Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).

The event featured contributions from experts in employment and social policy, including Wolfgang Katzian, President of the ETUC; Nicolas Schmit, former European Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs; Knut Dethlefsen, Director of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung – Future of Work; and Rolf Schmachtenberg, Special Advisor to Commissioner Minzatu, responsible for preparing the Quality Jobs Roadmap.

The panel examined how the Roadmap can help advance job quality across Europe, strengthen social dialogue, and ensure that decent work remains central to Europe’s social and economic priorities.

23 June 2025, Brussels - Launching of the ETUC Study on Working Time Reduction in Collective Agreements

The launch event for the ETUCLEX study was opened by Tea Jarc, Confederal Secretary of the ETUC, and Knut Dethlefsen, Director of FES Future of Work.

This was followed by a session on policy perspectives on working time reduction, featuring interventions from Yolanda Díaz Pérez, Second Vice-President and Minister of Labour of Spain, Gabriele Bischoff, MEP (S&D/Germany), and Torsten Müller, ETUI.

The discussion was further enriched by contributions from the study’s authors, India Burgess, Associate Director at the Autonomy Institute, and Hampus Andersson, Research Officer at the Swedish Municipal Workers’ Union Kommunal.

ETUC Study on Working Time Reduction in Collective Agreements

The study is divided into three chapters, each addressing key aspects: building a trade union narrative in support of working time reduction, mapping existing collective agreements from across Europe, and developing strategies for their negotiation and practical implementation.

Chapter 1: A trade union narrative for working time reduction

The first chapter makes the case for WTR building on three different perspectives: workers and trade unions; employers; and societal considerations. It offers an overview of existing research supporting WTR as a means to improve well-being, job quality, productivity, and socio-ecological outcomes. As such, it aims to equip trade unions with arguments and evidence about the advantages of reduced working hours.

Chapter 2: Working time reduction in collective agreements

This chapter analyses 119 collective agreements (CBAs) from across Europe that include working time reduction, mostly without a loss in pay. It demonstrates the diversity of approaches that exist across countries, sectors, and groups of workers. The study also includes five case studies from Belgium, Scotland, Sweden, Germany, and Italy, exemplifying different practical models of WTR.

Chapter 3: Negotiations and implementation of working time reduction

The final chapter offers strategic and practical guidance for negotiating WTR. It outlines key aspects, such as political momentum, awareness-raising, worker engagement, evidence-based advocacy, and long-term planning. It also discusses how to design WTR agreements, integrate them with existing policies, and measure their impact. The study concludes with recommendations to support trade union leaders and negotiators when bargaining for WTR.

For more information click here

18 October 2024, Brussels - Advancing Decent Work - Regulation and Reform to Safeguard the Rights of Third-Country Workers in in the EU

The conference was organised into three roundtables, each dedicated to a critical policy area: regulating subcontracting agencies and labour intermediaries, promoting fair work for domestic workers, and strengthening the European Labour Authority’s mandate to include third-country workers in the EU.

The three roundtables were a unique opportunity for key stakeholders in the field of labour policy, labour migration and social rights to engage in in-depth discussions regarding the protection and promotion of social rights for third-country nationals within Europe.

Towards Inclusion of Migrant Domestic Workers - Renewing Efforts in Ratification of ILO C189 by Dr. Vera Pavlou, Senior Lecturer, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom

Labour Intermediaries and Labour Migration in the EU: A framing puzzle to rule the market (and avoid the market of rules) by Professor Silvia Borelli, Associate Professor, University of Ferrara, Italy

Strengthening the Mandate of the European Labour Authority by Dr. Jan M.B. Cremers, Associate Researcher, Tilburg Law School, The Netherlands

FES Future of Work

Cours Saint Michel 30e
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+32 2 329 30 32

futureofwork(at)fes.de

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Technology, Employment and Wellbeing

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an FES blog that offers original insights on the ways new technologies impact the world of work. The blog focuses on bringing different views from tech practitioners, academic researchers, trade union representatives and policy makers.

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Data Workers’ Inquiry: recentring workers’ epistemic authority by Milagros Miceli and Adio Dinika

Importance of Care? by Elena Zacharenko

The Time is Now: Rebuilding Collective Bargaining in Europe.by Stan De Spiegelaere

The laws and flaws of AI management in the workplace by Antonio Aloisi

Making the Unseen Seen: Valuing Invisible Work for Fairer Employment and Stronger Economies by Ellen Balka