Monday, 28 October 2019, 12h30-14h00

ETUI Lunch debate

An Economic Democracy Plan for Europe: the next step for worker codetermination

Speaker: Ewan McGaughey, Senior Lecturer at King's College London @ewanmcg

Comments: Isabelle Schömann, ETUC Confederal Secretary and Sara Lafuente Hernández, Researcher ETUI

Moderator: Aline Hoffmann, Head of Unit “Europeanisation of industrial relations”, ETUI

Briefing: The chasm between our political democracy and our economic absolutism is the single most important issue of our time. Today in the European Union, a tiny group of asset managers and banks control most of the votes in the economy. They control shares in corporations, which control our workplaces, our pay, our security in retirement and our environment.

These asset managers oppose labor unions and fair wages. They support escalating pay for billionaire CEOs. They oppose action to stop discrimination at work and the gender pay gap. They oppose meaningful action to end climate damage. They are tearing our society and our planet apart.

The voting power asset managers and banks control comes from another people’s money. It doesn’t belong to them. It belongs to us. It comes from Europeans saving for retirement, in pension plans, in life insurance, or mutual funds. But the share of workers’ capital in the stock market has been shrinking since the 1980s. Inequality has skyrocketed as workplace democracy and collective bargaining have been attacked. This has meant a declining share of income for labour, and growing share for the City, Frankfurt, La Défense or Milan.

This is why we need a new Economic Democracy Plan for Europe. This talk will explain the present state of affairs and propose draft legislation that could be enacted by the European Union to democratise the economy.

To register, please click here

Venue: ITUH, Bd du Roi Albert II, 5; 1210 Brussels, ETUI meeting room 7th floor
A light lunch will be served from 12h in the meeting in the room.