09/06/2011 - Submitted by: Hohenstein Rena

Background

The need to solve the dilemma between the demands of security and flexibility is an acute question in contemporary working life, where the global forces seem to shake both the structures of production and labour increasingly. The adaptation to the new situation will increase the threat of the formatting of two-tiered labour markets where the division between good jobs with security and instable bad jobs is sharp.

Reflecting the structures of the labour markets, there is also a risk of increasing inequalities in health and well-being. In the recent years a European initiative to handle the contradictory expectations in the working life has been flexicurity. The concept refers to the new bonds between labour protection legislation, social security systems (e.g. unemployment benefits, active labour market policies) and life long learning in the situation where both market led logic and traditional regulation policies seem to be insufficient. Flexicurity has achieved a high official status in the strategies of the EU, moreover, despite its lack of conceptual clarity, it has as well strongly directed scholarly interests to the conditions of decent work.

Despite a sort of vagueness and controversial nature, flexicurity forms an important background for discussions on work related health and well-being issues. Above all, is it possible to manage the problems of contemporary working life by the force of the principles of flexicurity? Objectives and main topics The workshop with multi-disciplinary approaches will give a platform for discussion on:

• The present state of flexicurity as a policy agenda and as a scientific concept,
• The work related health and well-being issues in European and global context, * the potentialities of flexicurity practices to moderate the harmful consequences of job insecurity,
• The role of gender structures in the situation where the security at work is frequently impugn and flexicurity is launched as a solution,
• The feasibility of flexicurity under the permanently unstable global economy and different (welfare state) regimes.

Target Group

The workshop is aimed at researchers, interest group representatives, and practitioners working with flexibility and security matters. The meeting will also be of interest for policy makers at European, national, regional and local level who are interested in developing working life. Workshop structure and working method The workshop consists of presentations and common discussions on the present stage flexicurity. The organizers are especially encouraging to take up themes less often figured in the flexicurity discussion, like issues addressed to gender, global perspectives and migration. Participants are also spurred to present their own studies, posters are also welcomed.

Call for abstracts is open until 31 July 2011. Please send a free format abstract by e-mail to the course coordinator.