Dear members, partners and friends of CESI,

As mentioned in my last editorial, and as always when the summer break approaches, our work is further intensifying. However, I can only testify that the mood and enthusiasm of the team at the Secretariat remains outstanding.

We have, in these past years, experienced a lot, to say the least: a Covid -19 pandemic, a war in Europe, inflation of almost 10%, an unprecedented energy crisis, unseen supply chains disruptions, on top of this a most alarming climate crisis; and all this against the backdrop of needed and indeed unavoidable green and digital transition.

It is as if someone had clicked on a geopolitical, economic, social and labour market „reset button”; the challenges we are now facing are extraordinary.

There are no new jobs on a new planet. Greening our economy and our is lives is without alternative. It will require significant commitments from all of us. It means adopting a new economic and social model with major impacts on the way we work and live. And considering workers’ needs is a key element to be able to “deliver” a fair ‘European Green Deal’.

In our 2022 CESI discussion paper, we established, among others, that workers and their representatives should be engaged and involved in socially balanced green-digital transition processes to ensure that (a) as many sustainable jobs as possible are preserved, (b) as many ‘quality’ jobs as possible are created, (c) as many unsustainable jobs are transformed into sustainable ones, and (d) that as many workers as possible are helped to adapt to the new realities.

And one main priority transcended: While restructuring labour markets and employment relations should be as inclusive and protective as possible, the competitiveness of the economy at large should be maintained.

Our flagship event this year is the third edition of our CESI SUMMER DAYS on the theme ‘The future of work in a green economy’, which will take place in Brussels on June 29-30. More than 150 experts and representatives from European and international institutions, the public sector, think tanks, trade unions, and companies will have the opportunity to exchange with each other on the impacts of the European Green Deal on economies and labour markets, on ways to make the green transition inclusive and fair, and on the role of workers and trade unions.

Together with the European Commission, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), the European Policy Centre (EPC), the Bertelsmann Stiftung, and the Reshaping Work foundation, we will assess the impacts of the twin transition on regions and industry sectors, we will hear about the challenges for the public and private sector, and we will establish ways for workers and trade unions to co-decide – on what will be our future.

As always, the most important for us is your involvement, commitment, and, not least, feedback.

Feel free to join us at our Summer Days! And please do not hesitate to drop me a line or write me an email any time ([email protected]).

I wish you a good June.

Klaus Heeger