Flexicurity as a Labour Policy

Flexicurity is a concept that combines the notion of flexibility for businesses with the economic and social security for workers. The idea is to balance the interests and needs of governments, businesses and trade unions to guarantee the benefits of the welfare state.

Introduced in Europe in the 1990s as a mechanism to foster employment, this combination of security and flexibility has generated a transversal debate involving the political, social, legal and economic fields. Often associated with neoliberal economic postulates, the complexity of this policy suggests the need to adopt a broader perspective in order to fully understand its scope and consequences.

Despite its backing by the European Union, flexicurity is not yet fully embraced by European countries. In most bailed-out Member States, security has given ground to flexibility as the only measure for the recovery of the labour market. On the opposite side of the spectrum, other European States have embraced the Danish model of full flexibility combined with a high level of security in occupational terms, adapting it to their respective national contexts.

This research by Professor Montse Solé and published by the Coppieters and Josep Irla foundations analyses and compares Denmark, Norway, Finland and the Netherlands through case studies, and offers some public policy recommendations aimed at enhancing labour market opportunities for European regions.

The Catalan version of this publication was presented during an event on “The phantom of precarity – Flexicurity as a labour policy” held in December 2018. You can find a summary of the main ideas exchanged on that day on this page.

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This publication is financially supported by the European Parliament. The European Parliament is not liable for the content of the publication or the opinions of the authors.

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Header photo by narubono on Unsplash

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