The first WeLaR webinar attracted more than 40 participants

Leuven, Belgium, 3 March 2023 – WeLaR ’s first webinar, “European Welfare States in Crisis? Labour Markets in Flux?” aimed at introducing the project to its stakeholders. The event brought together 42 participants, including labour market economists, social scientists and representatives of EU policy think tanks, and participants from the European and national social policy spheres.

The Centre for Social Innovation (ZSI) organised the event. The project will contribute to a better understanding of the trends’ effects and identify policy measures that foster socio-economic resilience and inclusive, sustainable growth. As a result, we will be able to propose ways to adapt welfare systems so that they can address the challenges posed by these trends and new forms of work.

Zuzanna Kowalik presented a snapshot of a topic that WeLaR will investigate further. Together with her colleagues, she researched the differences in job quality and working conditions between native and migrant platform workers (taxi and delivery drivers) in Poland. Their findings show that migrants take up platform jobs due to a lack of income or other job opportunities more often than natives. Platforms are a part of “arrival infrastructure” that prolongs social vulnerability rather than mitigating it.

You can find the broader relation from the webinar on the project’s website.