Madariaga - College of Europe Foundation

4 April 2013, Brussels, 13:00 - 14:30

With the fall of aggregate demand resulting from the crisis and austerity policies, labour market flexibility is revealing its dark side. The margin of the labour force is feeling increasingly doomed to a precarious life, leading to problems of self-representation of the workers and occupational identity, not to mention the rise of social illness. Does the rage of this new class have the potential of transforming into a factor of change, or will such an outcome be prevented by the atomisation of labour stemming from neoliberal policy choices and the evolution towards a services-based society? Is there any chance of re-engaging the precariat within the traditional domains of political representation, or will the dominance of economics in the centrist political discourse consign the precariat to extra-parliamentary ways of representation? 

A Citizen’s Controversy with Guy Standing, Professor of Economic Security at the University of Bath, and Denis Pennel, Managing Director of Eurociett - European Confederation of Private Employment Agencies.  

The debate was moderated by Pierre Defraigne, Executive Director, Madariaga - College of Europe Foundation.

 Denis Pennel Presentation 

A report is under preparation.