Since the launch of the Lisbon Strategy, the ETUC together with the ETUI-REHS has produced an annual Benchmarking publication for the European Social Summit. Its aim is to establish what progress has been made in selected areas of importance to workers and which are of crucial significance for a Social Europe.

This year’s report tackles the issue of Europe’s social reality. It highlights in particular the issues of quality employment and the need to ensure that the European workforce receives a fair share of economic gains.

The report notes that while employment is undoubtedly rising, this increase has been achieved through the creation of non-standard forms of employment. Wages are also suffering. European workers are not receiving real increases in pay in line with the real growth.

Introduction
John Monks, General Secretary of the ETUC; Philippe Pochet, General Director of the ETUI-REHS; Maria Jepsen, Director, Research Department, ETUI-REHS)

1. Social Europe means better quality of jobs and collective solutions
Maria Helena André – Deputy General Secretary, ETUC

2. Macroeconomic developments and policy issues
Andrew Watt, Senior Research Officer, ETUI-REHS

3. Employment
Janine Leschke, Research Officer, ETUI-REHS

4. Europe’s youth = Europe’s future
Klaus Schömann, Professor International University of Bremen; Christoph Hilbert, Research Officer, WZB

5. Wages developments
Maarten Keune, Senior Research Officer, ETUI-REHS

6. Social protection and the social reality of Europe
Maria Jepsen, Director Research Department, ETUI-REHS; Janine Leschke, Research Officer, ETUI-REHS

7. Workers’ involvement, corporate social responsibility and corporate governance
Romuald Jagodzinski, Research Officer, ETUI-REHS; Norbert Kluge, Senior Research Officer, ETUI-REHS;Isabelle Schömann, Senior Research Officer, ETUI-REHS; Michael Stollt, Research Officer, ETUI-REHS

8. Europe’s social dialogue and European labour law
Stefan Clauwaert, Senior Research Officer, ETUI-REHS; Isabelle Schömann, Senior Research Officer, ETUI-REHS;Wiebke Warneck, Research Officer, ETUI-REHS