Prowelfare 2014-2016

Unemployment and Pensions Protection in Europe: 
The Changing Role of Social Partners (PROWELFARE)

On the base of the research started in 2013 through the project “PROWELFARE”, a new project “Unemployment and Pensions Protection in Europe: The Changing Role of Social Partners” (PROWELFARE 2014-2016) was financed by the European Commission. The two-year project started in December 2014 and was coordinated by the European Social Observatory (OSE).

In particular, PROWELFARE examined the role of social partners (particularly of trade unions) in welfare protection through occupational schemes. It covered two policy areas (unemployment and pensions), three economic sectors (manufacturing, the public sector and private services), and nine countries: Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the UK.

Specific objectives of the project were:

  • To provide conceptual clarification, to systematically collect information through case studies (on the countries under scrutiny), and to define a new classification/typology for the comparative analysis of occupational welfare in Europe.
  • To develop a more in-depth analytical effort to show the interplay between social and occupational welfare on one hand, and between social dialogue and occupational welfare on the other hand, while also looking at the complex governance of occupational welfare schemes.
  • To diffuse knowledge and improve social dialogue through a toolkit of national workshops and European events, media, and publications.

DSPI Principal Investigator: Martin Seeleib-Kaiser

Project funded by: European Commission

Completed: 2017