Care sector in times of transition
Why we study the care sector?
In the face of growing digital and green transformations, not all sectors experience disruption in the same way. In some, like care services, social dialogue can help manage the transition, however, this potential is challenged by the sector’s generally weak worker representation.
While highly skilled professionals such as doctors and specialists tend to be well protected, the care sector in Europe increasingly depends on precarious workers, particularly in elderly care and long-term care services. These workers often lack collective bargaining power and operate under non-standard employment conditions.
Our project seeks to address this gap by taking a deep, multi-country look at how the care sector is responding to the twin transitions.
Through four key objectives, we aim to:
Objective 6.1: Generate knowledge on care systems (healthcare, elderly care, and long-term care) across 9 European countries* by gathering data on industrial relations, legal frameworks, and the impact of current transitions.
Objective 6.2: Explore how decisions are made in the sector by interviewing key actors to understand their roles, strategies, and how they engage with digital and green changes.
Objective 6.3: Analyze how these transitions and the capacity for social dialogue shape both social and economic outcomes for all actors in the sector.
Objective 6.4: Co-create practical pathways to adapt social dialogue structures to the future of work ensuring more inclusive representation and resilience.
From statistical data to institutional mapping, from expert interviews to collaborative focus groups, our goal is not only to understand the current dynamics but also to support new, more inclusive ways of managing change.
The care sector may be underrepresented, but through this work, we hope to give it a stronger voice.
* 9 targeted countries: Austria, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, and the UK.