Kurt Vandaele
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kurtvandaele.bsky.social
Kurt Vandaele
@kurtvandaele.bsky.social

Researcher ETUI, PhD #TradeUnions #IndustrialAction #platformEconomy #PoliticalEconomy of #LowCountries
Download publications here: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kurt-Vandaele
Europa Endlos; I'm so bored with the U.S.A. .. more

Political science 46%
Education 15%
Pinned
The Elgar Companion to Regulating Platform Work, co-edited with @silviarainone.bsky.social, is now available @elgarpublishing.bsky.social @etui.bsky.social
Thanks to the authors for their insights on app-based food delivery!

More info 👉 www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/the...

#GigEconomy #FoodForThought
The Elgar Companion to Regulating Platform Work
‘Bringing together leading voices, this Companion offers a critical and forward-looking analysis of how to regulate the industry''s impact on work and workers. With insightful case studies and expert ...
www.e-elgar.com

Reposted by Kurt Vandaele

📣Hello Bluesky! 👋

Me (Holly Smith, new Social Media Editor), @ryanlamare.bsky.social (Editor-In-Chief), & the rest of the #BJIR board are delighted to launch our new socials today!

Join us here for all things #industrialrelations - related (is that a hashtag?)
a man is riding a segway in an office with the words welcome aboard below him
Alt: Michael Scott, character from the US Office, is riding a segway into an office with the words 'Welcome aboard!' below him
media.tenor.com

'The Oxford Handbook of Belgian Politics' is published. Five parts, 41 chapters. Congratulations to the editors: Min Reuchamps Marleen Brans Petra Meier Emilie van Haute.
Chapter 20 in Part III is on 'Trade Unions in Belgium’, written with Jean Faniel
ToC here: lnkd.in/eA2RvtmU
I'm happy to share this article, which is now out in open access in the British Journal of Industrial Relations, and seeks to contribute to the debate on neoliberalisation & europeanisation of industrial relations
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Common Pressures, Uneven Trajectories: The Variegated Europeanisation of Wage Regulation Institutions
The debate on whether national industrial relations (IR) are experiencing convergence is a long-standing one. Recently, scholars argue that we are witnessing a neoliberal convergence of national IR, ...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Als het management mag beslissen welke actie redelijk is, dan kan het elke #staking verbieden www.standaard.be/opinies/als-... via @standaard.be
Als het management mag beslissen welke actie redelijk is, dan kan het elke staking verbieden
Voor wie zijn de spoorstakingen niet redelijk, vragen Jan Buelens en Patrick Humblet zich af.
www.standaard.be
NEW PAPER ALERT! My paper, with @bjornhoyland.bsky.social , on how “policy loss” shapes support for the EU has just been published in @cpsjournal.bsky.social. Check it out!
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❗#JobAlert: upcoming deadline

The ETUI is looking for a Database Administrator to play a central role in managing the Institute’s #data-related activities.

Don't miss the opportunity to be part of a dynamic research environment!

🔗 Apply by 31 January: etui.org/4Z5
@andrewwatteu.bsky.social

Reposted by Kurt Vandaele

Jef Maes heeft overschot van gelijk. "Heel het sociale discours van De Gucht klinkt origineel en (..) eenvoudig. Maar de facto is het niets anders dan (..) de liberale recepten van de negentiende eeuw, waarbij de overheid niets mocht doen op sociaal vlak."

www.demorgen.be/meningen/ter...
Terug naar negentiende-eeuws liberalisme met Frédéric De Gucht
Jef Maes is auteur van Onze sociale zekerheid. Ervaringen en voorstellen en gewezen topman bij het ABVV. Hij vindt dat Anders-voorzitter Frédéric De Gucht teruggrijpt naar negentiende-eeuwse recepten....
www.demorgen.be
BREAKING: Thousands of nurses go on strike at several major New York City hospitals after weekend negotiations over contract disputes fail.
Thousands of nurses go on strike at several major New York City hospitals
Thousands of nurses at several major New York City hospitals have gone on strike. Nurses were to start walking off the job Monday starting at 6 a.m. after negotiations through the weekend failed to yield a breakthrough.
bit.ly
Contrary to death-of-class perspectives, class identities are as relevant socially today as they were 50-70 years ago.
Very happy to see this out in CPS! We study class identities and their social and political relevance over several decades in Britain, Denmark, Norway, and the US. A small thread:

journals.sagepub.com/eprint/SIRW4...
Congratulations to the editors.
Chapter 35 in Section Six is on the ‘Unionisation of Digital Labour’
🌟New book! SAGE Handbook of Digital Labour, edited by Ergin Bulut, Julie Chen, Rafael Grohmann, and Kylie Jarrett.

us.sagepub.com/en-us/sam/th...
🌟New book! SAGE Handbook of Digital Labour, edited by Ergin Bulut, Julie Chen, Rafael Grohmann, and Kylie Jarrett.

us.sagepub.com/en-us/sam/th...
A Dutch worker went viral after explaining to their American boss that they have a life outside work.

Reposted by Kurt Vandaele

Don't let his current wealth or the promised trillion fool you. Elon's year was marked by disastrous failures. #TeslaTakedown

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Elon Musk’s 2025 recap: how the world’s richest person became its most chaotic
How the tech CEO and ‘Dogefather’ made a mess of the year – from his White House tenure to an apparent Nazi salute
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Kurt Vandaele

In 2025, this administration launched the biggest attack on unions in our history. We fought back and we’re not stopping now.
US labor unions gear up to fight against Trump's ‘Billionaire First' agenda
AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler says union ready to stand up for struggling Americans: ‘Which side are you on?'
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Kurt Vandaele

🔍 A new ETUI policy brief, co-authored by Ioannis Katsaroumpas, ETUI senior researcher, compares protections from detriments short of dismissal across 9 European countries, and shows how the UK risks remaining at the restrictive end, even after the Employment Rights Act.

Read it here🔗 etui.org/4ZS

Reposted by Kurt Vandaele

Open brief van BTB Voorzitter Frank Moreels - Flexi-jobs zijn geen hefboom, maar een systeem dat vaste jobs doelbewust ondergraaft. www.demorgen.be/meningen/fl...
Flexi-jobs zijn geen hefboom, maar een systeem dat vaste jobs doelbewust ondergraaft
Frank Moreels is voorzitter van de Belgische TransportBond BTB-ABVV. Hij schrijft een open brief aan Bart Buysse, de gedelegeerd bestuurder van ondernemersorganisatie Unizo.
www.demorgen.be

Reposted by Kurt Vandaele

'When trade unions learn to innovate: case study evidence from across Europe'

🔍 This chapter by Christian Lyhne Ibsen, University of Copenhagen, analyses and discusses two innovative organising cases in 3F (the General Workers’ Union), the largest trade union in Denmark.

📕 etui.org/Z9S
This is a great piece on Trump's near-destruction of the National Labor Relations Board. (And I'm betting they don't let the Acting GC go on-the-record about anything after his performance here. Kudos to @msainato.bsky.social for a very effective interview.) www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
‘A very hostile climate for workers’: US labor movement struggles under Trump
National Labor Relations Board, the federal watchdog for workers’ rights, has been rendered toothless as employees grapple with corporations
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Kurt Vandaele

'When trade unions learn to innovate: case study evidence from across Europe'

🔍 This chapter analyses two cases of policy innovation involving novel types of union-building projects within the General Confederation of Labour.

📕 Download or order a copy of the book 🔗 etui.org/Z9S

Lees de meer gedetailleerde studie hier: www.researchgate.net/publication/...

Reposted by Kurt Vandaele

Boeiend stuk van Luc Cortebeeck over het sociaal overleg. Een beetje historiek is altijd goed om het heden mee te verklaren en de toekomst -met sociaal overleg- vorm te geven. www.demorgen.be/meningen/luc...
Luc Cortebeeck: ‘Het wegduwen van sociaal overleg is bedreigend voor de democratie’
Luc Cortebeeck is ervaringsdeskundige sociaal overleg, gewezen voorzitter van het ACV en oud-voorzitter van de Raad van Bestuur Internationale Arbeidsorganisatie. Hij betreurt het verdwijnen van het s...
www.demorgen.be

Reposted by Kurt Vandaele

We need more Young Workers to become union reps! Great blog by @tuc.org.uk featuring the voices of Young Workers: www.tuc.org.uk/blogs/if-wer...
If we're going to change the world of work for the better - we need young people to get repping
Reps and activists are the backbone of the union movement. They recruit workers to the union, win new workplace policies, represent members and organise for industrial action. Without them, we are all...
www.tuc.org.uk

Reposted by Kurt Vandaele

How can trade unions boost their membership numbers again?

🗞️ Read a new article by @kurtvandaele.bsky.social in @sampolmaandblad.bsky.social, analysing what innovations Belgian unions can introduce to reverse the downward trend & strengthen their role in a changing world of work.

🔍 buff.ly/tZPEPdQ
Hoe kunnen vakbonden hun ledenaantallen weer opkrikken?
Decennialang was België de uitzondering op de dalende syndicalisatiegraad, maar nu niet meer. Welke innovaties kunnen vakbonden uit de neerwaartse spiraal trekken?
buff.ly

Reposted by Kurt Vandaele

🗣️ ETUC General Secretary, Esther Lynch, stressed how renewal is also about narrative. It’s about crafting a modern, unifying story of working people. "The fundamental building block towards trade union renewal is to build a unified story of working people in which everyone stands up for one other."

Reposted by Kurt Vandaele

Participants highlighted how innovation isn't an isolated act but a strategic mindset: a way of designing, implementing, and scaling ideas that respond to today’s realities. 🤝

Reposted by Kurt Vandaele

👉 During this joint ETUI–CRIMT event, leading scholars and trade union practitioners from Europe and North America came together to share concrete examples of unions experimenting with new approaches, strengthening capacity, and developing diverse pathways to #renewal.
How can trade unions innovate & stay strong in a changing world?

📚 Last week's launch of two ETUI publications, 'Experimenting for Union Renewal: Challenges, Illustrations, and Lessons' & 'When Trade Unions Learn to Innovate', offered insights into how unions can adapt in an evolving world of work.

Reposted by Kurt Vandaele

🗞️ The ETUI in the #media

✔️ @kurtvandaele.bsky.social on why Belgian unions must innovate to stay close to workers in @lesoir.be, & on the surge in Belgian strikes in @nieuwsblad.bsky.social, @knack.be and more.

👉 Check out the full round-up of our latest appearances on European media: etui.org/4kd