Perceptions and attitudes towards Covid-19 vaccines:Narratives from members of the UK public

Aim: The aim of the paper is to enhance understanding of how members of the public make sense of the Covid-19 vaccines and the factors influencing their attitudes towards such artefacts of pandemic governance.Methods: The paper draws on 23 online in-depth interviews with members of the UK public and builds on relevant literature to examine participants’ perceptions of the benefits and risks of Covid-19 vaccines, the sources that have shaped their attitudes, and the level of trust they have towards the government’s handling of the pandemic through vaccines. Results:The findings indicate that participants generally felt that the benefits of having the vaccine outweigh the risks and that Covid-19 vaccines are a crucial mechanism for enabling society to return to normal. Vaccine acceptance was, for some, strongly linked to a sense of social responsibility and the duty to protect others. However, some participants expressed concerns towards the side effects of Covid-19 vaccines and their perceived potential impact on fertility and DNA makeup. Participants used various sources of information to learn about Covid-19 vaccines and understand their function, benefits and risks. The majority of participants criticised the government’s response during the early stages of the pandemic yet felt positive about the vaccine rollout. Conclusion:Like any other vaccination programme, the success of the Covid-19 immunisation campaigns does not only depend on the efficacy of the vaccines themselves or the ability to secure access to them, but also on a myriad of other factors which include public compliance and trust in governments and health authorities. To support an effective immunisation campaign that is capable of bringing the pandemic to an end, governments need to understand public concerns, garner trust, and devise adequate strategies for engaging the public and building more resilient societies. <br/

Representativeness of the European social partner organisations : Sea fisheries sector

Aquesta publicació s'elabora a partir de les contribucions de cadascú dels membres nacionals que integren la Network of Eufound Correspondent. Pel cas d'Espanya la contribució ha estat realitzada per l'Alejandro GodinoThis study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the sea fisheries sector. Their relative representativeness legitimises their right to be consulted, their role and effective participation in the European sectoral social dialogue and their capacity to negotiate agreements. The aim of Eurofound's representativeness studies is to identify the relevant national and European social partner organisations. This study identified the Association of National Organisations of Fishing Enterprises in the European Union (Europêche) (representing employers) and European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF) (representing employees) as the most representative European level social partner organisations in the sea fisheries sector. COPA-COGECA, representing employers in the primary sector, has also some representativeness in the sector

Representativeness of the European social partner organisations : human health sector

Aquesta publicació s'elabora a partir de les contribucions de cadascú dels membres nacionals que integren la Network of Eufound Correspondent. Pel cas d'Espanya la contribució ha estat realitzada per l'Oscar MolinaThis study provides information allowing for an assessment of the representativeness of the actors involved in the European sectoral social dialogue committee for the human health sector. Their relative representativeness legitimises their right to be consulted, their role and effective participation in the European sectoral social dialogue, and their capacity to negotiate agreements. The aim of Eurofound's studies on representativeness is to identify the relevant national and European social partner organisations in the field of industrial relations in the EU Member States. This study identified the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) - representing employees - and the European Hospital and Healthcare Employers' Association (HOSPEEM) - representing employers - as the most representative European-level social partner organisations in the human health sector. The member organisations of the European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CESI) and UNI Europa also organise employees in the sector in several Member States

Capacity building for effective social dialogue in the European Union

Aquesta publicació s'elabora a partir de les contribucions de cadascú dels membres nacionals que integren la Network of Eufound Correspondent. Pel cas d'Espanya la contribució ha estat realitzada per l'Oscar MolinaThe aim of this report is to add to the discussion on how Eurofound can contribute to supporting capacity building of social partners for effective social dialogue. The report includes a review by Eurofound aimed at identifying the capacity-building needs and initiatives of social partners in relation to national frameworks for autonomous collective bargaining, involvement in European social dialogue and the European Semester, and the development of membership and services for members. It also includes the results from stakeholder consultations and two exchange seminars held in 2019, along with a set of policy pointers for further discussion

Female entrepreneurship : Public and private funding

Aquesta publicació s'elabora a partir de les contribucions de cadascú dels membres nacionals que integren la Network of Eufound Correspondent. Pel cas d'Espanya la contribució ha estat realitzada per l'Oscar MolinaFemale entrepreneurs represent just a small proportion of the total number of entrepreneurs in the European Union today. Some of the hurdles facing female entrepreneurs - or would-be entrepreneurs - are related to getting adequate funding, access to the right networks, and finding the right information and advice. In the last few years, some private funds have realised that female founders are not always well served and there is a market gap when it comes to investing in women-led enterprises. This report examines the use of private funds to invest in female entrepreneurs in the European Union and Norway. In addition, it investigates the prevalence of public finance tools and public support schemes that effectively remove barriers and enable women to become competent entrepreneurs

Social partners going digital: using digital tools and adapting social dialogue processes

Aquesta publicació s'elabora a partir de les contribucions de cadascú dels membres nacionals que integren la Network of Eufound Correspondent. Pel cas d'Espanya la contribució ha estat realitzada per l'Alejandro GodinoDigital transformation is changing the world of work. This report looks at how social partners - the actors involved in the regulation of employment relationships - are increasingly adopting technological solutions to improve the services that they provide to their members and facilitate collective bargaining processes. Technological tools offer social partners the opportunity to enhance consultation, engage with their members through digitised processes, improve services and increase networking activities, as well as addressing the issue of membership decline. The findings of this report show that the extent to which the social partners use digital technologies varies greatly across the EU Member States, Norway and the United Kingdom. Provisions in collective agreements on several aspects of digitalisation have been identified in about half of the countries. Through these provisions, social partners encourage their members to boost training on digital skills, ensure fair and safe working conditions and take account of data protection and employee monitoring practices. The European social partners' autonomous framework agreement on digitalisation has provided inspiration to national-level organisations, and follow-up actions in this regard have the potential to greatly benefit their members

Social partners going digital: using digital tools and adapting social dialogue processes

La xarxa de corresponsals d'Eurofound ha contribuït a aquest informe i en concret l'Alejandro Godino com així s'expressa a l'Annex 3: Network of Eurofound CorrespondentsDigital transformation is changing the world of work. This report looks at how social partners - the actors involved in the regulation of employment relationships - are increasingly adopting technological solutions to improve the services that they provide to their members and facilitate collective bargaining processes. Technological tools offer social partners the opportunity to enhance consultation, engage with their members through digitised processes, improve services and increase networking activities, as well as addressing the issue of membership decline. The findings of this report show that the extent to which the social partners use digital technologies varies greatly across the EU Member States, Norway and the United Kingdom. Provisions in collective agreements on several aspects of digitalisation have been identified in about half of the countries. Through these provisions, social partners encourage their members to boost training on digital skills, ensure fair and safe working conditions and take account of data protection and employee monitoring practices. The European social partners' autonomous framework agreement on digitalisation has provided inspiration to national-level organisations, and follow-up actions in this regard have the potential to greatly benefit their members

Working time in 2019-2020

Aquesta publicació s'elabora a partir de les contribucions de cadascú dels membres nacionals que integren la Network of Eufound Correspondent. Pel cas d'Espanya la contribució ha estat realitzada per l'Alejandro GodinoThe most relevant changes in working time regulation in Europe in 2019 and 2020 addressed challenges arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most focused on short-time working schemes, on approaches to teleworking for those able to work from home and on regulations to ensure the safe provision of essential services. In 2020, the average collectively agreed working week in the EU stood at 37.8 hours. Across the sectors analysed in the report, the collectively agreed normal working week was shortest in public administration (38 hours) and longest in transport (39.2 hours). Paid annual leave entitlement (taking into account those set through collective bargaining) stood at an average of 24.5 days across the EU. Key topics for discussion in all Member States during the COVID-19 pandemic included dealing with the impact of changes in working hours on different groups of workers and the role of working time in supporting economic recovery and job creation

COVID-19 and older people : impact on their lives, support and care

Per part del QUIT com a corresponsal d'Eurofound, la contribució a l'informe ha estat feta per l'Alejandro Godino.This report captures the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the quality of life of older citizens, including the impact on their well-being, finances, employment and social inclusion. It explores the effects on the use of care services and older people's reliance on other support. The report presents policy measures that have been implemented in EU Member States to support older people along all of the above-mentioned dimensions. These include measures to support independent living and schemes to support the labour market integration of older people or to prevent unemployment, all of which play a role in the quality of life of older citizens