The Collaborative Laboratory for Labour, Employment and Social Protection (CoLABOR) mobilises resources from academia, companies, public administration and social and solidarity economy organisations, with a view to gleaning a more in-depth understanding of the present and foreseeable problems in three central areas of activity: a) work and employment; b) social protection; and c) the social and solidarity economy.
Labour, employment and social protection were conceived politically in the post-war period within the framework of economic policies aimed at full employment and social policies based on the mutualisation of risk protection (with public guarantee) linked to unemployment, illness and ageing.
Nowadays, in a context of further economic, technological, and demographic changes, heightened international economic and financial integration the correlation between work, employment, and social protection as we know it seems to be at risk. The concomitant vulnerabilities of the employment and social protection regimes with the ensuing reshaping of inequalities and the appearance of new societal risks, constitutes the problem which motivates and justifies the creation of CoLABOR.
CoLABOR aims to:
- Mobilise and expand the knowledge that is now spread across different types of organisation in order to devise (public and organisational) policy responses to the current and emerging problems in the fields of work, employment and social protection;
- Capacitate public administration, companies, and social and solidarity economy organisations, strengthening analytic and intervention tools, instruments to help anticipate technological and socio-economic changes, and tools to support decision-making both on a micro level – regarding technological reconfigurations, management and organisation methods – and on a macro level – on institutions that regulate new technologies, labour relations, and social protection;
- Qualify employment by training managers and creating scientific employment, directly through engagement in CoLABOR activities, and indirectly at organisations where CoLABOR is asked to intervene.
3 MAIN RESEARCH AREAS
WORK AND EMPLOYMENT
WORK AND EMPLOYMENT
The sectorial transformation of employment, the changes in the organisation and performance of work, and progressive automation, challenge the current regulatory framework for employment in terms of both individual work relationships and collective action. Research on the future of work must be framed within an analysis of its current modes of performance and organisation and of regulatory frameworks, having in mind the guarantee of rights and the sustainability of economic activity.
SOCIAL PROTECTION
SOCIAL PROTECTION
The effectiveness of a social protection system is evaluated by the manner in which it ensures its commitments, and also by its ability to guarantee equality between generations, and solidarity throughout the life cycle and among social groups with different work conditions and income levels. This understanding, which encompasses the functions and political, economic and social roles of social protection, entails an analytical focus that articulates the analysis of the welfare and social protection regimes’ financial sustainability, with concerns about the adequacy of the responses to social risks that change over time due to the new challenges of demography, technology and employment.
SOCIAL AND SOLIDARITY ECONOMY
SOCIAL AND SOLIDARITY ECONOMY
In Portugal diverse associative traditions coexist that converge towards the current definition of social economy, namely those deriving from social solidarity institutions, misericórdias [social solidarity associations], cooperatives, and mutual schemes, all of which provide social services, develop alternatives to market provision, and promote well-being. At a time of new needs in the field of social protection and changes in labour relations, research must help consolidate the sector and formulate public policies that strengthen a transparent relationship between partners, correct socio-territorial asymmetries within the social services network, improve institutions’ governance models, and ensure that better responses are given to new social risks that increase this sector’s impact in promoting well-being.