News and events 2010
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Japanese delegation visited Tilburg University
On July 7 2010 EVD International organized a trip for Japanese journalists to the Netherlands to learn more about the Dutch economy, Dutch business, work and labour market issues, flexicurity, and dealing with unions. ReflecTs Ton Wilthagen and Ruud Muffels spoke about Flexicurity and transitions: safeguarding employment and business opportunities in the EU compared to Japan and René Voogt has given a presentation about Brainport and Open Innovation.
European Employment Observatory (EEO), SYSDEM network
ReflecT's Sonja Bekker has been approved by the Commission to undertake the work of the SYSDEM expert for the Netherlands. The aim of the SYSDEM network is to report on employment and labour market policy developments and statistical trends and to provide research and evaluation services to the European Commission. Read more about the EEO SYSDEM network.
Frank Hendrickx has been appointed as full-professor of European labour law
Frank Hendrickx has been appointed as full-professor of European labour law (0,2 fte) at the research institute ReflecT. The chair is concerned with the social dimension of European integration.
Russian delegation visited Tilburg University
On 21 June 2010 Logitecc and Perm Technical University department management and marketing visited Tilburg University. The minister of trade Mr. Marat Bimatov (member of the delegation) asked Logitecc (a consultancy-company who connects Dutch and Russian companies) to organize a trip of a combined Perm-delegation to the Netherlands. The aim of the visit was first of all to learn more about business processes and productivity in general in the Netherlands. ReflecT's Ton Wilthagen spoke about "Flexicurity and transitions: safeguarding employment and business opportunities in the EU" and René Voogt has given a presentation about Brainport.
Guest lecture of Minister Donner at ReflecT
On Monday March 1, the Minister for Social Services and Employment, Piet Hein Donner, visited Tilburg University. He and ReflecT director Ton Wilthagen discussed about the important questions: what consequences do ageing, internationalization and flexibilsering have on the labour market? What does the labour market looks like? How can we increase the employment rate? What should be regulated for zzp'ers? Is there a need for an international or even a regional labour market policy? Is 'employment security' the security of the future? Students were able to ask questions during this lively guest lecture.
Japanese delegation visited ReflecT to discuss flexicurity
On February 18 a Japanese ministries delegation visited ReflecT to discuss flexicurity. Mr van Hein van Oorschot, chairman of the Board of Tilburg University welcomed the delegation. Prof. Ton Wilthagen and Prof. Ruud Muffels presented their research on flexicurity both in Europe and worldwide. With other RelflecT members a fruitful discussion was held. Future cooperation is welcomed from both sides.
The delegation comprised:
- Ms. Tomoko NAKAMURA, Section Chief, International Information Office, International Affairs Division, Minister's Secretariat, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan
- Ms. Emiko TOYAMA, Deputy Director, International Information Office, International Affairs Division, Minister's Secretariat, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan
- Mr. Osamu NAKAYAMA, First Secretary, Mission of Japan to the European Union
- Mr. Mitsuki GOTO, Second Secretary, Embassy of Japan in the Netherlands
- Interpreter (to be determined, most likely English-Japanese)
Promotion Hester Houwing
The Dutch Law on Flexibility and Security, implemented in 1999, aimed to create a new balance between flexibility and security in the labour market. Because of this integrated policy strategy aimed at simultaneously increasing both flexibility and security, the European Commission denotes it as an "example of flexicurity". This book asks to what extent this "flexicurity law" should indeed be considered as an example by investigating how employers and social partners make sense of the law within the daily realities of the workplace, and if this new framework has indeed led to a new balance of risks. Despite the attempts to reform the Dutch labour market, the Dutch flexicurity framework, with its key role for social partners, shows that while they are institutionalised at national level, social partners are not always able to create a balance between flexibility and security in collective labour agreements. Flexibilisation is mostly realised by extending flexibility for temporary workers; risks have in practice not been substantially redistributed between regular and temporary workers.
Please send an email to hester.houwing@gmail.com if you would like a copy of her book.
Flexicurity part of the new Commission's EU 2020 strategy
Barroso recently set out his vision for where the European Union should be in 2020. Core of his vision is that the exit form the current economic and financial crisis should be the point of entry into a new sustainable social market economy and a smarter and greener economy based on innovation and knowledge. Flexicurity is part of the future labour market strategy: the "...Community principles on flexicurity to be implemented through national pathways has provided a positive framework to build for the future." (Barroso, 2009, p. 22).
Further reading:
Political guidelines for the next Commission, José Manuel Barroso, 2009
Public consultation webpage on Europe 2020
Media coverage, dossiers and opinions of stakeholders
Sonja Bekker appointed as research coordinator at ReflecT
As of January 1st 2010 Sonja Bekker has been appointed as researcher and research coordinator at ReflecT. Sonja graduated in business administration at Radboud University Nijmegen. She has previously worked at Nijmegen University's
Business School, OSA/the Institute for Labour Studies and at ReflecT, where
she is currently finishing her PhD on the emergence of flexicurity policies
at the EU level. Her other research areas include the European Employment
Strategy, atypical employment and social exclusion, young and older workers
in the labour market and training and education.
Vilvorde Kursuscenter, Charlottenlund (Copenhagen), 13-15 October 2010
Flexicurity and occupational health
Ton Wilthagen is one of the lecturers at this course. He will speak about flexicurity as a normative model: The EU concept and its prospects. Please visit the NIVA website for more information.
Antwerp, Belgium, 28-29 October 2010
European Congress 'Active labour market policies for the EU2020-strategy: ways to move forward'
Frank Tros, researcher at the University of Amsterdam and affiliated to Reflect, is invited as speaker at this congress. In the thematic session 'Active restructuring in times of economic recession' Frank Tros will give a presentation about 'Activating job-to-job policies in case of restructuring and dismissal in the Netherlands'. See also the website for more information.
Bekker, S. and T. Wilthagen (2010), International policies for driving participation, In: Berkhout, E. and E. van den Berg (ed), Bridging the Gap; International Database on Employment and Adaptable Labour, Amsterdam: SEO. Click here for the pdf.
The latest Tilburg Research magazine has been released. This issue is titled: "Making innovation work". It contains a contribution on ReflecT's research on flexicurity and e-portfolio: "The new language of the labour market: flexicurity and e-portfolio.
Please click the image to download the full-text version of the magazine in PDF.
Haibo Zhou, Ronald Dekker & Alfred Kleinknecht, The Impact of Labour Flexibility and HRM on Innovation. Source titel: Innovation in Business and Enterprise: Technologies and Frameworks., Pages 150-161. Click here for more information.
Tilburg Research magazine
This issue is titled: "European labour market: the current crisis and beyond". Professors Lans Bovenberg and Ton Wilthagen (ReflecT) give insight into the idea of a new and more flexible labour market providing employment security rather than job security for workers (flexicurity). ReflecT researchers Irmgard Borghouts-van de Pas, Sonja Bekker and Ruud Muffels have also contributed to this latest issue.
Please click the image to download the full-text version of the magazine in PDF.
Sonja Bekker & Heejung Chung (2009) Restructuring Organisations while Striving for Flexicurity. Connecting theEuropean Level to National Contexts, In: Marie-Ange Moreau (ed.) Building Anticipation of Restructuring in Europe, Peter Lang Publishing Group.
University of Copenhagen, 28 June - 1 July 2010
9th European congress of the International Industrial Relations Association
The following people from ReflecT will present their paper in Copenhagen:
- Linda Senden and Sonja Bekker: "The role and Regulation of Third Actors in the Framework of the Open Method of Coordination".
- Charissa Freese, René Schalk and Jaap Paauwe: "New psychological contracts and flexicurity HR practices".
- Heejung Chung: "Who feels secure? Determinants of subjective employment and income security of European individuals, a multi-level approach".
For more information, please visit the IIRA website.
Willem II Stadion, Tilburg, 24 June 2010
Research Day
The central theme of the day is interdisciplinary research. Ton Wilthagen will give a presentation about "How to succeed in interdisciplinary research and avoid becoming a jack of all trades?" At the end an plenary paneldiscussion will be held about the "Sense and Nonsense of Interdisciplinary Research". Please register here.
Warsaw (Poland), 31 May 2010
Restructuring and Employment Conditions: How to Monitor the Modernisation of Public
Administrations?
Ton Wilthagen and Ruud Muffels speak at the videoconference at 15.30 pm.
Click here for more information.
Crowne Plaza Hotel, Brussels, 20 May 2010
European Employment Research Dialoge I
Ton Wilthagen is one of the speakers in workshop 3: increasing labour market participation and reducing structural unemployment and segmentation.
Rome, 18 May 2010
Lecture SIG research
ReflecT's Evert Verhulp has given a lecture about the SIG research "Flexicurity practises in the time of economic crisis the Netherland." Click here for the presentation.
Rome, 13 May 2010
Workshop on the good practices adopted by the EU member sates to address the employment effects on the economic crisis
The Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini is organizing the workshop. It will involve the participation of several EU labour market experts, ReflecT's Ronald Dekker will be one of them. He shall illustrate the situation of the Netherlands in the afterwards of the crisis, and he will present the policy response put into place within a flexicurity framework. This workshop is part of an EU-funded project involving partners from Italy, Spain and the UK, whichaims at investigating the application of flexicurity principles in time of crisis and at enhancing the capacity to design labour market policies capable of tackling the current social and employment challenges.
London, 22 March 2010
CMPO Welfare Reform High Level Workshop
Irmgard Borghouts has been invited to give a presentation at the CMPO Welfare Reform High Level Workshop. The meeting will be heldat the Ministry and attended by the Secretary of State for the Department of Work and Pensions and a number of other senior policy figures in the current UK government. Irmgard Borghouts will discuss the Progressionand Advancement following entry into work. The aim is to start policy thinking in this area ahead of the new parliament.
SER Building in The Hague, 17 March 2010
Click here to see the report of the 'Brussels Seminar" in Europeanlabour law.
Leiden University, 2 February 2010
Rise of the self-employed
Ronald Dekker (ReflecT) will give a talk on self-employed professionals (zzp'ers) in a theme session about the 'Rise of the self-employed' organised by 
About the seminar
The "Brussels seminar" in European labour law is organized by the Institute for LabourLaw of the University of Leuven and the Jean Monnet Chair in European Labour Law at ReflecT (Tilburg University). It is designed for advanced level students, researchers and practitioners with a broad interest in European and comparative labour law and industrial relations. The seminar provides a deep and original insight into current issues of European, comparative and international labour law, social policy and industrial relations,in the heart of Europe. Besides being a great academic and mind-broadening experience, the seminar offers a unique opportunity to learn to know how Brussels looks, thinks and works. It includes visits to the major European institutions dealing with labour law and social policy.
Seminar Social Security Reform
Ronald Dekker (ReflecT) will give a talk on Employment Security in the EU in the seminar Social Security Reform atLeiden University. See this website for more information.
Book from Ton Wilthagen
On February 10, Ton Wilthagen (ReflecT) presented his book 'Over de arbeidsmarkt gesproken' to minister Maria van der Hoeven of Economic Affairs in the Netherlands. This happened at the festive opening of the new head office of Brainport Development in Eindhoven.more information & ordering
Brainport Development
ReflecT closely cooperates with Brainport Development on strategic labour market issues.