Activities for the unemployed

Eurofound — European Foundation For The Improvement Of Living And Working Conditions

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• Publié par: EUROFOUND-EUROPEAN-FOUNDATION-FOR-THE-IMPROVEMENT-OF-LIVING-AND-WORKING-CONDITIO
• Nombre de lectures: 13
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

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ACTIVITIES
FOR THE UNEMPLOYED
FRANCE
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European Foundation
for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions ACTIVITIES
FOR THE UNEMPLOYED
FRANCE
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European Foundation
for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
Loughlinstown House, Shankill, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Tel: 826888 Telex: 30726 EURF Designed & Printed by the European Foundation
© Copyright: THE EUROPEAN FOUNDATION FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF LIVING AND WORKING
CONDITIONS, 1985. For rights of translation or reproduction, application should be made to the Director.
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Loughlinstown House. Shank ill.
Countv Dublin. Ireland. PREFACE
This research was commissioned under the 1983 programme of work as part of
the four year programme on Working Time and Leisure Time, 1981 -1984. In a
society where work plays such a crucial role in providing a sense of identity
and meaning to life, unemployment presents many social and psychological
problems, in addition to severe financial ones. Time for the unemployed
cannot be divided into working time and leisure time; without work, leisure
loses much of its meaning. This project, which is the first the Foundation
has completed on the subject of unemployment, concerns measures and schemes
which can assist the unemployed to use their time in a more structured and
more positive way and thereby provide social, psychological and sometimes
financial help.
In concentrating on this specific policy area, the Foundation may seem to be
accepting the seemingly intractable nature of the current economic crisis
but, as this research reveals, the Community has as yet been unable to deal
with the growth in the number of unemployed and the duration of their
unemployment. It is this fact that has led to the development of these new
measures and schemes,which range from specifically work-related projects to
those providing social, cultural and leisure activities.
The aim of this research was to collect information on these initiatives so
as to provide an exchange of information and experience in a European context
and to assist in the assessment of the role of such initiatives in the
current employment situation. The European Foundation's task is not directly
concerned with economic growth and development, although these factors are
inevitably connected with issues of improving living and working conditions.
However, the effects of the recession on the individual, the family and
society are central to the interests of the Foundation. It is in this
context we hope that this research will make an effective contribution. It
is important also that it be seen as complementary to the efforts of other
Community institutions concerned with the unemployment crisis. It should
therefore be studied in conjunction with, for example, the work of the - 2 -
European Commission on measures to stimulate permanent job creation or to
influence the labour supply situation and the work of CEDEFOP in Berlin on
vocational training.
With the resources available for the project it was possible for the
Foundation to commission five national studies:
- Denmark (Socialforskningsinstituttet, Copenhagen)
- France (Institut Europeen d'Education et de Politique Sociale, Paris)
- Ireland (Institute of Public Administration , Dublin)
- Netherlands (Instituut voor Sociaal-Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek,
Tilburg)
- United Kingdom (Policy Studies Institute, London)
On the basis of these, a consolidated report was compiled by Dr. P. Humphreys
of the Institute of Public Administration in Dublin. The research was
co-ordinated by the Foundation's project manager, Wendy O'Conghaile.
The five national reports and the consolidated report were examined by
goverment, trade union and employer representatives at a seminar which took
place in Dublin on 22 and 23 May, 1985. The views of these three groups are
presented in this volume in the documents entitled "Evaluation Reports".
The Foundation wishes to stress that the analyses and opinions contained in
the research reports are sole responsibility of their authors. EVALUATION REPORTS EUROPEAN FOUNDATION FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF LIVING AND WORKING CONDITIONS
COLLOQUIUM ON "AN INVESTIGATION OF ACTIVITIES
FOR THE UNEMPLOYED»
Held in Dublin 22/23 May I985
EVALUATION REPORT OF THE TRADE UNIONS' GROUP
Loughlinstown House, Shankill. Co. Dublin. Ireland. Tel: [phone] Telex: 30726 EURF