Employment, Social Affairs & Health

The digital economy is profoundly changing today’s world of work, our social and economic structures and the way we interact.

As socialists, it is our responsibility to ensure that the digital revolution benefits all parts of society, protects all workers equally and creates the same opportunities for everyone. We are fighting to make sure technological progress goes hand in hand with social progress.

Check our publication on “Workers’ rights and social progress in the digital economy“

Today, Europe is faced with huge challenges: creating quality jobs, fighting poverty and social inequalities, fighting climate change, empowering and protecting citizens, and fostering economic, social and territorial cohesion. The PES’ answer is clear: we fight for a more social Europe, for a Europe against inequalities, for a Europe of decent working conditions, and for a Europe of strong social protection. This is the vision the PES promotes building on the European pillar of social rights.

At PES we are convinced that the EU should ensure a high level of social standard, with a key role to be played by social partners. We insist on strong rules that guarantee all workers are protected and treated equally, that all workers have a decent job and a fair work-life balance. This is the vision we promote when it comes to wages, as we did when fighting for the adoption of the EU Directive on adequate minimum wages (2022), posting of workers, working-time, health and safety standards, workers’ rights and collective bargaining.

PES believes that the EU and its member states must guarantee the right to universal access to timely and appropriate health coverage, regardless of financial means, gender, sexual orientation, cultural background or any other factor. This is a fundamental right that many still do not enjoy – patients across Europe experience differing levels of healthcare access due to varied budgets, high medicine prices, profiteering companies, and licensing issues. To guarantee healthy, cohesive, and socially just communities, we must reverse austerity and health corporatisation, and invest in quality and affordable public health institutions.

With its progressive reforms, the PES proposes a real alternative to the politics of cuts and lowest social standards. Gathering measures ranging from decent wages, quality public services, fair taxation, investment in education and clean technology, the PES programme for progressive reforms shapes a new social and economic model that supports growth and jobs, favours environmental, economic and social sustainability and reduces inequalities. With the Youth Guarantee, we have shown that another kind of reforms is possible, we are now ready to push for more.

Brochure on Progressive Reforms, March 2016