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On his 34th birthday in 1989, Dr. Konstantin Trenchev helped found Bulgaria’s first independent trade union – PODKREPA. What began as a small act of defiance soon turned into a movement that shaped Bulgaria’s path to democracy and EU accession.
In this episode, we revisit the turbulent years around the fall of communism, the struggles of early trade unionists, and the promises and pitfalls of Bulgaria’s journey into the European Union. What lessons remain from this era – and how do they echo in today’s Europe?

What happens when the promise of prosperity in the EU doesn’t match reality?
In this first episode, we start in Sofia, Bulgaria, where strikes and low wages reveal the frustrations of many citizens. We hear from journalists, union leaders, and researchers about the struggles of EU integration, the rising cost of living, and why the expected “convergence” never fully arrived.
Join us as we explore the hopes, challenges, and disappointments of countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007 – and ask whether their concerns are justified, and what trade unions and politics can do today.

In the final episode of "Inside Gen Z," we explore how trade unions are working to engage young people in the labor market. Despite a general lack of awareness about unions among youth, initiatives like the CNV's youth department in the Netherlands and Krifa's TikTok presence in Denmark aim to attract younger members. Through real-life examples, including the successful unionization of Starbucks employees, we see the power of social media and grassroots movements. Experts emphasize the importance of listening to Gen Z's demands and collaborating with them to create a better future for all workers.

The second episode of "Inside Gen Z" delves into common prejudices, such as the belief that Gen Z is lazy or unwilling to work. Contrary to these stereotypes, studies reveal that Gen Z is actually more committed and engaged than previous generations. Experts like Helle Stenbro and Wouter Vandenabeele discuss the origins of these misconceptions and emphasize the importance of understanding individual life stages over broad generational labels. Tune in to explore the complexities of Gen Z and the impact of stereotypes in the workplace.

In the first episode of "Inside Gen Z", a three-part series by We Work Europe, you will meet Barbara Mogensen, a 22-year-old student from Denmark, who shares her own journey, including her recent departure from a part-time job in the software industry and her commitment to her podcast "Espresso Yourself", where she interviews various professionals about their career paths. This episode explores Generation Z's desire for meaningful work, the criticism they face and the evolving job market. Marketing experts Eileen Droß and Michelle Muller highlight the need for companies to adapt to attract young talent and the importance of cross-generational...

In the last instalment of our three-part series on sexualised violence in the workplace, we take a look at the legislation and why things have changed recently. We talk to Victor Hugo Ricco from the ILO about Convention 190, which for the first time addresses sexualised violence in the workplace internationally. And we talk to Evin Incir from the EU Parliament about the directive on gender-based violence against women from April 2024. Both pieces of legislation are categorised at the end from a trade union perspective.

In this second episode, we take a closer look at the results of a study investigating sexualised violence in the academic environment. The figures are shocking, but also explainable, says researcher Anne Laure Humbert, who worked on the study. In addition, another woman reports on her experiences of sexualised violence in the workplace and a trade unionist gives tips on how every colleague can become an ally for those affected.

Adela S. from Spain has sued her former boss, who systematically harassed her and six female colleagues for sexist reasons. This is not an isolated case, as sexualised violence in the workplace is omnipresent. In this episode, we delve into this complex topic, talk to psychologists, a manager of a women's refuge and discuss ways of escaping the spiral of violence in the workplace.

In this final episode of our three-part series, we follow Leonard Müller, a Lieferando rider in Berlin, as he navigates a challenging works council election, despite the company’s attempts to cancel it. We also explore the legal fight for platform workers’ rights in other countries, with perspectives from trade unionists Veit Groß, Martin Willems, and Luigi Mansi, who successfully negotiated a national collective agreement for Just Eat workers in Italy.

Dennis Radtke, a member of the European Parliament and shadow rapporteur of the new EU directive, discusses the potential of the directive, aimed at improving working conditions for platform employees...

The pressure of ratings: In the second episode of this three-part series we delve into the world of platform company ratings. While some companies appear to offer fair working conditions, deeper inspection often reveals they merely meet the minimum standards. We speak with Tobias Kuttler from Fair Work, who evaluates platforms on fairness, and Giada Gerotto from Creative Words, a translation platform in Italy, to explore the struggles and successes of improving platform work conditions across the EU.