Post COVID-19: LRG Standing Committee reflects on Economic and Labour Market Policy

SLIDE PRESENTATION Roland Janssen, OECD - EPSU LRG Meeting 16 APril

(17 April 2020) Yesterday, the Local and Regional Government standing committee met online with Ronald Janssen, OECD, and affiliates to reflect upon the impact of COVID 19 on Economic and Labour Market Policy, especially what this means the local and regional government sector. This was followed by an internal meeting on how to adapt and prioritise upcoming work and projects.

The standing committee heard a presentation from Ronald Janssen, former chief economist at the European Trade Union Confederation. Janssen outlined a number of economic model deficiencies which have been exposed by the pandemic, and considered ways to reverse the policy direction of past decades and to avoid a cycle of “Debt-Austerity-Deregulation”. In the discussion, participants talked about the role of local and regional authorities, the exacerbation of discrimination and inequalities, and the position of private banks, amongst other things.

The LRG standing committee also had an internal discussion on how to move forward with the Social Dialogue project with CEMR during this uncertain period.