The following table describes the status, the proposer and other metadata of this motion.
| Consultation: | FYEG General Assembly 2026 |
|---|---|
| Agenda item: | 8. Resolutions |
| Proposer: | Les Jeunes Écologistes |
| Status: | Published |
| Submitted: | 04/15/2026, 17:55 |
R7: The Right to Be Lazy: Dismantling the Capitalist Narrative of Relentless Work.
Motion text
The Right to Be Lazy: Dismantling the Capitalist Narrative of Relentless Work
Preamble
The Federation of Young European Greens (FYEG)...
- Acknowledges that the prevailing capitalist work culture prioritizes
relentless economic growth over human well-being, driving individuals and
society to exhaustion rather than emancipation.
- Notes that while the European Union boasts an overall employment rate of
75.8% for 2024, this relentless pursuit of employment targets often
ignores the degrading structural quality of those jobs and the fundamental
well-being of the populace.
- Is deeply concerned that workers' rights across Europe have plummeted to
their worst level in at least a decade, with 54% of European countries now
denying workers basic access to justice, and 41% violating the fundamental
right to establish and join a trade union.
- Emphasizes that the burden of this capitalist system falls unevenly across
demographics, evidenced by a persistent 10.0 percentage point gender
employment gap across the EU that widens to 12.0 percentage points as
workers age, and reaches severe extremes of 19.3 percentage points in
countries like Italy.
- Reaffirms our commitment to Green values of social justice, feminism, and
intersectionality, recognizing that an economy driven by overproduction
and endless labor actively destroys both human well-being and the planet's
ecological balance.
Political Analysis
The Systemic Crisis of Overwork The capitalist system thrives on a narrative
that glorifies endless labor while ignoring its structural harms. This framework
benefits a select few property owners while harming the broader public, who are
pressured to dedicate their lives entirely to productivity. Modern flexible
working arrangements, rather than freeing society, have increasingly given rise
to widespread precariousness and new inequalities. The historical demand for the
"Right to Work" has frequently been manipulated as a tool for continued
capitalist exploitation rather than human liberation.
The Erosion of Labor Protections While the capitalist class demands infinite
productivity, it actively dismantles the structures protecting workers. The
European Commission is currently pushing a dangerous deregulation drive that
would strip away vital labor law protections and undermine collective agreements
for workers. Concurrently, governments and employers are ruthlessly cracking
down on labor organizing, exacerbated by the rise of far-right political
movements that actively attack the right to strike.
The Paradox of Machinery and Over-Qualification Modern machinery and
technological advancement possess boundless productive power that should
drastically reduce working hours for everyone. Instead of utilizing automation
to redeem society from the most arduous labor and grant days of rest, capitalism
forces workers into an absurd competition with machines, leading to systemic
overproduction and economic instability. Furthermore, the system fails to
utilize human potential appropriately; currently, 21.4% of EU workers are over-
qualified, trapped in jobs beneath their educational and skill levels just to
survive the demands of the labor market.
Call to action
FYEG demands a radical societal shift away from the dogma of endless economic
growth and labor. We must pursue sweeping reductions in the standard working
week without loss of pay, striving toward the ultimate goal of drastically
reduced work hours.
Member Organisations (MOs) must advocate nationally for the equitable rationing
of work to provide all citizens with the leisure necessary for true human and
civic development. We commit to sharing best practices across our network to
challenge the moralistic narrative that equates human worth solely with economic
productivity.
The Green political family should integrate demands for technological dividends
into their legislative programs. We demand that the efficiencies gained through
automation and artificial intelligence be translated directly into increased
leisure time for workers, rather than exclusively generating profits for
capitalists.
FYEG calls upon the European Commission to abandon its deregulation agenda and
urgently bring forward a Quality Jobs Package. This package must implement rules
ensuring that public procurement money only goes to companies that strictly
respect collective agreements.
We urge our Member Organisations to collaborate with trade unions and organized
civil society to build national campaigns resisting the capitalist narrative of
relentless labor. We must replace it with the demand for the right to leisure,
prioritizing rest and well-being for all demographics.
We mandate the Green political family to champion these demands in all future
electoral platforms, ensuring accountability in the transition toward an economy
that leverages technological dividends to reduce working hours and protect the
social rights of all citizens.
Sources:
Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. (n.d.).
European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan. European Commission.
European Trade Union Confederation. (2025, June 2). Workers’ rights in Europe at
‘worst level’ in a decade signals need for policy overhaul.
Eurostat. (n.d.). Employment - annual statistics. Statistics Explained.
Eurostat. (n.d.). EU statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC)
methodology - Intersections between sub-populations of Europe 2030 indicators on
poverty and social exclusion. Statistics Explained.
Eurostat. (n.d.). Living conditions in Europe - work intensity. Statistics
Explained.
International Trade Union Confederation. (2025). Global Rights Index 2025.
Lafargue, P. (2023). The right to be lazy and other writings (A. Andriesse,
Trans.). New York Review Books. (Original work published 1883).
Supporters
Amendments
none