The dominant form of globalisation, i.e. financial globalisation, is the biggest challenge for employees and their representations of interest. If it remains largely unregulated, not only the natural resources will be destroyed, but also social sustainability will be prevented. The negative effects of this development are first of all to be felt on the local and regional level. It is here, therefore, where counter initiatives and strategies have to start. The quality of life and working-life has not necessarily increased through globalisation and the New Economy, though the possibilities of improved communication via email and Internet were positively acknowledged. The biggest challenge is the increasing inequality on a global scale, which is produced so far by the New Economy. As education contributes to enlarge this gap, it has to be adapted to the new social needs to overcome this polarisation. The ongoing development must be reversed: Real needs demand more spending for public than for private consumption. Intermediate organisations can play a positive role in this process. Contents: Gy¿rgy Sz¿/Carl-Heinrich B¿sling/Johannes Hartkemeyer: Foreword - Hans-Gert P¿ttering: European Perspectives - Opening Speech - Heinz-Hermann Witte: Lower-Saxonian Perspectives - Speech - Gy¿rgy Sz¿: Labour, Globalisation and The New Economy - Kevin Doogan: Job Insecurity and Long-term Employment in Europe - Yunus A. Dauda: Labour Relations in a Changing Globalised World: The ECOWAS Experience - Debi S. Saini: Labour Power in the New Economy: Perspectives in the Global and Indian Contexts - Renate Schr¿der: Journalism in Europe and the Global Market - Richard L. Harris: The 'New Economy', Enron, and California's Energy Crisis - Julia Rozanova: Welfare State is Dead - Long Live Welfare Corporation? The Cases of Russian Companies - Francesca Degiuli: The Development of Temporary Work in Italy: Or How Flexibility Becomes Routine - Roy Green: Structural Reform and Labour Markets in Europe: The Case of Ireland - Jan de Leede/Jan Kees Looise: Decentralisation and Individualisation of Employment Relations? The Dutch Example - Dietrich Brandt/Stefan Frank/Francesco Garibaldo/Ellen Olbertz: Initiating Knowledge Management, Learning and Innovation Processes - Experiences of the All-German Project SENEKA in its European Context - Anup Dash: The Social Economy of Self-help Groups - Liana Carleial/Maria Lucia de Figueiredo Gomes Filha/Lafaiete Santos Neves: The Role of Institutions in the Preparation of Industrial Workforce in the Automotive Sector of the State of Parana (Brazil): Limits and Possibilities