Discover the report: Democracy at Work

This report was written by the International High-Level Expert Committee on Democracy at Work.

Video: Democracy at Work

Democracy at Work is a short documentary film produced in 2025 by director Séverine Dieudonné (former BBC journalist) and Attilio Bernasconi. It explores the mandate of the International High-Level Expert Committee on Democracy at Work, created by the Spanish Vice-President and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, and connects it to the practices of the cooperative and social economy in Spain, particularly at Mondragon, a world-renowned workers’ cooperative.

The documentary features: Yolanda Díaz, Minister of Labor; Teresa Ribera, Vice-President of the European Commission; Mikel Torres, Basque government minister; members of the Expert Committee: Isabelle Ferreras (chair) and Sara Lafuente, Almudena Mestre (Sannas); UGT: Fernando Luján de Frías (deputy secretary-general) and Patricia Ruíz Martínez (health at work secretary), CCOO: Carlos Gutiérrez Calderón (secretary for studies and union training), Laborales y Economía Social: Jone Nolte (ASLE), Iñigo Albizuri Landazabal, Saioa Arando Lasagabaster (Mondragon Corporation), etc. Co-produced by ASETT.

Democracy at Work: Distribution and Reception of the Report

The “Democracy at Work” report, commissioned by the Spanish government, marks an important milestone in the international debate on workplace democracy. It was officially presented in Madrid on February 2, 2026 by Isabelle Ferreras, Research Director at FNRS (Brussels), sociology professor at UCLouvain, and Chair of the International High-Level Expert Committee on Democracy at Work. The presentation took place in the presence of the Spanish Vice-President and Minister of Labor and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, who commissioned the report.

Very soon after this first presentation in Madrid, the report was discussed internationally. On February 4, 2026, it was presented at Harvard Law School as part of the John T. Dunlop Memorial Forum. Yolanda Díaz and Isabelle Ferreras discussed with Julie Battilana the two central promises of the report: participation and ownership for those who work.

On the same day, SICI and CLJE at Harvard Law School organized a briefing breakfast around the report with Julie Battilana, Yolanda Díaz, and Isabelle Ferreras, to present and comment on the main findings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On February 5, 2026, the report was presented in France during the DODES Agora Day at the École des Mines de Paris. Isabelle Ferreras spoke online from Boston to present the text to an audience of researchers and practitioners engaged in the democratic transformation of organizations. This day, dedicated to “equipping democracy” in companies, allowed the report to be included in French debates on democracy at work.

On February 12, 2026, the report was also discussed as part of the ASETT #DW Global Workshop Series, presenting it to an international community of researchers and field actors.

On February 24, 2026, in Madrid, a public conversation about the report will be held at Centro Abogados de Atocha, as part of the "ISEGORÍA: Companies and Democracy" series, with members of the International Expert Committee.

On March 30, 2026, Isabelle Ferreras will present and discuss the report at the London School of Economics, placing its proposals in a broader historical perspective, in dialogue with past democratization experiences such as the Meidner plan in Sweden.

On April 9-10, 2026, a presentation and in-depth discussion of the report will take place at the University of Lille and Sciences Po Lille during the Spring University “Companies & Democracy: Crossroads. National and European Issues and Perspectives.” Researchers, policymakers, trade unionists, employers, and civil society actors will debate the report.

On June 25, 2026, the report will also be discussed at the University of Oxford, at the Institute for Ethics in AI, during an event focused on the future of work and AI-related proposals.