The under-utilization of the labour of disabled and older people is a problem across the European Union (EU) but is most pronounced in Central and Eastern European (CEE) member states, where labour shortages are greatest. This presents a puzzle that is explored with reference to a project with social partners from Estonia, Hungary and Poland, the objective of which was to stimulate debate and actions around the role of industrial relations actors in facilitating work accommodations for disabled and older people. After establishing the extent of the demographic labour crisis in these countries, the policy tools being employed to address it are scrutinized and found wanting. A variety of factors are identified as having contributed to debate in this area: historical legacy, social policy path-dependency, social partner identity and agency, a ‘dead letter’ approach to EU policies, and the limited role of civil society organizations. We examine the potential of the concept of sustainable work, more commonly found in Northern Europe, to influence alternative approaches to the employment of disabled and older people in countries where state, labour and employment relations differ.

残疾人和老年人的劳动力利用不足是整个欧盟（EU）的问题，但在劳动力短缺最为严重的中欧和东欧（CEE）成员国中最为明显。这就提出了一个难题，该难题是与爱沙尼亚，匈牙利和波兰的社会伙伴一起开展的一个项目所探讨的，其目的是激发关于劳资关系参与者在为残疾人和老年人提供工作场所方面的作用的辩论和行动。在确定了这些国家的人口劳工危机的程度之后，对用于解决该危机的政策工具进行了审查，并发现缺乏这种工具。在此方面，许多因素被认为促成了辩论：历史遗产，社会政策路径依赖，社会伙伴身份和代理，欧盟政策的“死信”方法，以及民间社会组织的作用有限。我们研究了在北欧，国家和地区，劳动和就业关系不同的国家，可持续工作的概念（在北欧更为常见）对替代就业方式的影响。