janine leschke, european trade union institute, brussels

Forms of precarious employment in the EU: state of the art and relevant legislation

Workshop on stepping up coordination on collective bargaining to better fight precarious work in the EFFAT sectors, Portugal 16-18 March

Janine Leschke, European Trade Union Institute, Brussels

Janine Leschke © etui (2011)2

Structure of presentation

1) Precarious work – some definitions

2) Illustration of developments in precarious employment: ● Part-time, fixed-term, temporary agency work, ● In-work poverty and trade union density

3) European initiatives on precarious employment:● Directives on part-time, fixed-term work and temp agency work● Employment Strategy and OMCs including flexicurity discussion

4) Conclusion


Some definitions of precarious work (I)

No single definition

(Some) dimensions of precariousness

insufficient…

…wages or income (e.g. working-poor)

…job security

…collective interest representation

…access to social security (e.g. health, pensions, unemployment)

…access to training, life-long learning and career opportunities

…health and safety at work


Some definitions of precarious work (II)

Precariousness often related to contract form: Fixed-term employment Temporary agency work Seasonal work Part-time and particularly marginal employment (Bogus) self-employment Undeclared work etc.

Certain groups overrepresented:e.g. women, youth, migrant workers


Developments in non-standard employment

●Lisbon Strategy developments●Part-time employment●Temporary employment ●Temp. agency work●In-work poverty by contract type●Trade union density among non-standard workers


Developments in employment, unemployment and non-standard employment over the last 10 years (EU27*)

Data source: European Labour Force Survey. For agency work penetration rate Ciett 2010.*Data on agency work penetration rates based on average of 22 EU27 countries + Norway and Switzerland.

62.2

64.3

28.9

32.1

16.2

19.4

14.0

12.3

9.68.7

1.5 1.5

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

702

00

0

20

01

20

02

20

03

20

04

20

05

20

06

20

07

20

08

20

09

20

10

Q2

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40Total empl. rateLisbon (15-64 years)

P art-time workers(women)

P art-time workers

Temporary workers

unemployment rate

Agency workpenetration rates


Part-time employment by gender, 2010Q2

Data source: European Labour Force Survey. Age: 15-64.

0

10

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80

Bul

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Males 2010Q2 Females 2010Q2 Total 2010Q2



Part-time employment: developments during the crisis


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2008Q2 2010Q2


Involuntary part-time employment: developments during the crisis


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10

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Total 2007 Total 2009


Temporary employment by gender, 2010Q2


0

5

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EU

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and

Males Females Total


Temporary employment: youth particularly affected (2010Q2)


0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70R

oman

ia

Lith

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Bul

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total youth (15-24)


Temporary employment: developments during the crisis


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2008Q2 2009Q2 2010Q2


Involuntary temporary employment: developments during the crisis


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2007 2009


Agency work penetration rate by country, 2008 and 2009

Data source: Ciett 2010. Defined as number of full-time equivalents as supplied by Ciett Natioanl Federations divided by the total active working population.

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In-work poverty rate by personal and work-place characteristics, 2007 (EU27)

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Union density: employees in standard and temporary jobs mid 2000s

Chart 1.5: Union density employees in standard and temporary jobs, mid 2000s

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

SE FI DK BE SI LU IE IT AT UK EL DE NL PL HU ES

standard temporary

Source: J. Visser, ICTWSS database 3.0, 2010, based on estimates from ESS and ISSP surveys, taken from Industrial Relations

in Europe 2010.


Union density: employees in full-time and part-time employment in Germany, the Netherlands and the UK: 1992-2008 (%)

Source: Vandaele/Leschke (2010) Following the ‘organising model’ of British unions? Organising non-standard workers in Germany and the Netherlands.

1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008

West-Germany

Part-time 9 14 11 10 14 14 16 n.a. n.a.

Full-time 32 26 27 29 27 25 23 n.a. n.a.

Netherlands

12<20 hours 11 13 13 12 12 11 12 12 11

20<35 hours 23 24 24 24 24 23 23 22 20

>35 hours 30 31 31 30 28 27 27 26 24

UK

Part-time 22 21 20 20 21 21 21 21 22

Full-time 40 38 35 33 32 32 32 31 30


Wrapping up statistical analysis on non-standard employment

● Large contribution to employment growth over last decade● Large heterogeneity in extent between countries ● Often involuntary● Strong crisis impact● Certain labour market groups more affected● more likely to be in-work poor ● lower trade union density, ● fewer access to social security, training and lifelong learning (not

shown)


EU level actions and legislation on precarious employment


EU level actions and legislation on precarious employment

Actors: European social partners, European Commission, Council, Parliament

Legislation: ● Framework agreements and directives on

● Part-time work ● Fixed-term work● Temporary agency work● (Posted workers)

Coordination of employment policies● European Employment Strategy and flexicurity agenda (EU2020

developments)


Legislation

European social partners have concluded framework agreements on flexible employment

The framework agreements have been implemented as directives

They address the employment conditions of non-standard workers: Improving the quality of non-standard employment Facilitate the development of flexible forms of working

Member states have to comply with the directives (they may maintain or introduce more favourable provisions)

In the case of temporary agency work social partner negotiations failed, draft proposal by the European Commission


Council directive 97/81/EC on part-time work (I)

Purpose: removal of discrimination improve quality of part-time work facilitate development of part-time work on a voluntary basis contribute to the flexible organization of working time

Scope:● All part-time workers● Except:

● Member States may exclude part-time workers on a casual basis

Principle of equal treatment:● all employment conditions● principle of pro rata temporis● access to particular conditions of employment may be subject to a

period of service, time worked or earnings qualification


Council directive 97/81/EC on part-time work (II)

Employment opportunities and information:● give consideration for requests by workers to transfer from full-time to part-time

work and vice versa● inform about vacancies● facilitate access to part-time work at all levels of the enterprise (including

skilled and managerial positions)● facilitate access by part-time workers to vocational training to enhance career

opportunities and occupational mobility● the provision of appropriate information to existing bodies representing

workers about part-time work in the enterprise


Council directive 99/70/EC on fixed-term work (I)

Purpose:● improve the quality of fixed-term work by ensuring the application of the principle of non-

discrimination● prevent abuse arising from the use of successive fixed-term employment contracts or

relationships ● non-discriminiation (see part-time work directive)

Scope:● All fixed-term workers● Except:

● Initial vocational training + apprenticeship● Specific public or publicly-supported training, integration + vocational retraining

programme

Measures to prevent abuse:Introduce at least one of these objective reasons justifying renewal limit on total duration limit on the number of renewals


Council directive 99/70/EC on fixed-term work (II)

Employment opportunities and information:

● Inform about vacancies● Training opportunitites, career development, occupational mobility● Information to worker representative bodies● Fixed-term workers taken into consideration in calculating thresholds –

workers representative bodies


Directive 2008/104/EC on temporary agency work (I)

Directive preceeded by lengthy discussions Purpose: ensure protection of temp workers equal treatment as regards basic working and employment conditions

including pay from the first day of employment, unless a social partner derogation applies

establishing suitable framework for the use of temp agency work with view to contributing to creation of jobs and development of flexibel work forms

Scope:● Triangular relationship between the temporary-work agency (employer),

temporary agency worker and user undertaking (firm) (temporary assignment)

Principle of equal treatment:● basic working and employment conditions should be at least those which

would apply to such workers if they were recruited by the user undertaking to occupy the same job


Directive 2008/104/EC on temporary agency work (II)

Basic working and employment conditions: ● duration of working time, overtime, breaks, rest periods, night work,

(public) holidays, PAY● It‘s up to the MS whether occupational social security schemes are

included in basic working conditions

Employment opportunities and information:● equal access to collective facilities in the user company ● improved access to training and child-care facilities in periods between

assignments, in order to improve employability● the right to be informed about permanent employment opportunities in

the user undertaking


Problems and limits of directives

• Lengthy procedures • Only basic standards (heavily based on compromises) • Derogations are possible based on social partner agreement

(e.g. temp work directive)• Exclusion of certain groups possible (e.g. part-time workers on

casual basis, marginal workers, initial vocational training, etc.) • Statutory social security is not covered as it is a prerogative of

MS• Lack in enforcement of and knowledge about rights• Danger that employers will use other forms of work (e.g. bogus

self-employment) to avoid equal treatment


Coordination of employment policies in Europe: ESS and flexicurity (I)

European Employment Strategy (EES)● Ambitious employment rate targets (benchmarks)● Use of Open Method of Coordination

● Employment guidelines and quant/qual targets, national reform programmes, monitoring and recommendations, mutual learning and peer review

● Since 2007 flexicurity plays an important role in the EES● Key role in modernising labour markets and contributing to

employment rate target achievement

Recalling common principles of flexicurity ● flexible and reliable contractual arrangements ● comprehensive lifelong learning strategies ● effective active labour market policies ● modern social security systems


Coordination of employment policies in Europe: ESS and flexicurity (II)Flexicurity remains a key feature of the EU2020 strategy● Included in the ‘Flagship initiative for new skills and jobs‘● Four common principles remain in place but are filled with more concrete

meaning:● reducing LM segmentation (with regard to contracts, life-long learning,

ALMPs and social security); focus on internal flexibility; ‘making transitions pay‘; bigger role for social partners

● Regular monitoring and assesment of flexicurity policies across the EU

Latest developments:● Employment guidelines include explicit call for better social protection for

fixed-term and self-employed workers● Focus on the role of the PES with regard to Flexicurity● Idea of a “single contract”

● Open-ended with job protection increasing with tenure (e.g. through gradual rise of severance payment rights)

● Employment protection would gradually converge to that of current permanent contracts


Conclusions

● European and national level promotion of non-standard employment, strong rise in these employment forms

● Certain labour market groups over-represented● Crisis impacts

● First phase: better inclusion● Second phase: austerity packages with focus on LM and social policies

● Role of EES? – ambitious employment rate target, employment creation often by way of non-standard work

● Contribution of flexicurity to developments in precarious employment? ● In the past focus on flexibility rather than security● EU2020 current focus on reducing LM segmentation

● Role for social transfers, statutory minimum wage, life-long-learning and ALMP measures, work-life balance policies, etc.

● Role for trade unions at European and national level (organising precarious workers and including them in collective bargaining)

janine leschke, european trade union institute, brussels

Documents

term work

agency work penetration

agency workinwork poverty

better fight precarious

forms of precarious

rate lisbon

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brusselsjanine leschke