Transcript Employability and Quality of Work in Europe

Flexicurity :
models and systems in the EU
Flexicurity – verso i principci comuni della flexicurity
ISFOL - Convegno Venezia, 30 di Maggio 2008
Greet Vermeylen,
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
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Background : some of the challenges of
globalisation and demographic change
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Productivity and innovation :
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more flexibility needed by companies
Attract and keep a motivated workforce
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Ageing:
Employment careers will be longer : keep workforce fit
and able to work for a longer period
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Fertility rate :
work-life balance for men and women
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Flexicurity :
employment security, training, job development, ‘easing’
of transitions
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Life course perspective: transitions
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From a dynamic concept ...
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Flexibility covers an ever-widening range of
situations e.g. the High Performance workplace,
employment contracts, flexible working time
arrangements etc
A domination of the short-term : from massproduction to ‘flexible’ tailored production, ‘shorter
contracts’, changes in working hours
Hence, heterogeneity over homogeneity
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… to a workable concept
Flexibility Quantitative
Qualitative
External
Production system
-subcontracting,
outsourcing, and selfemployed workers
-> productive/geographical
Employment status
-Non permanent non
full-time contracts
-> numerical/ contractual
flexibility
flexibility
Internal
Working hours and pay
- Changes on working
time
-Individualisation in pay
Work organisation
-teamwork, multiskilling,
matrix organisation, etc
>Functional/ organisational
flexibility
->Time/financial flexibility
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Quantitative flexibility : Temporary employment /
part-time work - 2007 data (LFS)
Temporary employment
Part-time work
< 10 %
BE, BU, CZ, DK,
EE, IE, LV, LT,
LU, HU, MT,
AUT, RO, SV, UK
< 10 %
BU, CZ, EE, EL, CY,
LV, LT, HU, PL, RO,
SI, SK
10-20%
EU27
14%
D, EL, FR, IT, CY,
NL, SI, FI, SE
10-15%
EU27
18%
ES, FR, IT, IE, LU,
MT, PT, FI
>20%
ES (31%), PL, PT
>15%
BE, DE, DK, NL
(47%), AT,SE, UK
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Qualitative flexibility
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External
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The existence of subcontracting chains
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Contracting out strategic activities of high added value
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Contracting out non strategic activities of low added
value
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Internal
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Job enrichment, multi-skilling, working in teams ,
project groups
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Some challenges
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Different accents over the countries: choices embedded in
labour market structure and systems
External flexibility : often only for part of the workforce
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Particular contractual arrangements which offer flexibility
(FTC, TAW)
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Internal flexibility (working time or functional flexibility)
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Risk of labour market segmentation
equiping workers to deal with changes (employment security)
Important to make transitions possible
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Flexicurity
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flexicurity : integral combination of flexibilityoriented and security-oriented policies
Combination of policy measures introduced
simultaneously
Need to tackle flexibility and security together
Main idea: security does not come from ‘job
security’ but from security in employment and
during transitions
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Flexibility and social protection
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For employers:

social protection systems might be regarded as a burden
(inappropriateness to new economic realities)
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For workers in flexible forms of employment:
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social protection systems are not always adapted to their
situation (not necessarily sufficient security)
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These forms are often stimulated by states
- > growing need to overcome pbs of mismatch
between flexibility and security / flexicurity
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Social protection / labour market system :
how to adapt to need of flexibility / flexible
workers while keeping security
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Employment protection regulation (EPL)
Active labour market policies (activation / ALMP)
Transitions (unemployment benefits)
Social protection systems:
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Pension schemes (how to build up decent pension over different
pillars)
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Parental leave / health care / guaranteed minimum income
Taking into account also a life course perspective
All systems have to adapt, but each with their own particular accents
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Aims of social protection systems
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Decommodification
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Employability
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Ways to get back into employment: re-employment, IIary status, FTC, integration
schemes in companies
Can already start before ‘getting fired’/throughout the career : development of
personal projects that are not necessarily immediately profitable in the ST on the
labour market, skills development / capabilities
Training, development (learning opportunities in the job), work organisation etc
3rd one : redistribution ?
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Short term: temporary income to overcome ‘risks’, unemployment benefits, etc
Long term: contuation of income in case of structural/ long term events (disability,
pensions not linked to activities)
In some countries
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Key to combine flexibility and security :
trust
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In the future
 If people believe in the future, they will take up employment,
are more flexible and combine it with having a family etc
In changes
 Trust that changes are not catastrophic and that the means are
there to overcome and adapt (eg Danish flexicurity model)
In work
 People can plan over their life without too many
inconveniences and risks for their career/pensions
Job/employment interruptions /transitions
Support structure to combine working & non-working life
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Measures to be undertaken to make a
framework for a society of trust
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Social protection systems
 Maternity benefits, parental leave benefits
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(temporary) unemployment benefits, combined with ALMP
Adapted to new realities (eg pension rights for ‘non-standard’
workers)
Labour market measures
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Flexible working time arrangements at request of employee
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Employment security / Employability: training, ALMP
Smoothen transitions in fragmented careers (FT, PT, unemployment
spells)
Social infrastructures
 Childcare facilities, out of school care (afterschool, sick children)
While combating discrimination between men and women
 Taking into account different career trajectories
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Challenges posed between flexibility
and security
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Not a one fits all solution
Different ways possible with very different accents
Depend on the ‘system’
Historically rooted (not easy to make changes,
politically difficult/courage needed / certain limits)
 Economic situation of the countries
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->Reflection needed on how to do this in each
system !
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Flexicurity: normalisation of ‘atypical’
contracts
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Eg Dutch system:
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try and re-reflect upon ‘non-permanent contracts’ in
order to push labour market dynamics:
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Fixed-term contracts: get better rights
Temporary working agencies: idem
‘Transition’ easing
Taking into account rights accumulated for ‘life
course’
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Flexicurity: more flexibility for all workers
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Austria : Increase of occupational mobility:
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Reform of severance pay system, which workers can ‘take’ with them
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Berufsschutz
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Entgeltschutz
Denmark: A golden triangle between :
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A high labour mobility and liberal regime of employment protection (a high
turnover of hire and fire)
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A fairly generous and widespread social protection system (unemployment
benefit, cash benefit for non-insured)
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An active labour market policy – job and training offers combined with
availability criteria and sanctions
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+ close cooperation between social partners and gvt
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Important to ‘equip your workers’:
employment security
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In order to smoothen changes in (working) life
(transitions) : very important to keep up to date your
skills
Different ways to ensure continuous development of
workers : training, work organisation etc
However, huge differences over countries / high or
low skilled workers etc
Hence … room for reflection …
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Training in the workplace:
big differences over countries
Training
60
50
40
30
20
10
TR
EL
R
O
BG
IT
H
U
PT
Y
ES
C
FR
H
R
LT
LV
E
D
M
T
N
L
EE
C
Z
PL
IE
D
K
SK
AT
H
O
BE
U
K
SI
LU
N
C
FI
SE
0
Training paid for or provided by your employer, or by yourself if you are selfemployed?
Training paid for by yourself?
On-the-job training?
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Training paid by the employer
or yourself by education and type of
employment contract
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
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Some of the challenges to reflect upon
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Flexicurity touches upon all the spheres
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National, regional, workplace AND household level
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Often decisions are made at the kitchen table
Sustainability of the system
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Economic situation & trust
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Social infrastructure for an inclusive LM (eg affordable child care, etc)
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Life course : building up of rights (eg pension rights, second pillar schemes)
Risk of losers of this model:
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Low qualified ?
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‘Vulnerable workers’ / new generation of working poor?
-> hence : a holistic reflection needed
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Summing up …
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Flexicurity : potential to enhance competitiveness :
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most important element: reflect on rights and tools for workers
Combination of different forms of flexibility:
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With external flexibility: careful for labour market segregation / are
transitions possible?
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With internal flexibility:
could be way to combine work and personal life (decisions at
kitchen table)
way of enhancing employability/employment security for
workers (functional flexibility)
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Trust is vital ingredient:
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Involvement of all actors (companies, social partners, governments)
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Employment security :
Rights: social protection rights / all pillars / life course
Tools: specific attention to most vulnerable / employability
(equip workers to deal with change) / skills building / training
and work organisation
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Thank you
More info : www.eurofound.europa.eu
Email: [email protected]
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