Transcript Document
EPSU – young workers and precarious
work
Nick Clark
Working Live Research Institute
June 2012
Main themes
3
Key sectors:
Energy
& water
Public administration, defence, social security
Health & social care
16-24
year olds
Employment
Precarity
Collective
bargaining
Training, progression & careers
EU 27 and selected countries
Bulgaria
Czech
Republic
France
Germany
Greece
Italy
Netherlands
Spain
UK
Youth in the European labour
market
High
level of unemployment (21% compared to
10%, ranging from 8% Austria to 46% Spain)
Low
activity rate (50-60%, compared to 70%+)
Increasing participation in tertiary education
In work, more likely to
Have
temporary contract (4 times more likely)
Work part-time involuntarily
Be low paid
Less
Be
Hit
likely to
self-employed
hard during the crisis
Youth unemployment rates, EU-27 and
EA-17, seasonally adjusted, January 2000
- April 2012
Ratio of youth to adult unemployment
rates 1987-2010, EU
Change in youth unemployment rates 20072010 (EU 27)
Part time as % of all workers,
15-24 yrs
Proportion 16-24 year olds with temporary
contract (Eurostat Q2 2010)
Change in temporary employment
Activity status young people
EU 27, 2008 (from EMCO report no 5 ,2010)
Policy context in Europe
Youth on the Move – Commission’s 2010 initiative, primarily aimed
at improving educational levels, but also to launch “Youth
employment framework”
Interventions to support young workers in OECD countries report
(World Bank 2007) found direct employment strategies in US and
Canada, but not Europe
European Employment Observatory Review, Youth employment
measures, 2010 (published Feb 2011) – no policy initiatives
reported relating to state as employer
Eurofound study (2011) finds active labour market strategies
common government response (sometimes contested by unions),
but again no mention of public sector’s role as employer
“Overall, governments’ policies towards young workers have tended to emphasise the
importance of getting young people into work, no matter the quality of the jobs available.”
YOUNG WORKERS & PUBLIC
SERVICES
Youth employment by sector Q2
2011 (EU-27) (Q4 in brackets)
All industries Electricity,
and services gas
EU (27)
Water, waste
Pubic administration,
defence,
Health,
social
social work
security
9.1 (10.0)
6.2 (6.2)
5.4 (4.9)
4.8(4.7)
7.6(8.2)
Bulgaria
6.1
-
-
-
-
Czech Rep
6.3
4.2
3.9
4.2
4.0
France
8.8
6.9
5.6
4.6
5.9
11.0
10.4
-
8.3
11.6
Greece
4.4
-
-
2.6
2.9
Italy
5.1
4.0
2.9
1.5
2.5
Netherlands
15.5
-
-
4.8
11.0
Sweden*
10.9
-
-
3.7
8.4
5.7
4.9
-
3.1
4.9
12.8
9.9
11.7
4.9
8.7
Germany
Spain
UK
Youth employment by sector Q2
2011 (EU-27) (Q4 in brackets)
All industries Electricity,
and services gas
EU (27)
Water, waste
Pubic administration,
defence,
Health,
social
social work
security
9.1 (10.0)
6.2 (6.2)
5.4 (4.9)
4.8(4.7)
7.6(8.2)
Bulgaria
6.1
-
-
-
-
Czech Rep
6.3
4.2
3.9
4.2
4.0
France
8.8
6.9
5.6
4.6
5.9
11.0
10.4
-
8.3
11.6
Greece
4.4
-
-
2.6
2.9
Italy
5.1
4.0
2.9
1.5
2.5
Netherlands
15.5
-
-
4.8
11.0
Sweden*
10.9
-
-
3.7
8.4
5.7
4.9
-
3.1
4.9
12.8
9.9
11.7
4.9
8.7
Germany
Spain
UK
Youth employment by sector Q2
2011 (EU-27) (Q4 in brackets)
All industries Electricity,
and services gas
EU (27)
Water, waste
Pubic administration,
defence,
Health,
social
social work
security
9.1 (10.0)
6.2 (6.2)
5.4 (4.9)
4.8(4.7)
7.6(8.2)
Bulgaria
6.1
-
-
-
-
Czech Rep
6.3
4.2
3.9
4.2
4.0
France
8.8
6.9
5.6
4.6
5.9
11.0
10.4
-
8.3
11.6
Greece
4.4
-
-
2.6
2.9
Italy
5.1
4.0
2.9
1.5
2.5
Netherlands
15.5
-
-
4.8
11.0
Sweden*
10.9
-
-
3.7
8.4
5.7
4.9
-
3.1
4.9
12.8
9.9
11.7
4.9
8.7
Germany
Spain
UK
Ranked by proportion of youth in
population
EU states as employers of
youth
Sectoral change in employment by age
2008-2010 in France (Schulze-Marmeling, HERA on EIRO)
Job security and age: French civil
service (2008)
Youth as % all temps: health & social work
q1 2008-q2 2011, EU 27
Youth as % all temps: public admin, defence,
social sec.
q1 2008-q2 2011, EU 27
Youth as % all temps: water, waste
q1 2008-q2 2011, EU 27
Youth as % all temps: electricity, gas, etc.
q1 2008-q2 2011, EU 27
summary from data
Unemployment becoming more widespread amongst
Europe’s young workers
Temporary contracts and involuntary part time working
more prevalent for young workers
Public services perform worse than economy as a whole
in employing young workers – public administration
universally the worst
Young workers more affected by crisis – particularly in
public services
Interviews – key
themes
Forms
of precarious work amongst young
workers in target sectors
part-time,
temporary or zero hours contracts in health
& social care (Netherlands, Sweden, Germany)
collapse in permanent posts for young in public
admin (Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, France, Greece)
agency working in general not an issue, except in
France, some in UK.
Social
dialogue:
Recruitment
of young workers
schemes – Sweden
UK health
otherwise previous schemes halted under austerity
national
Training
for young workers
few
places in public admin,
professional training continues in health,
apprenticeships in utilities
transition
of young workers from precarious to more
stable work
Bargaining
Bulgaria,
on pay
Germany
actions by unions
Reaching out to the young at school/college
Netherlands, Czech Republic
Campaigning over “youth” issues
Italy, France
Youth structures
Sweden, Netherlands, France, Czech Republic
Recruitment drives
UK, Bulgaria
Conclusions
few
national labour market interventions aimed
at youth are expressed through public
employment (none exclusively so)
public services reluctant to employ young
people, regardless of their qualifications
even poor quality jobs for young people a rare
commodity in parts of the public sector
relatively
little precarious working amongst
young workers in the public services – because
previous precarious work has resulted in them
being largely eliminated
public utilities slightly better – capital intensive
reduced prospect for permanent work in health
workers’ chosen field
growth in social care drawing in young people
on flexible contracts ( e.g. part-time with no core
hours)
European
public administration has become a
middle- to retirement-age occupation with
almost no access for the young, no matter how
well qualified
EPSU affiliates turning to young members (and
potential members)
Little evidence of young workers’ interests
featuring in collective bargaining,
May be at local level
workers more likely to be on low wages –
but does not keep them in work.
the orthodoxy that money spent on public
services is money wasted is failing the young in
particular
young
EPSU
ESPU
affiliates at early stages of refocusing
their work onto the needs of young workers.
Specific experiences of good practice need to
be located and described in more detail.
Austerity has led to public employment being
denied to the young –
developing
a distinct European trade union campaign
“youth guarantee” specifically for the public services.
what else do we need to know?
Privatisation
and outsourcing
Employment plans to support jobs in public
services
Local good practice, in particular in the
public utilities