Documents labour market flexibility 398 results

"This new ToUChstone pamphlet challenges the neo-liberal assumption that economic success is contingent upon weakly regulated labour markets. Based on an extensive evidence review of the economic literature, it demonstrates that the case for unfettered free markets has been badly discredited and that fairer rights for workers are compatible with economic success - as well as bringing far better social outcomes.
The authors (Stewart Lansley and Howard Reed) prove that despite the siren voices from the business lobby, fair regulation is an essential part of modern labour markets. If economic policy was based on evidence, the UK would be making immediate moves towards a new model - promoting both growth and fairness."

"This doctoral research critically examines labour market flexibilisation policies in France, challenging the mainstream narrative that links flexibilisation with economic growth and reduced unemployment. Adopting a class relational perspective, it redefines labour market flexibilisation as a transformation in the social relations of production, facilitating the increasing rate of exploitation in many countries.
This study analyses these policies as a manifestation of a concrete capitalist class struggle to (re)produce an exploitable labour force, influenced by neoliberalism and the 1970s profitability crisis. Focusing on France, this research uniquely combines a socio-historical analysis of the French labour market, quantitative macro-economic data, and a mixed-methods case study of France Télécom. This approach reveals the nuanced forms of flexibilisation in France, particularly in the context of diminishing union density and evolving collective bargaining. The thesis aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the power dynamics between capital and labour, offering insights into the covert strategies of French capitalism in response to economic challenges since the 1970s."

"Industry 4.0 and robots are said to speed up productivity thereby inducing a 'quantum leap' towards the 'end of work' and calling for a complete change of social security institutions that have so far been closely linked to employment. Unconditional basic income is the cry of the day, curiously advocated in particular by, for example, employers in high-tech industries and modern financial or distributive services. In the name of freedom, liberty and flexibility they suggest a form of security without any institutional complexity. The hidden agenda in the remaining empty institutional black box, however, is the dream of freedom from any bureaucracy and painstaking negotiations between competing interests or even getting rid of any responsibility to the new risks related to the digital revolution. This paper argues that the productivity leap promise of the digital economy is far from empirical evidence and that the proper answer to the new world of work are active securities, fair risk-sharing between employees, employers and the state and 'negotiated flexicurity' calling for a higher complexity of institutions corresponding to the increasing variability of employment relationships. The paper (1) starts with stylised facts about the new world of work with a focus on non-standard forms of employment in the EU28 member states and briefly explains the main determinants of this development. It (2) then proceeds with an analytical framework of the role of institutions and (3) applies this framework to develop suggestions of new security provisions to the main forms of non-standard employment. (4) The paper concludes by reflecting on the consequences for the prospective European Pillar of Social Rights."

"Across many countries, the rise of atypical work has been noted whereby employees are increasingly in less secure contractual situations. While this might lead to more flexible labour markets, there are potential downsides for individuals. We explore the prevalence of atypical work in Ireland which provides a fascinating case-study. Ireland experienced a dramatic deterioration in its labour market around the Great Recession with unemployment rising from 4.8 percent in 2007 to 15 percent in 2012. This situation was also reversed somewhat quickly with unemployment falling to 8 percent by 2016. Such dramatic swings provide the context in which we explore whether atypical work increased for new job holders with the onset of recession and whether or not this weakened as the economy recovered. We find that atypical work did increase with the recession and, although moderating, the likelihood of new jobs being atypical persisted into the recovery. This raises important questions about whether economic recovery alone will improve job quality, in addition to jobs numbers."

"Fitting duration models on an inflow sample of jobs in Germany starting in 2002 to 2010, the author investigates the impact of employers' use of temporary agency work on regular workers' job stability. In line with dual labor market theory, the author finds that nontemporary jobs are significantly more stable when employers use temporary agency workers. The rise in job stability stems mainly from reduced transitions into nonemployment, suggesting that nontemporary workers are safeguarded against involuntary job losses. The findings are robust to controlling for unobserved permanent employer characteristics and changes in the observational window that comprises the labor market disruption of the Great Recession."

"This study examines policies that can successfully address long-term unemployment. It focuses on Denmark and Sweden, where, despite sizeable job losses during the crisis, labour market indicators are at present better than in any other EU country. By looking at the interaction between labour market flexibility (especially in hiring and firing regulations) and passive and active policies, we argue that well-designed active policies matter more than labour market flexibility for employment."

"Der Beitrag geht der Frage nach, welche Faktoren für die Expansion atypischer Beschäftigungsformen bestimmend sind. Zunächst beschreibt er Entwicklung und Strukturen von Teilzeitarbeit, Mini- und Midijobs, Leiharbeit und Befristungen. Nachfolgend diskutiert er ausgewählte in der Literatur angebotene Argumente, die als mögliche Treiber angeführt werden. Dabei lässt sich zeigen, dass Makroargumente wie die Tertiarisierung oder Feminisierung ohne eine mikrotheoretische Fundierung nur bedingt Antworten liefern können. Der Bedarf an Flexibilität und an deren spezifischen Formen unterscheidet sich stark je nach Wirtschaftszweig. Neben nachfrageseitigen sind außerdem angebotsseitige Faktoren zu berücksichtigen, beispielsweise unterschiedliche Zeitpräferenzen der Beschäftigten sowie die Angebots-Nachfrage-Relationen auf den Teilarbeitsmärkten. Resümierend plädiert der Autor für weitergehende theoretische Forschungsanstrengungen – nebst deren empirischer Überprüfung –, die monokausale Erklärungen überwinden, die verschiedenen Dimensionen verknüpfen und perspektivisch ein Gesamtmodell anstreben, das atypische Beschäftigung in den übergreifenden Kontext flexibler Arbeit einzuordnen vermag."