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Flexi-Security and the ETUC

Flexi-Security and the ETUC. UNI- Europa conference on Flexicurity, Copenhague, February 2008 Ronald Janssen, ETUC. Flexi-security:The ETUC’s starting point. Definition: Policies that at the same time and deliberately enhance both the flexibility of as well as security on labour markets.

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Flexi-Security and the ETUC

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  1. Flexi-Security and the ETUC UNI- Europa conference on Flexicurity, Copenhague, February 2008 Ronald Janssen, ETUC

  2. Flexi-security:The ETUC’s starting point • Definition: Policies that at the same time and deliberately enhance both the flexibility of as well as security on labour markets. • Philosophy: Thinking flexibility and security together: Business as well as labour are in need of security as well as flexibility

  3. Why Labour needs flexibility • Workers that are mobile and skilled have a better bargaining position • They will not accept the ‘blackmail’ to cut wages in order to subsidize jobs and firms that have failed to innovate • A job for life’ (if it exists) not always a perfect guarantee • Internal functional flexibility (with multi-skilling, rotating jobs, training) safeguards jobs through innovation • Flexibility and autonomy in working time

  4. Why Business profits from a secure work force • Stable jobs are good for productivity • A secure work force: open to innovation and change • A secure work force: willing to share its (tacit) knowledge (thé competitive advantage in today’s world!) • Workers will only be willing to move between jobs if the economy is built up of good and stable jobs offering secure work cntracts

  5. A stable workforce is a productive workforce

  6. Implementing flexi-security: ‘Easier said than done’ • What all too often happens is ‘flexi-security’ being hijacked by one particular interest • Resulting in a ‘polluted’ debate, in ‘unbalanced’ policies, in ‘winner takes it all’ strategy

  7. Where’s the balance in the following policy proposal? • Reduce level of job protection and make it easy and cheap for business to fire workers • Benefits harm incentives to take up a job, so they need to be ‘adequate’,(not generous) and ‘modern’ (‘workfare’ and in-work benefits). • Lifelong learning: Employers already pay much, time for workers to invest their time • Easy firing of workers will create new jobs, so no need for accompanying job and growth friendly economic policies

  8. In other words… • …if workers want security, let them ‘eat their cake’ and take up a new job. • … if we want to tackle precarious work and get the ‘outsiders’ in, then ‘insiders’ need to give up on thier well protected jobs

  9. What would be the consequences of unbalanced flexicurity? • Higher inequality • Not more but less jobs • Good, regular jobs, replaced by insecure, precarious ones • In other words, a new ‘insiders/outsider’ divide with managers and supervisors gaining a lot and this at the expense of ‘casualized’ labour.

  10. ‘Easy firing’ tends to increase inequality

  11. What is behind this? • ‘Easy firing’ reduces worker motivation, loyality,motivation • To maintain more productivity, more supervision is necessary • Higher demand for managers: ‘The sky becomes the limit’ • How to finance them? Compress wages for the rest of workers (possible because of reduced job protection).

  12. More jobs ?

  13. European labour markets: Too rigid?

  14. ETUC’s proposals for balanced flexicurity policy • General strategy: Get business back into the equation by putting the promotion of quality of jobs at the heart of the strategy ( implies stable employment,collective bargaining rights,…) • One key discussion: No ‘blind’ but ‘smart’ reforms of job protection systems and labour law

  15. At the heart of the flexicurity discussion: Job protection systems • Do not throw away the ‘baby with the bathwater It’s not as simple as giving up on job protection in exchange for employment security • Job protection and employment security are not substitutes but complement each other • It’s about using robust labour law and robust job protection as a powerful platform to bargain employment or transitional security

  16. Advance notification (months) for 4 year tenure workers in case of collective dismissal

  17. Sweden: Career transition agreement • Long period of advance notification used to provide support for workers • All firms pay into (sector) fund • From the moment of notification, sector fund steps in into firm to provide job counselling, job search help, re-training, paid internships with another employer, financial support for setting up a new business

  18. Older workers in Sweden • ‘Last in, first out’ principle entrenched in Swedish labour law • But: Collective agreements can deviate from this • Result: Trade unions and business striking deals for transitional security and severance pay for older workers

  19. Netherlands: Dual EPL system • Dual system of job protection: Either firm pays (a lot), either firm asks prior permissal to fire to regional labour office • In latter case,there’s an opportunity for trade unions to bargain a collective agreement on transitional security for workers to be fired.

  20. Joint recommendation of European social partners on job protection and labour law • Recommend ‘to review, and if neccesary adjust, the design of labour law and job protection • ‘with a view to’ • Ensure balance between flexibility and security. Provide adequate security for all contracts • Develop complementary employment security measures • Enhance legal certainty with regard to scope, coverage of labour law • Respect the European Social Aquis • Promote stable employment relationships • Improve work/life balance

  21. Where are we now? Common European Flexicurity principles: A number of good things … • Internal flexicurity as important as external flexicurity • Each country to decide its own arrangement • Improve transition from unstable to stable and legally secure jobs (Implicit target: stable jobs) • Aware of financial and budgetary limits

  22. Where are we now? • … but also some questions? • Where has ‘security’ gone to? • Contractual arrangements to be flexible and ‘reliable’ • Adequate social benefits providing incentives and support for job transitions • If ‘new jobs’ so important, why are growth friendly macro economic policies and innovation policies not being mentioned? • Impression created that more exceptions in labour law are necessary to provide ‘stepping stones’ for ‘groups at risk’.

  23. Conclusion • The ‘flexicurity’ battlefield is moving from the level of European principles… • ….to national level implementation • Watch out for Commission/Council’s country recommendations.. • … and go ‘on the offensive’ instead

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