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Actors in the world of work are facing an increasing number of
challenges, including automatization and digitalization, new types
of jobs and more diverse forms of employment. This timely book
examines employer and worker responses, challenges and
opportunities for social dialogue, and the role of social partners
in the governance of the world of work. Through interviews and
surveys, the volume provides direct evidence on three central
questions: how can we cultivate autonomous, bipartite social
dialogue in order to meet these critical challenges? How can the
social partners strengthen their representativeness and membership,
and extend their influence? What role can social partners and
social dialogue play regarding digitalization, and what best
practices can be identified? The volume also addresses significant
trends such as demographic changes, migration flows, global supply
chain management and environmental objectives. It covers the
current EU member states while extending analysis to EU candidate
and potential candidate countries, thus enlarging coverage to 34
European nations. The detailed evidence by theme and by individual
country will provide a unique source of ideas on social actors'
innovative roles in ensuring sustainable and inclusive practices in
the future world of work. This will be an invigorating read for
labour economics and labour policy scholars looking for a better
understanding of the new world of work. Labour organizations,
employers, trade unions and representatives of national and
supranational institutions will also benefit from the detailed case
studies in the volume.
The main original aim of the European Union was to promote
convergence towards higher economic growth and social standards.
However, EU countries have sometimes experienced different
trajectories, due in part to their different starting points and
the fact that their convergence on particular socio-economic
indicators has varied. At the same time, little evidence has so far
been presented on cross-country convergence within the EU. This
book aims to answer a number of important questions. To what extent
have European countries converged or diverged with EU-wide economic
and social indicators over the past 20 years? What have been the
drivers of convergence? Why do some countries lag behind, while
others experience continuous upward convergence? Why are these
trajectories not always linear? Particular attention is paid to the
role of institutions, actors and industrial relations - focusing on
the resources and strategies of governments, employers and trade
unions - in nudging EU countries onto an upward convergence path.
This book provides a unique analysis of socio-economic indicators
to identify convergence trends in the EU. It defines a number of
clusters that help to gauge the strengths and weaknesses of
national socio-economic models and the European Social Model.
Cross-country case studies help to identify the possible impact of
global movements (migration, foreign investment) and policies
(social protection, social dialogue, employment) on cross-country
convergence. This book offers a timely assessment of convergence
within the EU, identifying its drivers in the world of work and in
institutions and industrial relations. It presents examples of
where institutions and industrial relations can change convergence
outcomes and proposes a range of useful policy options. Scholars
and researchers will find it an invaluable reference for studies of
European affairs and social policies. Contributors include: D.
Anxo, B. Bembic, G. Bosch, V. Ciampa, P. Courtioux, C. Erhel, K.
Espenberg, A. Figueiredo, P. Gonzalez, D. Grimshaw, I. Marx, J.
Masso, I. Mierina, R. Munoz de Bustillo Llorente, P.J. O'Connell,
W. Salverda, A. Simonazzi, V. Soloviov, D. Vaughan-Whitehead, R.
Vazquez-Alvarez, L. Villamaina
The decision to enlarge the European Union by ten (eventually
thirteen) countries has surprisingly not been accompanied by much
discussion of the implications for Social Europe. This has led to
criticisms that enlargement is a purely economic process that will
sweep aside important social considerations: * Will the much lower
labour costs and social standards in the applicant countries -
especially those from Central and Eastern Europe - lead to 'unfair'
competition or 'social dumping'? * Will this process in turn
encourage current EU member-states to run-down their own social
provisions in order to be able to compete with the newcomers? * Do
the specific features of this new accession wave - the largest
enlargement so far and including markedly less-developed countries
- threaten the global survival of the so-called 'European Social
Model'? * What policies should be implemented in order to avoid a
weakening of current European social standards? These are the main
questions this book attempts to answer, on the basis of a
comprehensive assessment of the social policy areas most relevant
to EU enlargement - wages, working conditions, social protection,
employment, industrial relations - while also addressing its most
sensitive 'social dumping' aspects: capital relocation, labour
migration, and redirection of trade. EU enlargement is higher than
ever on the policy agenda and scholars and researchers of European
Studies and social policy will find this book an invaluable
reference.
International debate has recently focused on increased inequalities
and the adverse effects that they may have on both social and
economic developments. Income inequality, which is at its highest
level for the past half-century, may not only undermine the
sustainability of European social policy but also put at risk
Europe?s sustainable recovery. A common feature of recent reports
on inequality (ILO, OECD, IMF, 2015?2017) is their recognition that
the causes emerge from mechanisms in the world of work. The purpose
of this book is to investigate the possible role of industrial
relations, and social policies more generally, in reducing these
inequalities. The volume pays particular attention to the
contribution of social partners and social dialogue to achieving
concrete outcomes, notably in terms of flexibility and security for
both employers and workers. The key aim is to identify elements of
a response to a number of important questions: which countries have
succeeded in carrying out the necessary reforms without generating
further inequalities? What industrial relations systems seem to
perform better in this respect? What policy measures, institutions
and actors play a determinant role in achieving more balanced
outcomes? How can social dialogue address future transformations of
the world of work, while limiting inequalities? The scope of this
volume goes beyond pay to address other types of inequality ? in
the distribution of working time, access or re-access to jobs,
training and career opportunities, and social protection and
pensions. It also looks at inequalities that may affect particular
groups of workers, including women or young people, as well as
people in certain types of work arrangements, such as part-time or
temporary work or the self-employed. This book is vital reading for
anyone concerned with labour policy, industrial relations and
social welfare but, above all, with how advances in these areas can
contribute to the global fight against growing inequalities.
Contributors include: D. Anxo, B. Bembic, G. Bosch, P. Courtioux,
C. Erhel, K. Espenberg, G. Fiorani, G. Giakoumatos, D. Grimshaw, M.
Johnson, M. Karamessini, I. Marx, J. Masso, I. Mierina, R. Munoz de
Bustillo, B. Nolan, F. Pinto Hernandez, W. Salverda, A. Simonazzi,
M. Tverdostup, L. Van Cant, D. Vaughan-Whitehead, R.
Vazquez-Alvarez
`While many economists, policy-makers and commentators often point
at negative effects of globalization on wage inequality and income
distribution, few specific proposals have emerged so far. Daniel
Vaughan-Whitehead's book should be commended for proposing a
concrete approach for addressing the wage-related dimension of the
social issues raised by globalization---Pascal Lamy, Director
General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Geneva`Remedies
should be found for the worrying global wage trends so well
documented in this book, not only by governments but by employers
themselves, out of enlightened self-interest rather than generous
benefaction, in the pursuit of long-term profitability. Daniel
shows that there is still much room for tapping the resources of
corporate social responsibility: this potential must be exploited
to the full before anything else, and therefore it must be
investigated and publicized the way he does.'---D. Mario Nuti,
Professor, University of Rome `La Sapienza' and formerly of the
London Business School `This is an exceptionally important and
timely piece of work for the simple reason that it brings to our
attention a global crisis - that of unfair wages. In this volume,
Daniel provides an excellent analytical framework and tool that can
be applied at firm level. I fully expect that the different
dimensions of the fair wage proposed in this book will become
standard features of company annual wage reviews and of social
audits.'- Auret Van Heerden, President and CEO, Fair Labor
Association Over the past decade the emergence of corporate social
responsibility (CSR) has helped to improve corporate governance by
tackling such burning issues as child labour and human rights
violations. However, as the author argues in this important new
book, the time has now come to incorporate wage issues into CSR.
Daniel Vaughan-Whitehead proposes a new methodology, the `Fair
Wage' approach, providing CSR actors with a coherent and
comprehensive set of fair wage dimensions and indicators.
Application of this new approach in a large-scale auditing exercise
on wages in Asia and a number of qualitative case studies in China
provides unique, first-hand information on wage practices among
suppliers. The results confirm the need to address wage issues
using a broad spectrum of wage dimensions, including living wages,
minimum wages, social dialogue, payment of working hours and wage
development in accordance with prices, enterprise performance and
changes in technology and human capital. The `Fair Wage' approach
advocated in this book is a first, serious and concerted effort to
address the issue of wages, which are increasingly being used as
the adjustment variable at the end of the supply chain.
While recent studies have highlighted the phenomenon and risks of
increased inequalities between the top and the bottom of society,
little research has so far been carried out on trends relating to
the median income range that generally represents the middle class.
This volume examines the following questions: what are the main
transformations in the world of work over the last 20 years in
terms of the labour market, social dialogue and conditions of work,
wages and incomes that may have affected the middle class? How has
the middle class been shaped by the financial and economic crisis?
What are the long-term trends for the middle class in Europe? This
volume also investigates the potential risks and effects of the
reshuffling, or even weakening, of the middle class. On the social
side, it explores the ramifications of further retrenchment of the
European Social Model, which to a great extent has traditionally
been funded by the middle class. On the economic side, the book
investigates whether this process - especially from the perspective
of consumption and human capital - is endangering the long-term
sustainability of the current economic model. While presenting
evidence of a definite erosion of the middle class, this book
assesses the specific situation in each individual EU Member State
on the basis of detailed statistics and case studies of
professional categories that traditionally represent the middle
class. This book issues a timely warning about the latest trends
and future of the middle class in Europe. On this basis, it
presents policy considerations and options that will be useful to
policy-makers for ensuring the future of the middle class in
Europe. Scholars and researchers of European studies and social
policy, especially from its sustainability perspective, will find
the volume an invaluable reference. Contributors include: J.I.
Anton, D. Anxo, T. Barbieri, G. Bosch, P. Courtioux, C. Erhel, K.
Espenberg, A. Figueiredo, H. Figueiredo, S. Giakoumatos, P.
Gonzalez, D. Grimshaw, T. Kalina, M. Karamessini, S. Kuypers, B.
Maitre, N. Maitre, I. Marx, J. Masso, I. Mierina, R.
Munoz-de-Bustillo Llorente, B. Nolan, A. Rafferty, W. Salverda,
L.D. Santos, A. Simonazzi, I.G. Toth, D. Vaughan-Whitehead, R.
Vazquez-Alvarez
Since the Late 1980s incomes have fallen sharply in most countries
of Central and Eastern Europe, with unemployment and poverty rates
rising dramatically. The ILO's Central and Eastern European Team
has conducted a series of studies concerning the role of minimum
wages in the countries of this rapidly transforming region, in
particular looking at ways in which this role should be revised.
Based on this research, Minimum Wages in Central and Eastern Europe
examines the most crucial issues in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic,
Hungary, Moldavia, Poland, Romania and Russia, and compares their
systems with those of western industrialized economies. Bringing
together primary data so far unknown beyond a small circle of
policymakers and officials, the contributors consider the evidence
and the implications of new developments and recommend a series of
reforms.
`While many economists, policy-makers and commentators often point
at negative effects of globalization on wage inequality and income
distribution, few specific proposals have emerged so far. Daniel
Vaughan-Whitehead's book should be commended for proposing a
concrete approach for addressing the wage-related dimension of the
social issues raised by globalization---Pascal Lamy, Director
General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Geneva`Remedies
should be found for the worrying global wage trends so well
documented in this book, not only by governments but by employers
themselves, out of enlightened self-interest rather than generous
benefaction, in the pursuit of long-term profitability. Daniel
shows that there is still much room for tapping the resources of
corporate social responsibility: this potential must be exploited
to the full before anything else, and therefore it must be
investigated and publicized the way he does.'---D. Mario Nuti,
Professor, University of Rome `La Sapienza' and formerly of the
London Business School `This is an exceptionally important and
timely piece of work for the simple reason that it brings to our
attention a global crisis - that of unfair wages. In this volume,
Daniel provides an excellent analytical framework and tool that can
be applied at firm level. I fully expect that the different
dimensions of the fair wage proposed in this book will become
standard features of company annual wage reviews and of social
audits.'- Auret Van Heerden, President and CEO, Fair Labor
Association Over the past decade the emergence of corporate social
responsibility (CSR) has helped to improve corporate governance by
tackling such burning issues as child labour and human rights
violations. However, as the author argues in this important new
book, the time has now come to incorporate wage issues into CSR.
Daniel Vaughan-Whitehead proposes a new methodology, the `Fair
Wage' approach, providing CSR actors with a coherent and
comprehensive set of fair wage dimensions and indicators.
Application of this new approach in a large-scale auditing exercise
on wages in Asia and a number of qualitative case studies in China
provides unique, first-hand information on wage practices among
suppliers. The results confirm the need to address wage issues
using a broad spectrum of wage dimensions, including living wages,
minimum wages, social dialogue, payment of working hours and wage
development in accordance with prices, enterprise performance and
changes in technology and human capital. The `Fair Wage' approach
advocated in this book is a first, serious and concerted effort to
address the issue of wages, which are increasingly being used as
the adjustment variable at the end of the supply chain.
Work Inequalities in the Crisis provides an in-depth overview of
the effects of the crisis on inequalities in the world of work. It
examines these inequalities multi-dimensionally, looking at
employment, wages and incomes, working conditions and social
dialogue. At the same time, it investigates whether the crisis may
halt the progress made in Europe towards better quality jobs and
working conditions. This book offers a unique combination of
research, case studies and policy discussions. An assessment of
national trends in 30 European countries precedes case studies of
14 of them, in which noted European specialists report on
individual enterprises or sectors. The volume's survey of national-
and local-level policy solutions contributes to identifying those
responses that strengthen economic competitiveness, preserve social
cohesion and do not deepen inequalities. This timely resource will
be of particular interest to academics, students and researchers in
labor economics, to policy makers, and to those involved in
European studies more generally. Contributors include: D. Anxo, G.
Bosch, S. Erdogdu, V. Franicevic, J. Gautie, D. Grimshaw, R. Munoz
de Bustillo Llorente, J. Masso, K. Krillo, J. Kollo, N. O'Higgins,
J. I.A. Perez, A. Rafferty, W. Salverda, V. Tsanov, D.
Vaughan-Whitehead
This book provides in-depth and innovative analysis of the minimum
wage in Europe. The authors explore its role and scope within the
enlarged EU, and address the question of whether there should be
harmonization between the individual member states or even a common
EU minimum wage. They also examine the impact of the minimum wage
at the national level, looking at trends and effects through case
studies of specific policy issues and industrial sectors.Minimum
wage fixing has returned quite prominently to the core of policy
debates as evidenced by the adoption of a statutory minimum wage in
Ireland and the UK, a minimum wage agreement in Austria and the
ongoing discussions in Germany and Sweden. Proposals to have common
rules at the EU level have also multiplied since enlargement, in
particular to minimize ?social dumping? and allow increased
transnational mobility. This book assesses the renewed interest in
the minimum wage in Europe, identifying the concrete effects of
minimum wage fixing on employment, low pay, wage disparity,
collective bargaining and migration.Bringing together 15 national
studies from noted European specialists in the field, this timely
collection aims to stimulate the current debate. It will appeal to
academics, students, researchers and policymakers working in labour
economics in particular, and European studies more generally.
The European Social Model has been an integral part of the
construction of the European Community and has been effective in
stimulating its economic growth. This social dimension represents
the soul of the European Union, and has been envied and adopted by
other regions and countries in the world.Under the pressure of the
2008 financial crisis and the subsequent introduction of austerity
measures across Europe, many countries have reformed basic elements
of the model including social protection, pensions, public
services, workers' rights, quality of jobs, working conditions and
social dialogue, often undermining social cohesion. These trends
have raised questions: is Europe currently losing its legacy? If
so, what are the social and economic implications, both in the
short and longer term? The European Social Model in Crisis assesses
social policy developments in each EU individual member state on
the basis of detailed empirical evidence and concrete case studies.
The volume is a timely warning about the weakening of the European
Social Model and its possibly devastating future effects. The
alternative options proposed here make the book essential reading
for policy-makers, while scholars and researchers of European
studies and social policy will find it an invaluable reference.
Contributors include: J.I. Anton, D. Anxo, G. Bosch, R. Munoz de
Bustillo Llorente, K. Espenberg, A. Figueiredo, J. Gautie, P.
Gonzalez, D. Grimshaw, M. Karamessini, J. Masso, I. Mierina, A.
Scharle, A. Simonazzi, D. Szikra, D. Vaughan-Whitehead
This is a fascinating, rich and comprehensive analytical account of
the causes and consequences of austerity measures affecting the
public sector in terms of pay and employment. The editors have
assembled a broad array of contributions that really reflect the
diversity within Europe, both in terms of how deep the financial
crisis hit, and the drivers of public sector reforms. An absorbing
and thought-provoking read.' - Jacqueline O Reilly, University of
Brighton, UKAfter a first series of policy responses to the 2008-09
crisis aimed at sustaining domestic demand through expansionary
anti-crisis packages, most European governments - starting with
Greece, Ireland, Bulgaria and Romania, and followed by many others
- have since put in place a series of restrictive budgetary
policies aimed at reducing their budget deficits. With these new
policies, a significant number of jobs and wages have been cut in
the public sector. A number of expenditure items related to
education and training have also been cut. These reforms have given
rise to waves of protest throughout Europe. The goal of this volume
is to study this 'public sector shock'. While budgetary reforms
seek to ensure a more balanced and sound economic policy, they may
generate new work inequalities among public sector employees, most
particularly among women, who account for a considerable proportion
of public sector employment. Cuts in education and training may
also have an impact on the quality of human capital in both the
public and private sectors, despite the fact that the recent crisis
has shown the value of education as employees with better skills
and training are more likely to maintain their jobs and incomes.
The authors explore a number of questions, including: what types of
reform have been implemented in the public sector and what are
their implications in both the short and long term? On the economic
side, what will be the impact on wages, and on job quantity and
quality? On the social side, what will the effects be on inequality
and social cohesion? And what will be the outcome for, and
potential role of, social partners and social dialogue? On the
basis of a comparative and comprehensive assessment, illustrated by
case studies in education, health and public administration, policy
issues are discussed with the aim of finding the right mix of
public sector reforms. Contributors: S. Altwicker-Hamori, J.-I.
Anton, D. Anxo, G. Bosch, K. Espenberg, V. Franicevic, J. Gautie,
D. Grimshaw, J. Koell , J. Masso, T. Matkovic, Y. Monogios, R.
Munoz de Bustillo, P. O Connell, H. Rato, J. Rubery, W. Salverda,
Z. Tzannatos, V. Vasile, D. Vaughan-Whitehead
At the beginning of the 1990's the first encouraging results on GDP
growth combined with the fulfilment of international requirements
led many to believe that Albania was a 'shining star' in Central
and Eastern Europe. But in 1997 this progress was reversed by
unprecedented institutional, political and social turmoil leading
to a spiral of violence and chaos. This book presents, for the
first time, a comprehensive analysis of the different factors
behind the 1997 political, economic and social upheaval in Albania.
It shows that the crisis was both predictable and complex, and not
simply a matter of a disgruntled population attempting to regain
their money. Using extensive and detailed evidence Daniel
Vaughan-Whitehead identifies the major reasons for the growing
discontent and final explosion: - the increase in unemployment,
collapse of industrial production, inefficiency of the banking
system, limitations and drawbacks of foreign investment, failure of
mass privatization, falling living standards, and rising poverty.
He examines the consequences of the crisis at the enterprise level,
by region, sector, industry and property form using a unique survey
of over 1,000 enterprises. In conclusion he offers a series of
policy recommendations with a view to regenerating production
whilst avoiding a new social explosion in a destroyed economy,
weakened by political instability and the conflict in Kosovo. This
unique book will be essential reading for all academics working in
the area of transition as well as policymakers from international
organizations involved in transition economies.
This up to date book provides the first evidence on
employee-ownership in Central and Eastern Europe. This subject has
attracted growing interest in recent years, since the sale and free
distribution of enterprise shares to employed workers and mangers
have surprisingly become frequent privatization methods in many
transitional economies. The book highlights some of the crucial
issues which have been debated in recent economic literature, in
particular the advantages and risks of employee-ownership in
comparison with other privatization methods. It also provides an
overview of individual countries' experiences and makes some
important policy recommendations. Privatization Surprises in
Transition Economies is a wide-ranging survey which considers
employee- ownership within privatization legislation and its
diffusion and implementation problems in 14 transitional economies.
Using empirical evidence on the impact of this privatization
method, the authors address issues such as enterprise
restructuring, employment, wages, productivity and investment
policies. They conclude that employee-ownership has a bright
future, and that the fears expressed by many policy advisers
regarding the negative implications of employee ownership were
largely exaggerated. This privatization method has proven to be one
of the quickest, and has also brought with it many positive changes
such as decentralization, increased productivity and motivation and
more moderate restructuring policies - especially with regard to
employment reductions. This book also presents some of the
weaknesses of this form of privatization and identifies such
possible improvement as the use of employee-ownership in
combination with other privatization methods.
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