a precarious ireland dual labour markets
TRANSCRIPT
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A Precarious Ireland:
Dual Labour Markets & Social Protection
NERI Labour Market Conference 1stMay 2013
Dr. Mary Murphy & Camille Loftus
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Structural change
Structural changes arising from crisis
Not only austerity and distributional
inequality/poverty Interface between production or employment
regimes and social policies
Institutional reconfiguration of income support,labour law and activation policy can promote
or constrain labour market precarity
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The problem of precarious work
Precariouswork
Low pay
Part-timework
Flexible
hours
Little
upskilling
Ease of
hiring &firing
Reducedsocial
security
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Irish labour market
Growth in part-time, temporary, casualisation
Significant increase in under-employment Part-time flexibility to meet employer, rather
than employee needs
High level of low pay
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Growth in part-time
Growth in part-time work & involuntary part-time
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Q405
Q406
Q407
Q408
Q409
Q410
Q411
Q412
Male % PT Female % PT All % PT
15%
25%
35%
45%
55%
Q308
Q109
Q309
Q110
Q310
Q111
Q311
Q112
Q312
Male Female All
CSO QNHS Q4 2012
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Ireland: a low pay economy
Incidence of low pay, 2010 A fifth of
workers in
Ireland
earn low
pay
Men:
16.9% Women:
24.5%
OECD: Incidence of low pay, 2010
20.1%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
Belgium
Portugal
Italy
Greece
Japan
Australia
Germany
SlovakRep.
UK
Canada
USA
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Ireland: a flexible employment regime
USA
CanadaUKNZ
SouthAfrica
Australia
Ireland
Japan
Switzerland
RussianFed.
Israel
Denmark
Chile
Sweden
Iceland
Hungary
SlovakRep.
Korea
Netherlands
OECD
Brazil
Finland
CzechRep
Estonia
Poland
AustriaItaly
Belgium
Germany
India
Norway
Slovenia
China
Greece
France
Indonesia
Portugal
Spain
Mexico
Luxembourg
Turkey
OECD: Strictness of employment protection legislation index, 2008
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Case study: retail sector in Ireland
Prevalence of part-time working
High degree of working time flexibility
Strong (unmet) desire to work longer hours
Flexibility makes it more difficult to:
Access social protection Secure additional employment
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Precarious retail work
No. of hours worked Changes to working hours
Working time flexibility is
higher for PT workers
56% of employees surveyed
had part-time contracts
At least
monthly
45%
Every 2-
6 mths
9%Every 1-
3 yrs
7%
Less
often
7%
Never
32%
Up to 19
23%
19-21
29%
21-28
27%28-37
18%
37+
3%
B&A Survey of Mandate members
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Impact of working time flexibility
Number of hours
A third have had
changes in the numberof hours they work
For 33%, made it harder
to claim social welfare
For 39%, made it harder
to find additional work
Number of days
29% have had changes
in the number of daysthey work
For 35%, made it harder
to claim social welfare
For 43%, made it harder
to find additional work
B&A Survey of Mandate members
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Reduced working hours
Hours lost, hours wanted
Part-time: strong demand
for more hours
Securing additional hours
Students more likely to get
extra hours than part-timers
42%52%
23%
27%27%
19%
31%21%
57%
Yr. ago Now Want
Up to 21 21 up to 28 28+
B&A Survey of Mandate members
24% 28%
27% 15%
Part time Student
Requested & denied more hours
Requested & received more hours
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Social protection
SWAP Particularly affects lone parents, reducing WTW
outcomes
Changes to Jobseeker payments exclude precarity
In work benefits Not flexible or adequate
Administratively cumbersome
Precarious social protection
Ambiguous: both increased subsidisation andincreased exclusion
Activation: insufficient safeguards re qualitytrainingor employment
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Impact of SWAP: lone parent
Replacement rates Effective marginal tax rates
30%40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
550
600
gross weekly earnings
OFP SWAP
-100%
-50%
0%
50%
100%
150%
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
550
600
gross weekly earnings
OFP SWAP
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Changes to Jobseekers Benefit
Condition Was Now Change
Qualifying:no. ofsocial insurancecontributions
No. paid since firststarted working
52 104
Budget 09No. contributions inrelevant tax year
Paid orcredited
Min 13 paid
Duration:no.contributions paid
260 or more 15 months 9 months Budget 09
Budget 13Less than 260 12 months 6 months
Entitlement to afull payment:
determined byaverage earnings
Rate of payment Earnings band
Budget 09
45%
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Activation
Increased focus on activation and sanctions Intreo: make quarterly sanctions report to Troika
Lone parents with youngest child 7+ (2015) .... disabilityand qualified adults
Question of relationship between Increased activation
Decreased social protection
Growth of atypical work
Question of safeguards: How can EPL limit atypical work?
How can social protection protect from being forced intoand/or trapped in such work?
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Tackling the precarity trap
Reconsidering regulatory flexibility
Financial incentives
Flexibility
trap
Recognising reality of precarious work
More flexible in-work benefit
Issue of sanctions and safeguards
Income
trap
Retraining & upskilling focused on needs of precariousworkers
Low skill
trap