strategies of social partners to address quality of work in the services in europe
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Strategies of social partners to address quality of work in the services in Europe. WALQING Conference: “Addressing quality of work in Europe”, Sofia 19-20 of September 2012 Dr. Vassil Kirov, ISSK-BAS [email protected]. Structure. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Strategies of social partners to address quality of work in the services in Europe
WALQING Conference: “Addressing quality of work in Europe”, Sofia
19-20 of September 2012Dr. Vassil Kirov, ISSK-BAS
Structure
• The project WALQING and the stakeholders’ research in the low-wage sectors (cleaning, contract catering, elderly care, construction and waste)
• Mapping the sectors and their development (spatial reorganisation, internatinalisation, etc.)
• Representation and social partnership
• Stakeholders initiatives
• Conclusions and policy implications
1. WALQING research
— National sectoral analyses – in 11 countries and EU level (around 130 interviews)
— Case studies in progress in 11 countries – 55 Cases, more than 500 interviews (results very soon, December 2012)
— Stakeholders’ seminars, held in Brussels, Barcelona and Vienna in the autumn of 2011
— National reports – see walqing Social Partnership Series (http://www.walqing.eu/index.php?id=64)
— Integrated reports(http://www.walqing.eu/index.php?id=38)
Waste collection on a Greek Island…
Quality of work (Holman, D. 2012)
Area of Job Quality Dimension
A. Work Quality 1. Work organisation
B. Employment Quality 2. Wages and payment
system
3. Security and flexibility
A. Empowerment Quality 4. Skills and
development
5. Engagement and
representation
2. Mapping the sectors and their spatial reorganisation
- The processes of outsourcing in the ‘anchored’ services, the role of public procurement and contract awarding;
- Work on client’s site, separation of employment/control (double hierarchy, Moreno, 2011)
- Generalisation of triangular relations in services (E. Martinez 2010) - cleaning, private security , Hotels, Retail trade, care…
- But also multiple processes shaping the sectors and impacting quality of work – EU regulation, clients, internationalisation…
3. Representation and voice
• Stakeholders in many of the examined sectors are generally less structured and less strong compared to the industry
• Sectors are complex and involving multiplicity of actors…
• Collective bargaining is present in some cases (not always meaningful), absent in other…
School Canteen in Bulgaria
Some data about coverage – example from the contract catering…
Country /2007-2008
Trade unions Trade unon density (domain) (%)
Employer organisations
Employer organisations density (companies/domain) (%)
Collective bargaining coverage (%)
DE NGG 3 DEHOGAVIC
n.a.n.a.
25
ES FECOHT-CCOOFETCHTJ-UGTUSOELALAB
5.8n.a.n.a.n.a.n.a.
FEHRCEHATFEADRS
n.a.n.a.n.a.
100
HU VISZ 18–21 VIMOSZ 0.8 100
LT -- -- -- -- 0
UK GMBUniteUSDAW
2.37.51.4
BHA 13 <5
An example of a complex situation - the case of the waste sector
Companies Unions
Traditional municipal Public sector, municipal
Traditional private sector (B2B, construction, logistics …)
Private sector (manufacturing, construction, transport ….)
More or less privatised utilities (MNCs, regional, local players)
Large, merged unions
Hybrids: PPPs Large merged unions (coordination across departments)
Somewhere in Bulgaria
Situating the social partnership – the case of waste
Sectoral P
artnership
Company level Partnership
BU
DK
ATIT
Stakeholders addressing quality of work… - initiatives and collective responses …
• Quality of work is addressed through multitude of initiatives, however their overall efficiency is to be questioned
• Collective bargaining at the sectoral level in connection with firms…
• Client as a target - Impact impacting quality of work through the role of the client and the awarding…
• Corporate social responsibility…
But difficulties to represent some groups…
• Spatial problems – e.g. in the cleaning where employees working at the client’s premises.
• Language problems – e.g. it is difficult to reach some vulnerable groups e.g. immigrants/ethnic minorities because of language problems.
Stakeholders’ initiatives Sector/Initiative
Cleaning
Contract Catering
Waste Collection
Elderly Care
Construction
The collective bargaining: –generalisation of the CLA
NO, SP I – wages NO, HU (but is it meaningful?)
Stabilising employment in case of transfers – BE, SP
BE, SP SP DK
Addressing quality of work through the contract awarding process –
EU guides, observatories, good practices… - I, Germany (campaign)
DK – lobbying for longer contracts…, H&S issues
DK, LT
Stakeholders’ initiatives - 2
Sector/Initiative
Cleaning Contract Catering
Waste Collection
Elderly Care
Construction
Professionalisation of the sector
upskilling and certification - NO, SP
mobility still possible and recognition of existing skills…
BUT perception of generic low-skill sector, AT!I, DK
DK (and upward mobility…), GE
EU (joint projects), BE, BU, NO…
Stakeholders’ initiatives - 3
Sector/Initiative
Cleaning Contract Catering
Waste Collection
Elderly Care
Construction
Addressing working time –
Promoting daytime work and more favourable for employees schedules – AT, BE
Working time arrangement – e.g. reorganisation of working-time by means of technological change (e.g. the cold line in Spain), GE
Preventing working shorter - Working longer? DK
Lobbying for standards to address workloads
AT, FI
Stakeholders’ initiatives - 4Sector/Initiative Cleaning Contract
CateringWaste Collection
Elderly Care
Construction
Combating illegal labour:
Labour inspectorate approved identity cards - NO
Labour inspectorate approved identity cards – NO; BU – joint inspections
CSR and company specific initiatives - NE
NE HU (keeping employment), F
Health and Safety Initiatives
NO, S EU – e.g. food hygiene…
DK (at some cost for workers)
NO (Regional Rep), BE, BU (but limited…)
Stakeholders’ initiatives - 5Sector/Initiative Cleaning Contract
CateringWaste Collection
Elderly Care
Construction
Analyzing the sector and describing good or bad practices –
BE, SP
Integrating vulnerable groups
through social economy – SP
Handicapped emplyees - F
B -Roma in Bulgaria, I
Social Economy – I(but in contradiction with work amelioration)
Combating abuses - BE
BE
Stakeholders’ initiatives - 6Sector/Initiative
Cleaning Contract Catering
Waste Collection
Elderly Care
Construction
Working for the better image
AT, SP
Joint Institutions
Work environment council - DK
NO, BE… (but lack in CEEC..)
Acting at workplaces
DK
Situating the stakeholders’ initiatives – the case of waste
Sectoral P
artnership
Company level Partnership
BU
DK
ATITWages
Transfers
Workplace
Skills…
Vulnerable
Contextualising stakeholders’ initiatives
• Countries with stronger (in terms of resources) ‘stakeholders’ – more active…
• Some of the examined initiatives have large impact on the employees, other on specific groups
• Some initiatives are joint, other are launched by individual social partners…
5. Conclusions
—Spatial reorganisation of ‘anchored’ services is followed by different negative consequences on quality of work
—Voices in the examined sectors are weak but existing, some initiatives of social partners offer space for action and quality of work improvement.
The future? Somewhere in Denmark
Some challenges for stakeholders
• Involvement of clients and impact of public procurement/contract awarding on the quality of work – what answers at policy level?
• Voice of employees – legislation, tradition, innovation
• Role of the social partners in skills development and H&S – e.g. identifying needs, preparing programmes…
• CSR – how to participate in order to accompany efforts of companies to integrate particular groups?
• Workplace initiatives and innovations?