ETUI Konferenz "Getting europe back to work: Alternatives to

Austerity"

Brussels

1

Panel labour market: The myth of success from labour-market

deregulation: what lessons from Germany and Poland?

Prof. Klaus Dörre, Department of Sociology November 6, 2013

Brussels

2

I. Definition of Precarity

II. Some Trends

III. Subjective Dimensions

IV. Conclusions

3

Employment is precarious if it does not permanently allow for subsistence above a certain cultural, socially defined, level. Employment of this kind does discriminate because it does not allow employees to unfold their potential at work, work is not gainful, and it is employment not held in high esteem by society. It has a lasting discriminatory effect as it negatively impacts on social integration, options for political participation and the capacity to plan one‘ life. Precarious work and its social constitution mean that those in precarious employment fall below standard levels of protection and integration as commonly defined in welfare states. At the level of subjective experience, precarious employment and/or work evoke feelings of meaninglessness and disdain (Castel/Dörre 2009: 17).

4

I. Definition of Precarity

II. Some Trends

Precarity in Germany

Already before the crisis, the segment of non-standardised employment relationships (part-time, temporary work, fixed-term jobs and marginal employment) was growing continuously.

7

II. Some Trends

Number of people in standard employment relationships

Number of people in atypical employment relationships

8

Extent of Precarity

Part-time Work (up to 20hrs.)

Mikrozensus, Sample conducted by the Federal Statistical Office

Marginal Employment (i.e. low income and/or very short term employment)

Fixed term employment

Temporary agency work

1) Multiple answers possible

2) 1997 estimate by the Federal Labour Agency

9

Mikrozensus, Sample conducted by the Federal Statistical Office

Male Female

1) Multiple answers possible

Part-time Work (up to 20hrs.) 1)

Marginal Employment (i.e. low income and/or very short term employment)

Fixed term Employment 1)

Temporary agency work 1)Total

10

Aged between…

Mikrozensus, Sample conducted by the Federal Statistical Office

Percentage of low wage employees in Germany, East-West Germany, 1995-2010

Source: SOEP 2010, IAQ-Calculations

standardized low wage limit

East-West-Germany differentiatet

Source: Vorgänge; Abbildung 3

Further analyses have show that extremely low hourly wages are much more widespread in Eastern Germany. In 2008, about one in eight employees (12.8%) earned less than 6 € per hour, compared to 5.4% in Western Germany. Obviosly, extremely low wages are not just an Eastern phenomenon. (Kalina/Weinkopf 2010)

Hourly wage Total Percentage

Less than 5 €

Less than 6 €

Less than 7 €

Less than 8 €

Less than 8,50 €

More than 8,50 €

14

Entry(seasonally adjusted)

Entry(raw value)

Stock(raw value)

Stock(seasonally adjusted)

17

18

19

(1)The more difficult the task of placing someone in work becomes, the stronger the tendency is for case managers to blame the unemployed 'client' (delegation of responsibility).

III. Subjective Dimensions

(2) The vast majority of unemployed and precariously employed proactively makes a great effort to end their status of being benefit recipients (active without activation).

Fig. 8: structure of basic types

occu

patio

nal c

once

pt

normative employment orientation

Processing mode

workers-at-any-cost tireless job seeking

As-if-workers

re-interpretation, re-framing

non-workers rejection of the norm of employment

Fig. 9: the subtypes

subtypes (differentiated according to anticipated chances and experiences of employment)

workers-at-any-cost promising candidateswithout any alternative

as-if-workers pseudo-regular employedvolunteer work

non-workers aimlessresigned-reconciled

(3) Most respondents do not manage to enter regular employment; instead, what we are seeing is circular mobility.

(4) The longer one receives benefits, the greater the pressure becomes to develop a habitus of survival that in turn sets the affected apart from the rest of society.

(5) The interviewed benefit recipients consider themselves to be members of a stigmatised minority who are forced to do whatever they can to establish or maintain a connection to social normality.

(6) The logic of Hartz IV requires abandoning certain aspirations concerning the quality of work and life – aspirations which in fact could motivate increased proactivity (Passivation through lowering of standards).

25

IV. Conclusions

typology of how individuals handle and cope with precarious work and employment

Fig. 7: Indicators for exclusive Solidarity I

Agreement Undecided Rejection

The socially weak nowa-days have a stronger lobby than the top performers in society

A society that takes care of everyone is not viable

I consider Hartz IV to be a cruel social policy

Fig. 8: Indicators for exclusive Solidarity II

Agreement Undecided Rejection

Labour market reforms were necessary in order to reduce the number of unemployed

Hartz IV does not lead to less unemployed, but to the disciplining of working people who fear stigmatisation

Greater pressure should be exerted on the unemployed

Dörre, Klaus/Scherschel, Karin/Booth, Melanie/Haubner, Tine/Marquardsen, Kai/Schierhorn, Karen (2013): Bewährungsproben für die Unterschicht? Soziale Folgen aktivierender Arbeitsmarktpolitik. Erschienen in der Reihe International Labour Studies - Internationale Arbeitsstudien, Band 3. Frankfurt am Main/New York: Campus.