Chapter 5 Work

Focal Questions

What are the most important trends in the pattern of employment in Britain today?

Why has self-employment increased? What might be its advantages and disadvantages?

Do you think the distribution of jobs and incomes in Britain is both fair to individuals and efficient for the economy?

How significant are trade unions in contemporary Britain? How would you account for the fact that far fewer women

than men are in top positions or have highly paid jobs?

Focal Question 1

The decline in the agriculture and textiles sectors

The decrease of the proportion working in the mining and transport industries

The manufacturing industries—not a drastic fall

The growth of the service sector The proportion working in office jobs

Employment rate http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=12

Average EarningsPay growth steady in year to July 2008

Claimant count (unemployment-related benefits), UK

A 2 Pattern of Employment cont

Focal Question 2

Decide-making as to what work to do, how and when to do the work and where to provide the services

To hire or to be hired? Working for a number of different people Construction, sales and distribution, hotels

and restaurants; and banking, finance and insurance.

Focal Question 2

To risk one’s own money (insecurity) Being responsible for one’s own tax and Na

tional Insurance contributions Affecting the benefits one can claim, eg. un

employment benefit Maternity leave? Redundancy payment? Liability to the public for the work you do for

them

Focal Question 3

Increased inequality of original income (wages & salaries, esp. skilled vs unskilled workers)

Slower growth in income from cash benefits Decline in the role of trade unions The Income Tax cuts of the late 1980s (inco

me – tax = ?)

Employment rates and gross weekly earnings for full-time employees of working age: by highest qualification, spr

ing 2003, UK

Reduction in Inequality of Income

Fall in inequality of original income Receipts of tax credits Increases to the rates for employees' nation

al insurance contributions

A 5 Gender & Ethnicity

High female employment rate The Equal Pay Act, 1970s, The Sex Discrimination Act (1975) and th

e Race Relations Act (1976) Ethnic minority: difficulties in finding jobs (p

86 table) Rate of unemployment for Muslims—27%,

Christians—10%

A 5 Gender & Ethnicity

Women MPs, 1997 Thatcher -- elected prime minister in 1979

Breaking the glass ceiling

In 1997, 5 women appointed to senior positions by Blair (Mo Mowlam as secretary of state for Northern Ireland)

A 5 Gender & Ethnicity

In the May 1997 general election 101 female Labour members of Parliament (MPs) were elected to the 659-seat House of Commons.

Britain: women MPs – 18%; Sweden -- 43%; Germany – 31%

The recent elections to the Welsh Assembly -- an equal 50:50 split between men and women

A 5 By Gender Employee jobs: by industry and sex at June each year.

A 5 By Gender Employment rates: by sex and age, 2008

A 5 By Gender All in employment: by sex and occupation, 2008

A 5 Gender

Female employees: administrative or secretarial work

Men: managers, senior officials or in skilled trades

Men: more likely than women to be self-employed

A 5 By Ethnic Group Self-employment as a percentage of all in employment:

by ethnic group, 2004, GB

A 5 By Ethnic Group People in employment in managerial or professional oc

cupations: by ethnic group, 2004, GB

Occupation—by ethnic group

1/7 Pakistani men (1/100 White British men) -- taxi driver, cab driver or chauffeur

¼+ Bangladeshi men (1/100 White British men) -- chefs, cooks or waiters

4% Indian men (0.4% White British men) -- medical practitioners

1/10 Black African women, 1/7 Other Asian women (1/30 White British women) -- nurses in 2004

Indian, Pakistani and Black African women (White British women * 4) -- packers, bottlers, canners and fillers

Pakistani (White British women *6) and Indian women (White British women*4) sewing machinists

A 4 Unions & Management

Pros. protecting the interests

of employees persuading the

 government  to pass  the Health and Safe Act

a range of services, particularly through the TUC.

Cons excessive  wage

claims undemocratic union

elections too powerful  undermining the

competitiveness of British industry

Trade union density for employees in UK

A 4 Unions & Management

New Style Management – Japanese Influence Only one union representing workers Disputes that cannot be settled by union &

management will be decided by arbitrator No industrial actions (strikes) are used in disputes Workers enjoy same benefits and perks as

managers Pay rises reflect increase in productivity. Workers work in groups. (Compare Ford & Nissan pp 84 – 85)

A 4 Unions & Management

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) -- most unions ( 70 )are affiliated to it

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) –employers’ associations affiliated to it

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Services (ACAS) -- set up by government playing an important role in ‘new style agreement

A 4 Unions & Management

TUC Congress 2003

The TUC

With member unions representing over six and a half million working people, we campaign for a fair deal at work and for social justice at home and abroad.

The TUC brings Britain’s unions together to draw up common policies lobbies the Government to implement policies that will benefit people a

t work campaigns on economic and social issues represents working people on public bodies represents British workers in international bodies, in the European Uni

on and at the UN employment body - the International Labour Organisation

carries out research on employment -related issues runs an extensive training and education programme for union represe

ntatives helps unions develop new services for their members helps unions avoid clashes with each other builds links with other trade union bodies worldwide

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=1003 http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=10 http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=463&Pos=6&ColRank

=2&Rank=224 http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=11&Pos=2&ColRank=

2&Rank=448 http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=698 http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=332&Pos=1&ColRank

=2&Rank=448 http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/pdfs/ir56.htm#5b http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=4&Pos=4&ColRank=2

&Rank=448 http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=1654&Pos=1&ColRan

k=2&Rank=1000