Gerhard Bosch

Vocational Training and the Labour Market in Liberal and Coordinated Economies

In recent decades, the differences between the education and training systems in the liberal and coordinated market economies have increased. It is not possible to understand such different developments by focusing exclusively on the internal dynamics of vocational and general education systems. Vocational education and training (VET), and particularly apprenticeship systems rather than school-based VET, are deeply embedded in the different national production, labour market, industrial relations and status systems. In order to contribute to a better understanding of the dynamics of VET, we examine recent developments in general and vocational training and its links to the labour and product market in five contrasting countries, namely, Denmark, Canada, Germany, Korea and the USA. In particular, differences in industrial relations, welfare states, income distribution and product markets are the main reason for the persistent high level of diversity in vocational training systems. The difference can perhaps be summarized as follows: in the coordinated market economies, the modernisation of vocational training is seen as a contribution to innovation in the economy, while in liberal market economies, it is seen as a siding into which weaker pupils can conveniently be shunted.

Posting of Workers in the Single Market: Attempts to Prevent Social Dumping and Regime Competition in the EU

The so-called ‘Posting of Workers Directive’ was an integral part of the European Commission (EC) Action programme linked to the Community Charter of Fundamental Rights of Workers and was meant to establish a legal frame for labour conditions of workers posted for a temporary period to another Member State. Its content is about equal treatment, a guarantee of minimum protection, fair competition and respect for the regulatory frame in the host country. In the cases included in this article, increased divergence can be observed with respect to the role of the state versus the social partners with regards to regulation and control. The over-riding challenge nowadays is to develop effective mechanisms of enforcement compatible with the constraints of European Union principles and regulations. In the EC documents, any reference to the Community Charter of Basic Rights of Workers has disappeared and the weight of power has shifted in favour of the free market hardliners, who seem to regard the Directive as an oddity in breach with the logic of the four freedoms.

Building chaos : an international comparison of deregulation in the construction industry

1. Introduction 2. The Netherlands: Rules in Revision: High-Quality Production in the Dutch Construction Industry 3. Germany: The Labor Market in the German Construction Industry 4. Denmark: Searching for Innovation 5. Canada: Labor Market Regulation and Labour Relations in the Construction Industry: The Special Case of Quebec Within the Canadian Context 6. Australia: The Australian Construction Industry: Union Control in a Disorganized Industry 7. Spain: Spain Down the Low Track 8. The United States: Dual Worlds: The Two Growth Paths in US Construction 9. The United Kingdom: Privatization, Fragmentation, and Inflexible Flexibilization in the UK Construction Industry 10. Republic of Korea: The Drivers for Change in the Korean Construction Industry: Regulation and Deregulation

Working in the service sector : a tale from different worlds

List of Figures List of Tables Acknowledgments 1. Introduction: Service Economies Part I: Different Service Societies in Europe 2. Measuring Economic Tertiarisation 3. The Incidence of New Forms of Employment in Service Activities 4. Why Do Countries Have Such Different Service-Sector Employment Rates? 5. Services and the Employment Prospects for Women Part 2: The Organization of Service Work 6. The Family, The State, and Now The Market 7. The Reluctant Nurses 8. Work Hard, Play Hard? 9. Work Organisation and The Importance of Labour Markets in The European Retail Trade 10. Lean Banking Part 3: Common Challenges 11. The Shaping of Work and Working Time in The Service Sector 12. The Delegation of Uncertainty 13. Can Trade Unions Meet The Challenge? 14. Diversity and Regulation of Markets for Services

Minimum Wages and Collective Bargaining: What Types of Pay Bargaining Can Foster Positive Pay Equity Outcomes?

Using data from interviews and collective agreements in five European countries, this article analyses the relationship between collective bargaining and the minimum wage. In a context of changing minimum wage policy and competing government objectives, the findings illuminate how pay bargaining strategies of trade unions and employers shape the pay equity effects of minimum wage policy. Two general forms are identified: direct responses to a changing national minimum wage, and responses to the absence or weakness of a national minimum wage. The article explains how particular intersections of minimum wage policy and collective bargaining, together with country and sector contingencies, shape the form of pay bargaining and pay equity outcomes.

From the’ sick Man’to the ‘Overhauled Engine’ of Europe? Upheaval in the German Model

For most of the 1960s–80s the Federal Republic of Germany was regarded both at home and abroad as one of the countries that had been particularly successful in combining economic growth and social equality. For many economists and social scientists Germany was the exemplar of ‘Rhenish capitalism’ (Albert, 1992) which, by virtue of the ‘beneficial constraints’ (Streeck, 1997) imposed on German capital by strong labour unions and institutions, fostered long-term corporate strategies and an environment of trust relationships, not only within capital but also between the strong associations representing capital and labour. It was under these conditions that a system of high-quality and export-oriented production was developed, which in turn powered the entire employment system.

Working-Time Configurations

Working-time practices across the developed world have exploded with diversity during the past few decades. The once standard 8-hour day and 40-hour workweek that emerged and reigned throughout much of the 20th century have given way to an increasing variety of working-time arrangements. flexible schedules, in which hours can vary daily or weekly, and nonstandard work arrangements, such as fixed term, on-call, temporary, or part-time, are widely used at the workplace. In addition, we have witnessed the growth of zero-hour contracts that make no guarantee to provide workers with weekly working hours or a reliable income, while requiring employees to work on very short notice with very unpredictable schedules; annualized hours contracts that allow for work hours to vary over a year; and working-time accounts that allow employees to bank hours worked over a set weekly standard and to then draw on these accounts for paid time off. as a vital element of the employment relationship, working time is deeply linked to changes in the labor market and intertwined with pay and rewards (Rubery 2010). as such, the duration and scheduling of work hours are closely connected to some of the most pressing economic issues, including wage inequality. In the United states, zero-hour contracts with unpredictable schedules foster unpredictable incomes. nonstandard work arrangements restrict hours of work and often pay lower per hour rates than full-time jobs pay, contributing to the low-wage sector of the economy. nonstandard work arrangements also restrict access to full-time employment and benefits such as paid vacations, sick leave, and premium pay for working at unsocial hours (harvey 1999). These alternative arrangements make it difficult for individuals to move up the economic ladder and thereby further inequality within the labor market. moreover, stagnating or declining

The German Labour Market after the Financial Crisis: Miracle or Just a Good Policy Mix?

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.

Shaping the Life Course: A European Perspective

This book investigates the changing patterns and levels of social welfare systems through the lens of key life stage transitions. This provides an insight into the adequacy of welfare systems’ response to the changing needs for support at these critical stages of life that shape future life course prospects. The focus on key life stages has three purposes. First it provides a lens through which to analyse a range of different dimensions of social welfare systems. It is at key life stages that social welfare systems are particularly needed to provide support in addition to or instead of employment or the family. These include the key life stages of preparing for and entering work, setting up independent households, surviving interruptions to work, in prime age, whether for parenthood, sickness or unemployment, and withdrawing from work into retirement. The support systems in place at these stages have major impacts in empowering or preventing citizens from fulfilling their potential and their aspirations. These support mechanisms are critical for issues of equity and social inclusion. A focus on key life stages also facilitates an evaluation of how social welfare systems vary in the effectiveness of their support for different groups, defined, for example, by class, gender, age and generation. Second, the key life stage approach can help identify the impact of potentially conflicting pressures for change. These conflicts arise from the shortterm pressures to reduce costs or to minimise open unemployment for political reasons, both of which, for different reasons, may jeopardise opportunities to engage in longerterm strategic change. This longterm change is required to keep social welfare systems in step with the major changes actually taking place in the life course, and in the associated behaviour and aspirations of European citizens. The European Employment Strategy (EES) espouses the need for longterm reform to ensure that welfare systems promote an active, and appropriately and flexibly skilled,

The Welfare State and Life Transitions

This timely book reveals that new life courses are found to require more, and not less welfare support, but only Sweden has developed an active life course approach and only three more could be considered supportive, in at least some life stages. For the remainder, policies were at best limited or, in Italy’s case, passive. The contributors reveal that the neglect of changing needs is leading to greater reliance on the family and the labour market, just as these support structures are becoming more unpredictable and more unequal. They argue that alongside these new class inequalities, new forms of inter-generational inequality are also emerging, particularly in pension provision.