Seminar Prof. em. Dr. Günther Schmid - 14 October 2010
The Future of Employment Relations: Goodbye ‘Flexicurity’ – Welcome Back Transitional Labour Markets?
Discussant: Dr Ton Korver (Haagse Hogeschool)
Chair: Dr. Wiemer Salverda
| Date | 14 October 2010 |
| Time | 15.00 – 17.00 hrs (drinks afterwards) |
| Location | University of Amsterdam Doelenzaal Singel 421-427 1012 WP Amsterdam The Netherlands see below for directions |
| Registration | Participation is free but we urge you to register before 10 October 2010, due to limited space |
| Information | Nick van den Heuvel n.a.vandenheuvel@uva.nl +31 20 525 7216 (Thursday, Friday) |
Abstract
Starting points are two contrasting and provocative perspectives: Temp-agency work or civil service work as possible ideal types of future ‘flexicurity’ employment relations. This thought experiment clearly demonstrates, however, that neither the state nor temp-agencies as employers can serve as role-model for the future employment relations. The paper, therefore, intends to contribute to the empirical and theoretical backdrop for an alternative. It starts by comparing the extent and dynamic of part-time, temporary, and own-account work in Europe, showing that these forms of non-standard employment relations are spreading, however at varying degrees and depending on the national employment systems. Although empirical evidence confirms to some extent the thesis of erosion, the same evidence can also be taken as an indication for a still stable fundament of the standard employment contract, all the more as the increasing variety of employment relations concentrates on new jobs and new labour market participants (women, the young, other vulnerable people). As both the empirical and theoretical backdrop provide plausible arguments for the raison d’être of the open-ended employment contract as well as the need for its adjustment, the logical next step is to ask which new elements should be included into the legal or institutional design of employment relations to ensure the right ‘balance’ of flexibility and security, the ultimate aim of all ‘flexicurity’ rhetoric. The paper responds to this problem by suggesting a set of new institutional arrangements based on the theory of transitional labour markets, in particular the institutionalisation of ‘active securities’ understood as legally guaranteed social rights to participate in decisions about work and employment and to share equally their fruits as well as their risks. The final section exemplifies the potential role of these new securities on the basis of two regulatory ideas: rights and obligations to capacity building and coordinated flexibility as functional equivalents to external (numerical) flexibility, in particular the model of short-time work. A brief summary concludes reminding that ‘flexicurity’, despite of its resilience, requires more conceptual rigour.
Prof. em. Dr Günther Schmid
Professor Schmid is Emeritus Professor at the Freie Universität Berlin. Since 2008 he has resigned as Director of the Department "Arbeitsmarktpolitik und Beschäftigung” of the “Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung” (Berlin).
He is the founding father of the Transitional Labour Market (TLM) approach, actively taking part in the debate on the European Employment Strategy and the European Social Model.
More information on the TLM approach can be found on the website: www.uva-aias.net/92#tlm
Link website G. Schmid: www.guentherschmid.eu
Click here to upload the background paper
Click here to register! (possible until 10 October 2010)
There is hardly any parking space in the libraries’ vicinity. The building can be reached easily however by public transport. Trams 2, 4, 5, 9, 16, 20, 24 and 25 from Amsterdam Central Station stop at either Spui or Muntplein.
