BACK TO HOME PAGE

EUROPEAN REVIEW

ISSUE 6 - Page 2

Cutting working time to create jobs - Europe's hope and experience

WITH THE ELECTION of a socialist government in France, labour relations specialists, trade unionists and politicians looked to the plans for a reduction in the working week as a test of 'Jospinism' as opposed to 'Blairism' to see if state intervention could still have a place in the direct reduction of unemployment. The concept is simple: if we all work less, there will be more jobs for all. However the experience of Martine Aubry, the French Minister of Labour and main proponent of the law suggests that in practice, things rapidly become more complicated. The law, detested and fiercely opposed by most French employers, has proved an unexpected benefit to those companies willing, and clever enough, to make use of the small print. The framework law allows companies to negotiate annual or monthly, rather than weekly, working patterns. It recommends that employees should not lose take-home pay or pay rises but gives no guarantees.

In practice, many of the 2,000 agreements negotiated so far have forced employees to accept a pay freeze for up to three years. In return for working an average of four hours less each week, the employees have frequently accepted more flexible working patterns and the abolition of long-held privileges such as coffee and shower-breaks. Minister Aubry is also worried about the 'systematic and recurrent' use of fixed term (CDD) and cover (intérim) contracts. Statistical reports indicate that up to 90% of new job offers are on these so called 'atypical' terms. The minister aims to		impose a scale of employer contributions to UNEDIC, the national unemployment insurance fund, calculable in proportion to the annual percentage of employees taken on without permanent tenure. Firms that reduce working hours and take on new staff in advance of the legal deadline (1st January, 2000 for companies with more than 20 staff) qualify for subsidies in the form of reduced social security contributions. Supplementary subsidies are also payed for special efforts in recruitment, for hiring young people and for innovation in work organisation.
	Martine Aubry, French Minister of Labour

There is some evidence that larger firms are reducing hours without claiming the subsidy as they believe that the government targets will reduce their freedom to re-organise work practices. Most of the 2,000 company agreements that had been signed by February this year involved small firms. It is estimated that about 21,000 jobs have been created since the adoption of the law in June 1998 and although this is insignificant in comparison to the 300,000 that last year's economic growth provided, the real test for the policy will come over the next two years when the legal deadlines are activated.

Meanwhile the same idea is being tried in other EU countries on a more ad hoc basis.The introduction of a 35-hour working week has been the focus of debate in Spain since autumn 1997, especially following enactment of the French law, and is considered to be a major issue by the social partners, government, experts and public opinion in general. The reason is very simple: the problem of unemployment is so serious that no initiative aimed at reducing it can be ignored. The powerful governments in Catalonia, Andalusia and other regions have signed 'employment pacts' which subsidise companies which cut working hours in order to take on more staff. However when various town councils in Catalonia made such agreements with their own employees, the Conservative (PP) national government challenged them in the courts, claiming they contravened the normal local government working week of 37.5 hours.

On 11 January , the executive of the Greek General Confederation of Labour (GSEE), deeming the need to reduce unemployment to be a key issue, decided to issue an 'extrajudicial invitation' to employers' organisations to open negotiations on the adoption of a 35-hour working week in the private sector. In Austria working time matters featured in the autumn 1998 collective bargaining round, but with relatively few results and frequent postponements.

Bargaining round-up

IN SWEDEN the general industrial union Industrifacket has found that most workers would rather have a cut in the working week than a pay rise. The union negotiated the possibility of a locally agreed cut of 12 minutes in the working week from spring 1998. If a local agreement could not be reached, a 0.5% pay rise would be awarded instead. A survey found that over 90% of deals had opted for the 12 minute cut.

FROM SPAIN comes news that average pay rises are running at 2.53%. The statistics, published by the UGT trade union confederation relate to 30% of employees; those covered by new agreements and previous multi--year deals which are still in force. This figure is substantially above both forecast inflation (1.8%) and the government recommendation of 1.5%.

ITALY HAS SEEN strikes in metalworking and disputes are still outstanding in banking, electricity generating and printing, mainly due to restructuring and regrading.

AUSTRIAN CINEMA workers were left in the dark when employers recently rejected their 3.5% pay claim outright.

These facts come from 'IDS Employment Europe' - March issue.

Back to	Forward to	Up to
FRONT PAGE	NEXT PAGE	TOP OF THIS PAGE