EPSU – young workers and precarious work Nick Clark Working Live Research Institute June 2012

Main themes  3 Key sectors:  Energy & water  Public administration, defence, social security  Health & social care  year olds  Employment  Precarity  Collective bargaining  Training, progression & careers

EU 27 and selected countries  Bulgaria  Czech Republic  France  Germany  Greece  Italy  Netherlands  Spain  UK

Youth in the European labour market  High level of unemployment (21% compared to 10%, ranging from 8% Austria to 46% Spain)  Low activity rate (50-60%, compared to 70%+)  Increasing participation in tertiary education  In work, more likely to  Have temporary contract (4 times more likely)  Work part-time involuntarily  Be low paid  Less likely to  Be self-employed  Hit hard during the crisis

Youth unemployment rates, EU-27 and EA-17, seasonally adjusted, January April 2012

Ratio of youth to adult unemployment rates , EU

Change in youth unemployment rates (EU 27)

Part time as % of all workers, yrs

Proportion year olds with temporary contract (Eurostat Q2 2010)

Change in temporary employment

Activity status young people EU 27, 2008 (from EMCO report no 5,2010)

Policy context in Europe  Youth on the Move – Commission’s 2010 initiative, primarily aimed at improving educational levels, but also to launch “Youth employment framework”  Interventions to support young workers in OECD countries report (World Bank 2007) found direct employment strategies in US and Canada, but not Europe  European Employment Observatory Review, Youth employment measures, 2010 (published Feb 2011) – no policy initiatives reported relating to state as employer  Eurofound study (2011) finds active labour market strategies common government response (sometimes contested by unions), but again no mention of public sector’s role as employer  “Overall, governments’ policies towards young workers have tended to emphasise the importance of getting young people into work, no matter the quality of the jobs available.”

YOUNG WORKERS & PUBLIC SERVICES

Youth employment by sector Q (EU-27) (Q4 in brackets) All industries and services Electricity, gasWater, waste Pubic admin- istration, defence, social security Health, social work EU (27)9.1 (10.0)6.2 (6.2)5.4 (4.9)4.8(4.7)7.6(8.2) Bulgaria Czech Rep France Germany Greece Italy Netherlands Sweden* Spain UK

Youth employment by sector Q (EU-27) (Q4 in brackets) All industries and services Electricity, gasWater, waste Pubic admin- istration, defence, social security Health, social work EU (27)9.1 (10.0)6.2 (6.2)5.4 (4.9)4.8(4.7)7.6(8.2) Bulgaria Czech Rep France Germany Greece Italy Netherlands Sweden* Spain UK

Youth employment by sector Q (EU-27) (Q4 in brackets) All industries and services Electricity, gasWater, waste Pubic admin- istration, defence, social security Health, social work EU (27)9.1 (10.0)6.2 (6.2)5.4 (4.9)4.8(4.7)7.6(8.2) Bulgaria Czech Rep France Germany Greece Italy Netherlands Sweden* Spain UK

Ranked by proportion of youth in population

EU states as employers of youth

Sectoral change in employment by age in France (Schulze-Marmeling, HERA on EIRO)

Job security and age: French civil service (2008)

Youth as % all temps: health & social work q q2 2011, EU 27

Youth as % all temps: public admin, defence, social sec. q q2 2011, EU 27

Youth as % all temps: water, waste q q2 2011, EU 27

Youth as % all temps: electricity, gas, etc. q q2 2011, EU 27

summary from data  Unemployment becoming more widespread amongst Europe’s young workers  Temporary contracts and involuntary part time working more prevalent for young workers  Public services perform worse than economy as a whole in employing young workers – public administration universally the worst  Young workers more affected by crisis – particularly in public services

Interviews – key themes  Forms of precarious work amongst young workers in target sectors  part-time, temporary or zero hours contracts in health & social care (Netherlands, Sweden, Germany)  collapse in permanent posts for young in public admin (Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, France, Greece)  agency working in general not an issue, except in France, some in UK.

 Social dialogue:  Recruitment of young workers  national schemes – Sweden  UK health  otherwise previous schemes halted under austerity  Training for young workers  few places in public admin,  professional training continues in health,  apprenticeships in utilities  transition of young workers from precarious to more stable work

 Bargaining on pay  Bulgaria, Germany

actions by unions  Reaching out to the young at school/college  Netherlands, Czech Republic  Campaigning over “youth” issues  Italy, France  Youth structures  Sweden, Netherlands, France, Czech Republic  Recruitment drives  UK, Bulgaria

Conclusions  few national labour market interventions aimed at youth are expressed through public employment (none exclusively so)  public services reluctant to employ young people, regardless of their qualifications  even poor quality jobs for young people a rare commodity in parts of the public sector

 relatively little precarious working amongst young workers in the public services – because previous precarious work has resulted in them being largely eliminated  public utilities slightly better – capital intensive  reduced prospect for permanent work in health workers’ chosen field  growth in social care drawing in young people on flexible contracts ( e.g. part-time with no core hours)

 European public administration has become a middle- to retirement-age occupation with almost no access for the young, no matter how well qualified  EPSU affiliates turning to young members (and potential members)  Little evidence of young workers’ interests featuring in collective bargaining,  May be at local level

 young workers more likely to be on low wages – but does not keep them in work.  the orthodoxy that money spent on public services is money wasted is failing the young in particular

EPSU  ESPU affiliates at early stages of refocusing their work onto the needs of young workers.  Specific experiences of good practice need to be located and described in more detail.  Austerity has led to public employment being denied to the young –  developing a distinct European trade union campaign  “youth guarantee” specifically for the public services.

what else do we need to know?  Privatisation and outsourcing  Employment plans to support jobs in public services  Local good practice, in particular in the public utilities