From Drift to Layering : The Historical Development of Job Security Regulations in Western Europe
Type
conference paper
Date Issued
2013-06-28
Author(s)
Abstract
This paper analyzes business and trade union strategies in the reform of job security regulations. It is argued that in the postwar decades, employers took advantage of their economic and informational power at the workplace level to circumvent regulations. Trade unions combated this institutional drift by reducing the level of discretion awarded to employers in interpreting existing regulations. The most direct way to do so was to increase the overall level of regulation and to leave as little as possible to discretionary judgment. In recent decades, the veto power of trade unions has diminished. Therefore, trade unions face the possibility of displacement of job security regulations. They react to this new strategic situation by consenting to certain reforms, while protecting the interests dearest to them. More concretely, trade unions continue to fight any attempt at deregulating job security in the case of open-ended contracts. However, they accept the continuous deregulation of temporary employment. The result of this process of gradual institutional change is an institutional dualism through layering. Trade unions consent to this two-tier labor market reform pattern because it allows them to protect the interests of their members (mostly workers on open-ended contracts) and their institutional involvement in the administration of dismissals (which is typically linked to indefinite contracts). In contrast, employers support this incremental institutional change through layering because it gives them access to a pool of cheap and flexible labor without undermining the cooperative workplace relationship they enjoy with their core workforce of skilled workers.
Language
English
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
HSG Profile Area
SEPS - Quantitative Economic Methods
Refereed
No
Start page
22
Event Title
SASE 25th Annual Conference
Event Location
Milan
Event Date
25.-27.06.2013
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
224090
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
open.access
Name
Mailand PE.pdf
Size
282.41 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
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