European employment regulation has been repeatedly identified by policy -makers as too stringent, which has resulted in policy recommendations that have promoted more flexible labour markets. This diagnosis has been reaffirmed, particularly by international policymakers, in the post-2008 economic and jobs crisis; high employment protection is now regarded as harmful for employment and responsible for an increase in precarious jobs as well as further social costs. In this paper we argue that the current, overwhelmingly deregulatory reform agenda is too narrowly specified. Above all, the debate needs to be turned away from the focus on deregulation and towards the role of reregulation for inclusive labour markets. With the focus on cost-related disincentives for employers to use standard forms of employment, the dominant debate fails to recognise a more complex set of problems that may put groups of workers at risk of exclusion. We argue that regulation is an important mechanism for prov ...   read more ...

European employment regulation has been repeatedly identified by policy -makers as too stringent, which has resulted in policy recommendations that have promoted more flexible labour markets. This diagnosis has been reaffirmed, particularly by international policymakers, in the post-2008 economic and jobs crisis; high employment protection is now regarded as harmful for employment and responsible for an increase in precarious jobs as well as further social costs. In this paper we argue that the current, overwhelmingly deregulatory reform agenda is too narrowly specified. Above all, the debate needs to be turned away from the focus on deregulation and towards the role of reregulation for inclusive labour markets. With the focus on cost-related disincentives for employers to use standard forms of employment, the dominant debate fails to recognise a more complex set of problems that may put groups of workers at risk of exclusion. We argue that regulation is an important mechanism for providing a more level playing field,
both between capital and labour and between workforce groups. read less ...

1. Introduction and policy context ....................................................................................... 5
2. Theoretical approaches to the root causes of segmentation:
mainstream versus institutional accounts ........................................................................... 8
3. Deregulation and segmentation: review of empirical evidence ..................................... 11
4. Reregulating for more inclusive labour markets ........................................................... 18
5. Towards a new reform agenda .................................................................................... 22
6. Conclusions ................................................................................................................. 25 

1. Introduction and policy context ....................................................................................... 5
2. Theoretical approaches to the root causes of segmentation:
mainstream versus institutional accounts ........................................................................... 8
3. Deregulation and segmentation: review of empirical evidence ..................................... 11
4. Reregulating for more inclusive labour markets ........................................................... 18
5. Towards a new reform agenda .................................................................................... 22
6. Conclusions ................................................................................................................. 25 read less ...

Labour market segmentation and the EU reform agenda: developing alternatives to the mainstream: working paper 2016.10 

Labour market segmentation and the EU reform agenda: developing alternatives to the mainstream: working paper 2016.10 read less ...

Contains figures, tables, bibliography. 

Contains figures, tables, bibliography. read less ...

©Publisher: ETUI aisbl, Brussels
All rights reserved. 

©Publisher: ETUI aisbl, Brussels
All rights reserved. read less ...

Labour market segmentation is not caused by employment regulation.
Labour markets offer a very high degree of opportunity to vary the terms and conditions of employment in ways which do not reflect the innate productivity potential of workers. However, a simple division of workers into ‘insiders’ or ‘outsiders’, based on a type of employment contract, is an oversimplification that emphasises the opposing interests of these two groups. In fact, the labour supply is highly stratified by factors such as social class, access to networks and education, family responsibilities, geographic constraints, age, and vulnerability to discrimination. Overlaid on and interacting with these issues
of discrimination in the workforce are the policies and practices of organisations that have different capacities and degrees of willingness to provide good employment conditions and decent work; this is further influenced by trade union power (actual or threatened), legal rules and social norms.
Regulat ...   read more ...

Labour market segmentation is not caused by employment regulation.
Labour markets offer a very high degree of opportunity to vary the terms and conditions of employment in ways which do not reflect the innate productivity potential of workers. However, a simple division of workers into ‘insiders’ or ‘outsiders’, based on a type of employment contract, is an oversimplification that emphasises the opposing interests of these two groups. In fact, the labour supply is highly stratified by factors such as social class, access to networks and education, family responsibilities, geographic constraints, age, and vulnerability to discrimination. Overlaid on and interacting with these issues
of discrimination in the workforce are the policies and practices of organisations that have different capacities and degrees of willingness to provide good employment conditions and decent work; this is further influenced by trade union power (actual or threatened), legal rules and social norms.
Regulation is an important mechanism for providing a more level playing field, both between capital and labour and between workforce groups. This does not mean that employment regulation does not require reform and development.
Indeed, policies and practices that in the past have provided for social inclusion may now be confined to a narrower range of jobs and work groups. There is therefore a strong need to refocus the debate on how to promote more inclusive labour markets in ways which protect the general workforce and promote a high productivity and high trust society. This means avoiding a process of levelling down, masquerading as policies designed to increase equality, and instead identifying mechanisms to level up employment standards and social protection for those who fall outside the employment protection net. Job and income stability, as well as ensured fair treatment at work, are even more
important for those who are vulnerable and disadvantaged than those who have stronger individual bargaining capacities. read less ...