Reconciliation policies: precondition for quality jobs for women and men

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Reconciliation policies pre-condition for
quality jobs (for women and men !)

• Putting the quality of jobs at the heart of the
• European Employment Strategy
• Brussels, 29 February 2008
• Catelene Passchier, confederal secretary
  European Trade Union Confederation

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The challenge (1)

• 42 Percent of German women believes
• that having children will mean the end
• of their career ..
• Financial Times Deutschland, Monday 25 June 2007

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The challenge (2)

• In the autumn of 2007 in Bulgaria,
• 85 of teachers were on strike. Most of them
  women.
• They demanded a substantial wage increase.
• Their current wage is 150 Euro per month
  (compared to around 400 for a skilled blue
  collar worker).
• Wages in Bulgaria are the lowest in EU 27.
• Fertility rates as well .

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Scenario 1 compromise strategies(fitting women
into a male world)

• The standard worker is a full time worker the
  organization of work is based on full time
  availability (plus overtime and/or irregular
  hours..)
• Careers are linear career breaks lead to wage
  penalties
• Children are a private matter, for which
  women/families can receive support
• Household chores are done by invisible hands
  care (female work) does not have a value
• Individual solutions to cope (with
  income-penalties)
• part time, flexi-time, (unpaid) leave, childcare

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Scenario 1 results

• Perpetuation of
• traditional division of labour of men and women
  at home
• segregation in the workplace
• Short term advantages
• low visible costs or investments needed

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Scenario 1 results (continued)

• Long term negative effects
• low fertility,
• stagnating labour market participation
• under-utilisation of female human capital,
• persistent gender gaps in terms of pay and
  pension rights etc. (majority of working poor
  are women, because of low wages and/or low
  working hours)
• Burden of adjustment on women !

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Scenario 2 structural changes (for men and
women)

• The standard worker is a worker (m/f) who cares
  (in various degrees throughout life course)
• Careers are flexible, with alternating periods of
  high work intensity and lower work intensity
• Work organizations are responsive to change and
  diversity
• It is a public interest to invest in an
  environment that supports and facilitates the
  (private) choice to have children, and combine
  paid work with care

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Scenario 2 results

• Gradual change towards
• more equal division of labour between men and
  women at home
• diminishing gender segregation in the workplace
• care (both paid and unpaid) is higher valued
• Short term costs
• (public and private) investment in childcare,
  dependent care, social security, leave, etc.

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Scenario 2 results (continued)

• Long term benefits
• higher fertility
• higher (and more adaptable!) labour market
  participation (and economic performance ?!)
• full utilisation of male and female human capital
  
• higher wages/ more income security for women,
  more gender equality
• Burden of adjustment more evenly spread over
  women and men, workplaces and societies

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Some evidence

• a positive correlation between female employment
  and fertility
• (with different outcomes for NMS related to low
  wage levels)
• a negative correlation between female
  unemployment and fertility
• a wage gap between full time and part time
  working women

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Correlation between total fertility rates and
female employment rates in 2003 (Eurostat 2006)
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Correlation between female unemployment rate and
total fertility 2004 (Eurostat)
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Wage gap between women due to working time (full
time vs part time)(source ODorchai et al. 2006)
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What Europeans think Governments should
prioritize to influence fertility

• Reducing unemployment, flexible working hours,
  childcare
• Family allowances, tax advantages
• Cost of children education, housing
• Parental leave, maternity benefits
• Source several Eurobarometers

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21-st century we need new images

• .. and policy coherence!
• in flexicurity debate
• when revising the Working Time Directive
• when tackling demographic change
• Longer working lives and more adaptability?
• then shorter working days and more flexibility
  for workers!

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Mainstreaming reconciliation, ETUCs demands (1)

• Updating the Pregnant workers Directive (hs
  protection, breast feeding,wage level)
• Improving the Parental leave Directive (paid
  leave, leave for sick dependants, etc.)
• New rights paternity leave, adoption

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ETUCs demands (2)

• More and better childcare
• Publicly funded
• Dependant care (new Lisbon target)
• Better jobs in care and household services
• Higher wages for womens work

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ETUCs demands (3)

• Real choice for workers to adapt work and working
  hours to their needs
• Mainstreaming reconciliation in working time
  policies and regulations ( collective
  agreements)
• Introduce right to request change in pattern of
  work in Working Time Directive
• Introduce right to request reversible
  reduction or extension of working hours (in Part
  time work Directive ?!)

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Improving the Parental leave directive Priority
paid parental leave

• Eurobarometer 1998 (EU-15)
• Give 2 main reasons for not taking unpaid leave
  to care for children or dependents
• (slide shows answers of workers between 25 and
  39)
• men women
• I cannot afford it 67.2 71.1
• Fear of losing job 22.9 23
• Harmful for career 9.8 6
• Financial dependency 21.2 24.2
• Other / do not know 17.8 15.1

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Action by European Social Partners

• The 1990s
• Parental Leave Agreement /Directive
• Part Time Work Agreement /Directive
• Fixed term contracts Agreement/ Directive

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Framework of actions on gender equality (2005)

• 4 priority areas for action
• Addressing gender stereotypes /segregation
• Promoting women in decision-making
• Supporting work life balance
• Tackling the gender pay gap

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2007 2008

• Joint evaluation of Parental Leave Directive
• evaluation of parental leave arrangements
• in connection with other arrangements supporting
  parents and work life balance
• such as flexible work arrangements and childcare
  as well as other forms of leave
• to assess if joint actions need to be taken.
• Report on progress to Tripartite Social Summit
  March 2008

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• Thank you !
• www.etuc.org