Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T11:19:03.377Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Labour Market Restructuring in Industrialised Societies: An Overview

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

Michael Quinlan
Michael Quinlan*
Affiliation:
School of Industrial Relations and Organisational Behaviour, University of New South Wales
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

over the past 20 years the labour markets of most industrialised countries have undergone a series of profound changes. These changes have been associated with significant changes in work processes, employment conditions, union density and industrial relations. This paper provides an overview of the labour market restructuring occurring in most industrialised societies. In addition to the growth in temporary, part-time work and self-employment, changes in the extent of agency labour, homework, telework, outsourcing, franchising and the timing of work are also considered. A series of complex interconnections are identified. It is argued that in many cases, the socio-economic consequences of these changes have been compounded by alterations to policies and laws dealing with industrial relations, labour markets, competitive tendering, privatisation and social security.

Type
Symposium on Dimensions of Precarious Employment
Information
The Economic and Labour Relations Review , Volume 9 , Issue 1 , June 1998 , pp. 1 - 30
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 1998

References

Abbott, J., De Cieri, H., Iverson, R. (1997) Costing Turnover: Implications for Work/Family Conflict at Management Level, Working Paper No.103, Department of Management and Industrial Relations, University of MelbourneGoogle Scholar
Abraham, K., Taylor, S. (1996) ‘Firm’s Use of Outside Contractors: Theory and Evidence’, Journal of Labor Economics, 14(3): 394–424Google Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics, (1986, 1996) Labour Mobility Australia, Series No. 6209.0, ABS, CanberraGoogle Scholar
Bennett, L (1994) Making Labour Law in Australia: Industrial Relations, Politics and Law, Law Book Co., SydneyGoogle Scholar
Benson, J (1996) ‘Dual Commitment: Contract Workers in Australian Manufacturing Enterprises’, Working Paper No. 101, Department of Management and Industrial Relations, University of MelbourneGoogle Scholar
Bluestone, B., Rose, S. (1997) ‘Overworked and Underemployed; Unravelling an Economic Enigma’, The American Prospect, 31: 58–69Google Scholar
Boris, E (1995), Home to Work: Motherhood and the politics of industrial homework in the United States, Cambridge University Press; CambridgeGoogle Scholar
Boris, E, Prugl, E. (eds) (1996) Homeworkers in Global Perspective: invisible no more, Routledge, LondonGoogle Scholar
Brewster, C., Mayne, L., Tregaskis, O. (1997) ‘Flexible Working in Europe: A Review of the Evidence’, Management International Review, vol. 37 (special issue): 85–103Google Scholar
Brosnan, P (1996) ‘Labour Markets and Social Deprivation’, Labour and Industry, 7(2): 3–31CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brosnan, P., Horwitz, F., Walsh, P. (1997) ‘Non-Standard Employment: Results from a Workplace Survey in Three Countries’, in The Search for Competitiveness and Its implications for Employment, Fifth IIRA European Regional Industrial Relations Congress, Dublin, 26–29 AugustGoogle Scholar
Buchanan, J., Watson, I. (1997) ‘A Profile of Low Wage Employees’, Working Paper No.47, Australian Centre for Industrial Relations Research and Training, University of SydneyGoogle Scholar
BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) (1995a) New Data on Contingent and Alternative Employment Examined by BLS, Report 900 August 1995, US Department of Labor, Washington DCGoogle Scholar
BLS (1995b) New Survey Reports on Wages and Benefits for Temporary Help Service Workers, 6 September, US Department of Labor, Washington DCGoogle Scholar
BLS (1996a) Worker Displacement During the Mid-1990 (Based on Revised Estimates), 25 October, US Department of Labor, Washington DCGoogle Scholar
BLS (1996b) Work Experience in 1995, Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey, 30 January, US Department of Labor, Washington DCGoogle Scholar
BLS (1996c) Employment and Earnings, 43(11): 26Google Scholar
BLS (1997a) Employee Tenure in the Mid 1990s, Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey, 30 January, US Department of Labor, Washington DCGoogle Scholar
BLS (1997b) Extended Mass Layoffs in the Third Quarter of 1996, 6 February, US Department of Labor, Washington DCGoogle Scholar
Burgess, J (1992) ‘Further Evidence on Small Business Employment and Industrial Relations’, Labour Economics and Productivity, 4(2): 130–49Google Scholar
Burgess, J (1997) ‘The Flexible Firm and the Growth of Non-Standard Employment’, Labour and Industry, 7(3): 85–102CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, I (1996) ‘Casual Employment, Labour Regulation and Australian Trade Unions’, Journal of Industrial Relations, 38(4): 571–90Google Scholar
Campbell, I., Burgess, J. (1997) ‘National Patterns of Temporary Employment: The Distinctive Case of Casual Employment in Australia’, Working Paper No. 53, National Key Centre in Industrial Relations, Monash University, MelbourneGoogle Scholar
Cohany, S (1996) ‘Workers in alternative employment arrangements’, Monthly Labor Review, 119(11): 31–45Google Scholar
Commonwealth of Australia, Joint Standing Committee on Migration (1996) Submissions to Inquiry into Working-Holiday Visas, Volumes 1–3, The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, CanberraGoogle Scholar
Commonwealth of Australia, Joint Standing Committee on Migration (1997) Working-Holiday Makers: More Than Tourists, Australian Government Publishing Service, CanberraGoogle Scholar
Cregan, C (1997) ‘What’s happened to the labour market for school-leavers in Britain?’, Department of Management and Industrial Relations, University of Melbourne, Working Paper No. 108.Google Scholar
De Grip, A., Hoevenberg, J., Willems, E. (1997) ‘Atypical Employment in the European Union’, International Labour Review, 136(1): 49–71Google Scholar
Delsen, L (1995) Atypical Employment: An International Perspective - Causes, consequences and policy, published PhD thesis, Rijksuniversiteit Limburg te MaastrictGoogle Scholar
Dennard, H (1996) ‘Government impediments to the employment of contingent workers’, Journal of Labor Research, 17(4): 595–612CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dietz, E (1996) ‘A Look at Temporary Help Wage Rates’, Compensation and Working Conditions, 1 (2): 46–50Google Scholar
Doring, D (1996) ‘Pension systems in the European Union and aspects of socio-economic change’, Transfer European Review of Labour and Research, 2(4): 681–98CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eardley, T., Corden, A. (1996) Low Income Self-employment: work, benefits and living standards, Avebury, AldershotGoogle Scholar
Edwards, L., Field-Hendrey, E. (1996), ‘Home-based workers: data from the 1990 Census of Population’, Monthly Labor Review, 119(11): 26–34Google Scholar
Egger, P (1997) ‘Contract labour and employment: Some proposals for further consideration’, in Egger, P., Poschen, P., (eds), Contract Labour: Looking at issues - Nine country cases, Labour Education 1997/1-2 Nos. 106/7, International Labour Organisation, Geneva, 3–15Google Scholar
Esping-Andersen, G. (1996) ‘Equality or employment? The interaction of wages, welfare states and family change’, Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, 2(4): 615–34Google Scholar
Fairbrother, P., Svenson, S., Teicher, J. (1997) The Withering Away of the Australian State: Privatisation and Its Implications for Labour, Monash University National Key Centre for Industrial Relations Working Paper No. 54Google Scholar
Felsted, A (1996) ‘Homeworking in Britain: the national picture in the 1990s’, Industrial Relations Journal, 27(3): 225–38CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gregg, P., Wadsworth, J. (1997) ‘Can’t Stand Up for Falling Down? Insecurity in the U.K. Labour Market’, Management Research News, 21(2/3): 23–4Google Scholar
Harrison, B., Kelley, M. (1993) ‘Outsourcing and the Search for Flexibility’, Work, Employment and Society, 7(2): 213–35CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hippie, S., Stewart, J. (1996) ‘Earnings and benefits of contingent and non-contingent workers’, Monthly Labor Review, 119(10): 22–30Google Scholar
Hodge, G (1996) Contracting out Government Services: A review of international evidence, Montech, MelbourneGoogle Scholar
Hooper, J (1998) ‘Child labour: Industrial wealth of Italy built on youth’, Sydney Morning Herald, 10 January: 23Google Scholar
HSC (1996) The health and safety implications of changing patterns of employment, Health and Safety Commission, LondonGoogle Scholar
Hughes, A (1996) ‘Employment in the public and private sectors’, Labour Market Trends, 104(8): 373Google Scholar
Industry Commission (1995) Competitive Tendering and Contracting by Public Sector Agencies, Draft Report, Industry Commission, MelbourneGoogle Scholar
Industry Commission (1997) A Portrait of Australian Business: Results of the 1995 Business Longitudinal Survey, Industry Commission/Department of Industry, Science and Tourism, CanberraGoogle Scholar
Jackson, A., Rasmussen, E. (1995) ‘Transition, Commitment & Disillusionment: Employment Relations in New Zealand Financial Retailing in the 1990s’, paper presented to IIRA 10th World Congress, Washington, 31 May to 4 JuneGoogle Scholar
Jenkins, S (1995) ‘Accounting for inequality: decomposition analyses for the UK, 1971–1986’, Economica, 62: 29–63Google Scholar
Jones, P., Ilg, R., Gardner, J. (1997) ‘Trends in hours of work since the mid-1970s’. Monthly Labor Review, 120(4): 3–14Google Scholar
Kosters, M.H. (1997) ‘New Employment Relationships and the Labor Market’, Journal of Labor Research, 18(4): 551–9Google Scholar
Kruse, D (1997) Illegal Child Labor in the United States, report commissioned by Associated PressGoogle Scholar
Lafferty, G., Hall, R., Harley, W., Whitehouse, G. (1997) ‘Homeworking in Australia: An Assessment of Current Trends’, Australian Bulletin of Labour, 23(2): 143–57Google Scholar
Lampe, A (1997) ‘Contractor floodgates open as couriers win tax battle’, Sydney Morning Herald, 15 February: 1Google Scholar
Mayhew, C., Quinlan, M. (1998) Outsourcing and Occupational Health and Safety: A comparitive study of factory-based and outworkers in the Australian TCF Industry, Industrial Relations Research Centre, Monograph no. 40, University of New South WalesGoogle Scholar
McRae, S (1995) Part-time Work in the European Union: The Gender Dimension, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, DublinGoogle Scholar
Menzies, H (1997) ‘Telework, Shadow Work: The privatization of work in the new digital economy’, Studies in Political Economy, 53: 103–23CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meulders, D., Plasman, O., Plasman, R. (1996) ‘Atypical work in the European experience’, Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, 2(4): 574–601Google Scholar
Moorehead, A., Steele, M., Alexander, M., Kerry, S., Duffin, L. (1997) Changes at Work: The Second Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey, Longman, MelbourneGoogle Scholar
OECD (1990) Employment Outlook - July 1990, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, ParisGoogle Scholar
OECD (1996) Employment Outlook - July 1996, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, ParisGoogle Scholar
OECD (1997) Employment Outlook - July 1997, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, ParisGoogle Scholar
Paddon, M (1997) Testimony to the Senate and Public Administration References Committee, 3 April, Official Hansard Report, CanberraGoogle Scholar
Paoli, P (1992) First European Survey on the Work Environment 1991–1992, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, DublinGoogle Scholar
Peck, J (1996) Work-Place: The Social Regulation of Labour Markets, The Guilford Press, New YorkGoogle Scholar
Pennings, F., van Rijs, A., Jacobs, A., de Vries, H. (1996), Telework in the Netherlands: labour law, social security and occupational health and safety aspects, Hugo Sinzheimer Institute, AmsterdamGoogle Scholar
Polivka, A (1996) ‘A profile of contingent workers’, Monthly Labor Review, 119(10): 10–21Google Scholar
Potter, J (1996) ‘Redundancies in Great Britain: results from the Labour Force Survey’, Labour Market Trends, 104(2): 41–8Google Scholar
Quinlan, M (1997) ‘The Implications of Labour Market Restructuring in Industrialised Societies for Occupational Health and Safety’, UNSW School of Industrial Relations and Organisational Behaviour Working Paper No. 116.Google Scholar
Reid, K., Roberts, T., Dawson, D. (1997) ‘Improving shiftwork management: shiftwork and health’. Journal of Occupational Health and Safety - Australia and New Zealand, 13(5): 439–50Google Scholar
Ring, P., Van de Ven, A. (1994) ‘Developmental Processes of Cooperative Interorganizational Relationships’, Academy of Management Review, 19(1): 90–118CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robinson, P (1997) ‘Insecurity and the flexible workforce: measuring the ill-defined’, paper presented to 12th Employment Research Unit conference (Insecure Employment), Cardiff Business School, Cardiff, Wales 11–12 SeptemberGoogle Scholar
Rogers, N., Roberts, T., Dawson, D. (1997) ‘Improving shiftwork management: Understanding shiftwork’, Journal of Occupational Health and Safety - Australia and New Zealand, 13(5): 429–37Google Scholar
Salmon, J (1997) ‘Beyond the Miracle: Risk-Sharing Employment Adjustment and the Future of Japanese Lifetime Commitment’, paper presented to 12th Employment Research Unit conference, Cardiff Business School, Wales 11–12 SeptemberGoogle Scholar
Secretariat of the Commission for Labor Cooperation (1997) Plant Closings and Labor Rights: A Report to the Council of Ministers on the Effects of Sudden Plant Closings on Freedom of Association and the Right to Organise in Canada, Mexico and the United States, Commission for Labor CooperationGoogle Scholar
Senate Economics References Committee (1996) Outworking in the garment industry, Official Hansard Reports, 11 June, Australian Parliament, CanberraGoogle Scholar
Sharpe, M (1997) ‘Outsourcing, Organisational Competitiveness and Work’, Journal of Labor Research, 18(4): 535–49CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stanworth, C., Stanworth, J. (1997) ‘Managing an externalised workforce: freelance labour use in the UK book publishing industry’, Industrial Relations Journal, 28(1): 43–55Google Scholar
Takahishi, Y (1997) ‘The Labor Market and Lifetime Employment in Japan’, Economic and Industrial Democracy, 18: 55–66CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Time for Business, (1996) Report of the Small Business Deregulation Task Force, Australian Government Publishing Service, CanberraGoogle Scholar
US GAO, (1996) Federal Downsizing: Better Workforce and Strategic Planning Could Have Made Buyouts More Effective, United States General Accounting Office, Washington DCGoogle Scholar
Vandenheuvel, A., Wooden, M. (1995) ‘Self-employed contractors in Australia: how many and who are they?’ Journal of Industrial Relations, 37(2): 263–80Google Scholar
Westberg, H (1997) ‘Flexible Labour Markets and Welfare Systems in Sweden, Naitonal Institute for Working Life, Solna, SwedenGoogle Scholar
Wiatrowski, W (1994) ‘Small business and their employees’, Monthly Labor Review, 117(10): 29–35Google Scholar
Wooden, M., VandenHeuvel, A. (1996) ‘The use of contractors in Australian workplaces’, Labour Economics and Productivity, 8(2): 163–94Google Scholar