Tijdschrift voor Arbeidsvraagstukken - Volume 21, Issue 3, 2005

Het al lang aangekondigde eindeloopbaandebat in België is in de lente van 2005 eindelijk van start gegaan. De werkgelegenheidsgraad onder 55-plussers bedraagt in België slechts 28 procent (onder 60-plussers zelfs maar 14%). Het doel is in 2010 een werkgelegenheidsgraad onder 55-plussers te realiseren van minstens vijftig procent. Op 13 juni jl. overhandigden premier Verhofstadt en minister van Werk Freya Van den Bossche de nota Actief ouder worden aan de sociale partners, met daarin 65 maatregelen om oudere werknemers langer aan het werk te houden. Een van de belangrijkste maatregelen uit het regeringsvoorstel betreft het optrekken van de loopbaanvereiste voor een volwaardig pensioen tot veertig jaar (zowel bij pensioen als bij brugpensioen). Wie na de leeftijd van zestig jaar blijft werken, ontvangt pensioenbonussen. Wie niet aan de loopbaanvereiste van veertig jaar voldoet en toch op pensioen wordt gesanctioneerd, krijgt een korting van vier procent op de pensioenuitkering per vervroegd jaar van uittreden.

From equalization to development: sectoral training funds as learning organizations

In a market economy, individual employers are confronted with several dilemmas, when they have to make long-term investments in (re)training and HRD. Especially in small and medium enterprises (SME’s), these dilemmas often lead to under-investments in education and (re)training, unless institutional arrangements reduce these dilemmas. Since the mid 1980s, sectoral training funds, which operate on the basis of the principle of equalization, provide such an institutional arrangement in The Netherlands. They are jointly administered by representatives of the trade unions and employers’ associations. In this article, we investigate on the basis of empirical data from the training fund for the installation branche, whether the desired effects of the sectoral training funds (i.e, the prevention of training under-investment, the prevention of free rider behavior, and the production and dissemination of strategic knowledge) are actually being achieved. We conclude that these effect are not achieved, mainly because the fund is primarily providing banking services (i.e. pumping money around), and is more of an training- than a development fund, mainly because schooling is seen as more as an ends than as a means.

De verhouding tussen georganiseerde werkgevers en werknemers is in de periode waarin ik nauw betrokken ben geweest bij het centrale overleg, aan sterke verandering onderhevig geweest.

Convergence and quality of industrial relations in Europe

Quality of industrial relations is increasingly recognised as a key issue at European level. This contribution intends to explore the whats and whys: what is meant by quality and why is it high on the European agenda? It is argued that it has to do with an instrumental view on quality in the first place: in how far industrial relations can contribute to the realisation of the Lisbon objectives? In the second place a certain notion of Europeanisation of industrial relation is considered to be important, a notion that mainly refers to the Rhineland or (neo-)corporatist model of industrial relations. Taking into account the effects of internationalisation and globalisation the question is raised whether or not this model will be sustainable.

Good employership and good employeeship: towards a conceptual model

TNO carries out a four year research programme on ‘Good Employership and Good Employeeship”. One of the aims of this programme is to bridge the gap between these two in essence normative concepts and a more scientific approach. As a starting point, the literature of the disciplines of economics, psychology and sociology provides several useful theories and concepts, such as agency theory, psychological contract, trust, organisational citizenship behaviour and social loafing. Most of the theories and concepts reflect a normative tension between calculative and altruistic behaviour, but it would be naïve to project good employership and good employeeship only on the latter. Altruistic behaviour in a market economy does not provide the basis for an enduring employment relation. In a next step a conceptual model is developed. The core of this model are the implicit and explicit expectations and behaviour of employers and employees in the employment relationship. The model allows us to distinguish between independent, moderating and dependent variables and also provides us with a definition of good employership and good employeeship.

De levensloopregeling staat symbool voor de bredere levensloopfilosofie. Dat denken is gericht op het zoeken naar nieuwe carrièrepatronen die beter passen bij individuen die arbeid en zorg combineren. Twee belangrijke ontwikkelingen dwingen tot een nieuw denken over loopbanen.

The influence of organizational characteristics on work pressure in organizations

The effects of work related stress and work pressure are a topic of research, however, very little research focuses on the causes of work pressure. In this article we examine some possible causes of work pressure in organizations. In research on work pressure, usually the perspective of the employee on work pressure is used. In this research we used the perspective of the employer. Data are gathered in 2001 amongst 3199 employers in the Netherlands.

Multivariate regression analyses showed that part of the work pressure in companies can be explained by the complexity and instability of the environment. The analyses also showed that work pressure is higher in organizations with flexible contracts and where process renewal recently had taken place. The most important factor in explaining work pressure, was the nature of the work in the organization. Work pressure increases as the percentage of people with unattractive tasks (heavy work, monotonous work) increases.

Predictors of employment aspiration and job search behaviour

A study was designed to make a pair-wise comparison between people with a high employment aspiration and an active job search behaviour on the one hand and their counterparts not wanting and not searching for work on the other hand. This comparison was made for three non-working groups: non-employed without social benefits, registered unemployed, and people receiving disability benefits. Data originate from the 1997-1999 years of the Dutch life situation survey. In almost all groups, being a male, young, highly educated and being involved in part-time education was found to be a strong predictor for employment aspiration and job seek behaviour. Household situation, health and social isolation, and private and leisure activities predicted employment aspiration and job search behaviour weakly. Our conclusion is that government policy should first of all concentrate on motivating organisations to attract women, elderly, and low educated, for instance by means of making appointments with employers and by offering more opportunities for part-time education. Next concentration on the personal motivation of non-working people may stimulate them to find a job.