Thematic feature - unskilled workers
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This article gives a brief overview of the industrial relations aspects of the topic of unskilled workers and unskilled work in France, as of February 2005. It looks at: national definitions of unskilled workers or work; the number of unskilled workers and workers in unskilled jobs, and the extent of unskilled work; employment and unemployment among unskilled workers; the regulatory framework; trade union organisation among unskilled workers; pay and conditions; recent initiatives to improve the situation of unskilled workers; and the views of trade unions and employers' organisations on the issue and its implications for collective bargaining.
In recent years, labour market developments have altered the demand for labour. Increasingly, employers are looking for adaptable workers, with more 'transversal' and 'relational' competences. The nature of skills required to be considered efficient in a job has thus evolved. In this situation, there is a growing risk of exclusion among unemployed workers whose profiles do not match the job characteristics needed, while the low-skilled or unskilled workforce is more at risk of unemployment.
In this context, in February 2005 the EIRO national centres were asked, in response to a questionnaire, to give a brief overview of the industrial relations aspects of the topic of unskilled workers. The following distinctions are used, where applicable:
(a) an unskilled job is a job which requires, for its proper execution, hardly any formal education and/or training and/or experience;
(b) a worker in an unskilled job is a worker doing such a job, irrespective of their level of qualifications or competences (especially under conditions of high unemployment, a significant share of those occupying unskilled jobs may be 'overeducated' for them, or 'underemployed'); and
(c) an unskilled worker is someone who has only the lowest level of qualifications or education (however defined).
The questionnaire examined: national definitions of unskilled workers or work, including those used or provided in laws, statistics or collective agreements; figures or estimates on the number of unskilled workers and workers in unskilled jobs, and the extent of unskilled work; employment and unemployment among unskilled workers; the regulatory framework, including any specific laws or collective agreements, and trade union organisation among unskilled workers; the pay and conditions of unskilled workers and workers in unskilled jobs, or for unskilled jobs; any recent initiatives to improve the situation of unskilled workers; and the views of trade unions and employers' organisations on the issue and its implications for collective bargaining. The French responses are set out below (along with the questions asked).
Definitions and extent
(a) Please provide a definition of unskilled workers or work (see distinctions above) in your country. Are there any definitions provided in laws, statistics or collective agreements?
The category of 'unskilled' (non qualifiée) first appeared in sector-level collective agreements in reference to the 1945 'Parodi decrees' (in a series of decrees in 1945, Labour Minister Alexandre Parodi set out definitions and pay scales for occupational categories - these definitions were established by sector and occupational group, following consultation with the relevant employers’ associations and trade unions). In these decrees, a distinction was made between three levels of skill for blue-collar workers (ouvriers): unskilled workers (manœuvres) perform work requiring no previous training; semi-skilled workers (ouvriers spécialisés) perform work requiring less than one week’s training; and skilled workers (ouvriers professionnels, or ouvriers qualifiés) have occupational qualifications, usually a vocational aptitude certificate (Certificat d’aptitude professionnel, CAP). However, in 1975, the introduction of 'classification criteria scales' into collective agreements centred the system on the skills/qualifications required by the job, rather than those possessed by the individual.
Statistics are based on collective agreements’ definitions of 'unskilled workers'. This category corresponds to the degree of qualification required for the job, not the worker’s level of qualification. Since classification scales are subject to collective bargaining, the boundary between skilled and unskilled jobs is highly relative.
The situation regarding white-collar workers (employés) is even less clear. Indeed, collective agreements set out fewer categories relevant to them and do not set out a distinction between skilled and unskilled work. However, statisticians have been trying to make this distinction since the early 1990s. Several classification criteria have been floated as ways of constructing the category of 'unskilled white-collar workers', based on the most precise level of the socio-economic nomenclature (the Professions et Catégories Sociales, PCS). There have been consultations with experts, who have attempted to make the categorisation more objective by analysing the wages and education background of those occupying these positions. The results obtained have varied widely depending on the method used, and none have been the subject of a consensus.
(b) Are there any figures or estimates available on the number of unskilled workers and workers in unskilled jobs, and the extent of unskilled work. How have these figures changed in recent years - have changing skill needs or improvements in education/training systems led to a reduction in the numbers of unskilled jobs, unskilled workers and workers in unskilled jobs? Please break all figures down by gender where possible.
Using the broadest definition, 5.3 million people had unskilled jobs in 2002, accounting for 22% of all employment. Over the 1984-2002 period, the number of blue-collar and white-collar jobs rose overall by almost 16%, while the number of unskilled jobs increased by a little under 6%. This general trend however conceals significant differences within this period of time. In particular, during the 1994-2002 period, the opposite trend was witnessed for the first time, with the amount of unskilled jobs for blue- and white-collar workers rising twice as fast (16%) as that of skilled jobs (8%).
Among the unskilled, 3.2 million were white-collar workers and 2.1 million blue-collar workers in 2002. White-collar staff thus comprised more than 60% of all unskilled workers, as opposed to 45% in 1984. This reflects changes in the amount and structure of employment for both white- and blue-collar workers. The number of blue-collar workers slightly decreased, in absolute terms, over this period, with a concomitant increase in the overall level of skills within this group. The opposite trend was observed for white-collar workers, as their numbers rose rapidly from 1984 to 2002 (by 28%), but it was unskilled employment that rose the fastest within this group (growing by almost 40%). This development was concurrent with a growing 'feminisation' of unskilled employment, as by 2002, women filled almost two-thirds of these jobs.
The growth in the share of unskilled jobs in the economy stands in stark contrast to the drastic reduction in the number of workers without formal qualifications. This trend is the result of twin processes: the retirement of less qualified generations of workers; and the continuing decrease in the proportion of children leaving school with no qualifications (20% in 1984, falling to 12% in 2002).
(c) Please provide figures on employment and unemployment rates for unskilled workers, compared with higher-skilled groups. Have unskilled workers/workers in unskilled jobs been particularly affected by industrial and company restructuring? Have new jobs created in recent years been filled by unskilled workers? Please break all figures down by gender where possible.
In France, the level of qualification plays a very significant role in terms of unemployment. In 2003, the unemployment rate for workers without a degree or certificate was more than 15%, ie around twice as high as that for those with such qualifications. So in a context of large-scale unemployment, those without any formal qualifications often suffer from a 'knock-on' effect that pushes them out of the labour market. While in 1984, 72% of unskilled blue-collar jobs and 70% of unskilled white-collar jobs were occupied by unskilled workers, by 2002 these figures stood at 61% and 49% respectively. Facing increasing competition from those with formal qualifications in the market for unskilled employment, the unskilled now run a growing risk of unemployment.
Regulations and conditions
(a) Is there a specific regulatory framework in your country concerning unskilled workers and workers in unskilled jobs (however defined)? Are there specific laws or collective agreements? Are there specific trade union organisations for them, or are they represented in 'normal' union structures. Have there been any changes in these area reflecting the changes referred to in question (b) under 'Definitions and extent' above?
In France, unskilled workers do not constitute a specific group in terms of state assistance or collective bargaining. There is no separate form of representation for these workers, as all French trade unions are organised on the basis of industry-wide federations. Employment policies, although not targeted directly at this group, aim to integrate people in difficulty on the employment market into jobs, including unskilled workers. For 20 years, state policy-making in this sphere has developed around three areas; employers’ exemption from social security contributions (see below); training provision; and subsidised employment for specific groups.
State intervention initially focused on young people with low educational attainment. In the second half of the 1980s, it broadened to include other disadvantaged groups, such as long-term unemployed people and those receiving minimum subsistence welfare benefits. For these groups, the primary problem is not the low level of qualifications but the fact that their skills are no longer relevant due to a prolonged absence from the labour market. Policies thus only address the low-skilled indirectly. A longtitudinal survey of the proportion of unskilled workers in state employment schemes demonstrates that this figure has fallen steadily since 1995. In 2002, the intake of the 'employment solidarity contract' (Contrat Emploi Solidarité, CES), and 'consolidated employment contract' (Contrat Emploi Consolidé, CEC) schemes (FR9803100F) - subsidised employment programmes reserved for the non-commercial sector, where the proportion of unskilled workers has always been higher than in the commercial sector - stood at 170,000 unskilled workers, ie 30% lower than in 1995 (FR0402103N). Adult training courses have also been decreasingly targeted on those with low skill levels. The proportion of them in such schemes grew throughout the 1980s, peaking in 1989 (at 31%) before falling to stabilise at around 20% from 1994 onwards. This smaller proportion of the unskilled in targeted state employment policy schemes can be explained as much by the serious funding cuts in such schemes as by their reorientation toward a more general employment support function, particularly through the structural reduction of payroll costs. Since 2000, the provision of more personalised support for job-seekers and lower-skilled young people has become necessary.
Collective bargaining does not seek to deal with unskilled employees as such. Trade union action takes the form either of raising low wages (see below), or of fighting inequalities regarding access to vocational training, which hit hardest employees with the lowest level of qualification (see below).
(b) Please provide any figures available for the pay of unskilled workers and workers in unskilled jobs, or for unskilled jobs, and the relationship of this pay with the average or with higher-skilled groups. Do collective agreements contain specific pay grades for unskilled workers, or workers in unskilled jobs? Please break all figures down by gender where possible.
In France, collective bargaining on low wages cannot be separated from state intervention by means of the national minimum wage (SMIC), which introduces a degree of inflexibility into the system of pay bargaining, in terms of both flattening the wage hierarchy (the figure for skilled workers’ average pay divided by the SMIC fell from 1.8 in 1970 to 1.6 by 1992) and shrinking pay scales and the range of pay levels, resulting in a concentration of wage levels around the SMIC (FR0408108F). Despite constant attempts by the Ministry of Labour to provide incentives, the lowest levels of job classification contained in many collective agreements regularly have wage levels below the SMIC.
The proportion of all employees paid the SMIC has risen over the past 20 years from 2.6% to 8.6%. This trend is attributable to the rate at which the minimum wage has increased, coupled with a lack of dynamism in pay bargaining. It is also a consequence of the considerable funds channelled into lowering unskilled labour costs since 1995. Over time, general reductions in employers’ social security contributions on low wages have become the centre of gravity for state employment policies, to the point where they accounted for almost half their total funding level in 2002. These policies aim both to stimulate job creation in the tertiary sector and combat unemployment, which excludes unskilled workers from the labour market on a massive scale. Around 75% of unskilled employees have a monthly wage worth less than 1.5 times the SMIC, thus enabling their employers to access a reduction in employers’ social security contributions. However, unskilled workers comprise only 45% of those workers in the commercial sector whose wages entail such reductions.
(c) Are there any differences between unskilled workers/workers in unskilled jobs and higher-skilled groups in terms of access to other benefits, social security, pensions, etc? Please break all figures down by gender where possible.
There are no differences between unskilled workers and other workers in this area.
Actions and views
(a) Please describe any recent initiatives taken jointly or separately by companies, public authorities (national or local) or the social partners (eg collective agreements) to address the situation and improve the situation of unskilled workers in terms of pay, working conditions, training, employability, unemployment etc.
(b) Please summarise the views of trade unions and employers’ organisations on the issue and its implications for collective bargaining.
Although collective bargaining does not address the unskilled per se, trade unions are anxious to increase solidarity between workers, including the less skilled. In addition to their general action aimed at raising wages - and for some unions like the French Democratic Confederation of Labour (Confédération française démocratique du travail, CFDT) and the French Christian Workers’ Confederation (Confédération française des travailleurs chrétiens, CFTC), reducing pay differentials - the effort on behalf of the unskilled workers takes, first and foremost, the form of keeping them in work and securing their entitlement to training. At its latest conference for example, the General Confederation of Labour-Force ouvrière (Confédération générale du travail-Force ouvrière, CGT-FO) called for 'an accruable entitlement to paid training for all unskilled workers lasting up to a year and leading to a diploma or occupational qualification'. The General Confederation of Labour (Confédération générale du travail, CGT) has highlighted a right for all employees 'to move up at least one rung of the qualification ladder during their careers, and to double their wages between the beginning and end of it'. The instruments identified to procure this entitlement are mainly vocational training and the validation of work experience (validation des acquis de l’expérience, VAE).
Employers’ associations are also sensitive to increasing the skills level of their workforce, both to satisfy companies’ skills requirements, and because of the legal responsibility incumbent on firms to train and redeploy employees. Measures to advance the training of low-skilled employees figured in a national intersectoral agreement signed in September 2003 on lifelong vocational training (FR0311103F). This agreement has established a new scheme, the 'professionalisation period' (période de professionnalisation), whose goal is to prioritise an employee’s retention in the workforce. It is aimed at employees whose capacity to integrate into or remain in the workforce is low, ie those whose 'qualifications are insufficient in the light of technical and organisational changes'. The 'professionalisation period' operates on the basis of the following principles: individualised training pathways; alternation between training and work; and an assessment of job-related skills and abilities acquired. The relevant occupational qualifications are set out in compliance with the priorities of the industry concerned. A proportion of the money already placed in jointly-administered funds at sector level and set aside for work experience programmes alternating formal and on-the-job training (0.5% of payroll costs) can be used to pay for this 'professionalisation period'. The implementation of this scheme and the consequent changes will depend on the way in which employers’ associations and unions seize the options opened up by the agreement. For the time being, sector-level bargaining has not yet begun on professionalisation periods (FR0311103F).
The government’s serious concern over the low level of job creation has been echoed in the private services to persons sector. The home-help sector (FR0409105F), for example, has begun talks aimed at professionalising the sector’s employees, raising their wages and improving the quality of services offered. A collective agreement, signed at industry level in March 2002, has established a new classification scale clarifying the tasks and skills required for the various jobs in the industry, providing for wage increases of 24% over three years, and bolstering chances of promotion through VAE. At the same time, the joint employer-union body that manages vocational training in the home help sector has set up a new frame of reference for jobs and skills that also clarifies the industry’s recognised qualifications and certificates. All of these qualifications are now accessible through VAE.
Comments
The phenomenon of 'over-education' is a particularly noticeable feature of the changes in the relationship between education and employment in France. Indeed, since 1975, the category in which a person with a given qualification and a given amount of experience on the labour market actually finds a job has been falling steadily. This, as indicated above, has led particularly to a serious rise in the proportion of people with diplomas and degrees in unskilled work.
Several complementary factors may account for this phenomenon. The most widely held explanation is the 'inflation' of qualifications, as the education system is thought to produce people who are over-educated in relation to the needs of the economy, which by a knock-on effect, leads to the employment situation of those emerging from education with no qualifications becoming even more fragile. There is indeed contradiction between an education policy aimed at increasing educational levels and an employment policy stimulating a growth in the number of unskilled jobs through cuts in employers’ social security contributions on low wages.
Another explanation is the influence exerted by the trends in unemployment rates. Studies in France have demonstrated that the propensity to take a job for which the worker is over-qualified is primarily a function of the state of the labour market. Moreover, it should be noted that having a job classified as 'unskilled' does not necessarily mean that no skills are required to perform it. The skills used by the worker may not be recognised, in terms of the worker’s status and pay. Over-education may well stem partly from the increasing frequency with which this type of situation occurs in a context of large-scale unemployment, pushing people to accept it. (Yannick Fondeur, Catherine Vincent, IRES)