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 Belgium, 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 Belgian 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?

In Belgium, the law distinguishes between skilled (qualifié/geschoolde) and unskilled (non qualifié/ongeschoolde) workers on the basis of the level of education they have achieved. So, a worker who does not have a certificate or diploma of higher-secondary education is considered to be unskilled. This definition is also to be found in numerous collective agreements.

(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.

In 2004, the European Commission estimated that 40.6% of the Belgian population aged between 15 and 64 had a low level of qualifications, the percentage being 41.2% for men and 40.0% for women. The EU average was 34.8%, and Belgium thus figures amongst the Union's worst performers in this respect. Nevertheless, an improvement in the educational level of the population has been observed over the last 10 years. This improvement is the result of such measures as raising of obligatory school-leaving age to 18 and increased democratisation of access to higher education. Thus, today, there is a marked generational difference in the population, with the younger generations being much better educated on average than the older ones.

(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.

Unskilled people are particularly under-represented on the labour market, since less than half of those with low skills (see above definition) have a job. In 2003, the employment rate for this category of workers was 40.5%, whilst amongst skilled workers, 73.7% had a job. In 2003, the unemployment rate among unskilled workers was 11.7%, or 5.8 percentage points higher than that of skilled workers. Moreover, the unemployment rate for unskilled women is considerably higher than that for men with the same level of qualifications.

Technological progress over recent years, together with the development of the services sector and competition from low labour-cost countries, have made considerable contributions to a reduction in the amount of of low-skilled employment in Belgium. Furthermore, there is a tendency in the Belgian labour market for employers to recruit over-qualified people for vacant posts, which makes it even more likely that low-skilled people will be excluded from the market.

Regulation 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?

The issue of unskilled workers is dealt with in various laws and collective agreements, generally in terms of helping these workers enter the labour market. For this purpose, the law of 24 December 1999 on the promotion of employment introduced various measures for specific assistance to young unskilled workers (for example, a 'first-job' contract). For their part, the language communities and the regions have introduced, through various items of legislation, measures mainly concerned with specific training for unskilled workers as well as initiatives relating to the coaching of unskilled unemployed workers.

At national level, in recent years the regular intersectoral agreements concluded by the social partners have dealt with unskilled workers. For example, in the intersectoral agreement for 2001-2 (BE0101337F), the social partners invited the sectoral bargaining parties to put the accent, in their training policy, on certain groups that are in difficulty on the labour market, and particularly on unskilled workers. They also encourage sectoral social partners to direct their training efforts towards occupations where there is a shortage of skilled labour.

Various sectoral collective agreements provide for the training of unskilled workers employed in the sector - examples include those for the steel industry, the chemicals industry, inland waterways navigation, printing, graphic arts and newspapers.

There are no trade union organisations specifically for unskilled workers.

(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.

The social partners within the National Labour Council (Conseil National du Travail/Nationale Arbeidsraad, CNT/NAR) set the national minimum wage. This measure guarantees a relatively high monthly wage for workers in unskilled jobs. Moreover, there are a number of sectoral collective agreements that establish specific wage levels for unskilled workers. According to the National Statistics Institute (Institut National de Statistiques/Nationaal Instituut voor de Statistiek, INS/NIS), in 2002 the average gross monthly wage of unskilled full-time workers was EUR 2,112. For skilled workers, this average was EUR 2,853.86 - ie a difference of EUR 741.86.

(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.

Specific provisions relating to the social security of unskilled workers have been introduced in recent years. An example of this is a structural reduction of social security contributions that aims, amongst other objectives, to reduce employers’ contributions for low paid jobs. Thus, between 1996 and 2003, the social security costs in respect of unskilled jobs have come down considerably. It should also be noted that unemployed young people who enrol in a training programme or who return to studies receive a coaching grant for the duration of their course (the ACTIVA plan for youth training). Lastly, there is a minimum pension revenue for workers who have been in unskilled employment throughout their career and whose pension is thus insufficient, so that their pension is brought up to a higher level.

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.

Belgian policy with regard to unskilled workers is built around three pillars :

• an increase in training provision;

• measures to support those concerned and facilitate entry into the labour market; and

• reduced social security contributions on unskilled work.

With regard to training, the federal government has taken various initiatives. One of these is the work/training contract, which is intended to stimulate the labour market integration of young job-seekers (between the ages of 18 and 25) who have few or no qualifications, by combining work and training at the same time. An employer who takes on a young person, within this framework, receives a partial exemption from employers’ social security contributions.

As for the social partners, at the 2003 'employment conference' (BE0312305F), they committed themselves to ensuring that, by 2010, 50% of workers receive vocational training within their company. Moreover, they requested the sectoral social partners to allocate the obligatory employers’ paybill contribution of 0.10% for 'groups at risk' as a priority to groups for whom it is difficult to find employment, such as low-skilled workers. Through such measures, the level of training has increased considerably over the last few years. In 2003, 9.0% of Belgian workers took part in a training programme, compared with 3.1% in 1995.

Other measures are aimed at supporting and integrating into the labour market unskilled unemployed people. One such programme is the 'integration course', which applies to low-skilled young unemployed people. It consists of an action plan that aims to help this group enter the labour market. This programme is run by the regional employment services, (FOREM, ORBEM, Arbeitsamt and VDAB). In the same way, the 'first-job' contract (or the Rosetta plan - BE9911307F) requires both private and public employers to take on a certain number of young workers. If the employer takes on a less qualified young person, under certain circumstances, it may benefit from a standard reduction in employers’ social security contributions.

For their part, the communities and the regions have introduced specific integration courses for unskilled workers - for example, the Plan Jeune in the Walloon region. Furthermore, the 'skill centres' (Centres de competences/Bekwaamheid Centers) try to ensure that there is a better fit between the world of education/training and the needs of the labour market. They provide training based on modern technology and they make these technologies available to schools, training establishments and companies.

(b) Please summarise the views of trade unions and employers’ organisations on the issue and its implications for collective bargaining.

In general, the social partners support those initiatives intended to improve the employment rate of unskilled workers. On many occasions, they have expressed their wish to see greater effort put into training and to have it directed towards the low-skilled.

On the trade union side, the Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (Confédération des Syndicats Chrétiens/Algemeen Christelijk Vakverbond, CSC/ACV) and Belgian General Federation of Labour (Fédération Générale du Travail de Belgique/Algemeen Belgisch Vakverbond, FGTB/ABVV) propose that a right to training be established for the whole workforce, with an entitlement to take five days' leave in order to undergo training, without any loss of wages. The Federation of Liberal Trade Unions of Belgium (Centrale Générale des Syndicats Libéraux de Belgique/Algemene Centrale der Liberale Vakbonden van België, CGSLB/ACLVB) points out a mismatch between the supply of training and the demands of the labour market. It suggests an immediate integration of the business and educational spheres so that training may better match the real needs of industry. Lastly, the unions are promoting the creation of a system to enable the competences acquired by unskilled workers throughout their career to be recognised, and they also seek a revaluing of wages for low-paid jobs, in order to put an end to 'employment traps', whereby many unskilled workers remain unemployed because they cannot find jobs that pay significantly more than their benefits.

On the employers’ side, the Federation of Belgian Enterprises (Fédération des Entreprises de Belgique/Verbond van Belgische Ondernemingen, FEB/VBO) points out the mismatch between students’ qualifications and the needs of companies. It does not want the current shortage of skilled labour to become any worse and recommends that efforts to train unskilled workers should be increased, so that employers have workers available whose training corresponds to the needs of enterprises.

Comments

The measures taken by the federal government over recent years for unskilled workers have, in general, been well directed and combined with a policy of vocational training. As a result, they constitute a marked improvement over the measures taken at the end of the 1990s, which took the form of simple subsidies for recruitment of such workers. Nevertheless, in Belgium the rate of training is still much higher for skilled workers than for the unskilled. This means that those workers who have the least need of training have the easiest access to it. (Delphine Rochet, Labour Science Institute, Catholic University of Leuven (Louvain-la-Neuve))