Thematic feature - unskilled workers

This article gives a brief overview of the industrial relations aspects of the topic of unskilled workers and unskilled work in Germany, 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 German 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?

There are still some collective agreements in place that refer to 'unskilled work' and 'unskilled workers' when defining the lowest wage categories but, reflecting the fact that all work requires at least some kind of skill, it has become rather uncommon in the German public debate to use these terms, which are considered to be pejorative. More often used is the term 'low-skilled workers' ('Geringqualifizierte' or 'Niedrigqualifizierte') especially where the government, trade unions and employers' associations, as well as academics, refer to those workers who hold jobs that require very litte formal training.

In the employment and unemployment statistics, the term 'unskilled worker' is not used. Instead there is a category called 'ohne Berufsabschluss' (ie without vocational training/qualifications). This category is defined as people who, according to the German 'Microcensus', have no formal professional qualification and have not undergone a training course or placement that lasted at least 12 months. It should be stressed that people with no formal qualifications but with considerable skills due to work experience are included in this category, even if they work in high-skilled jobs - for example in the information technology industries.

The Federal Office of Statistics (Statistisches Bundesamt, Destatis) provides statistics on wages and earnings, split into different categories ('Leistungsgruppen') related to job characteristics. However, as these statistics focus on job characteristics they provide no information about the formal qualifications of the employee. Moreover, these statistics do not cover the whole economy but only a limited range of industries (see tables 4 and 5 below).

(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.

The Microcensus asks for the formal occupational education of respondents and not whether the actual occupation of respondents requires certain skills. Therefore it is possible to measure neither how many people work in jobs requiring hardly any or no formal training, nor how many of the jobs available can be considered to be 'unskilled'.

The proportion of employees without vocational training or qualifications slightly decreased from 1991 to 2002 - see table 1 below. About 16% of all employed women in 2002 had no formal qualification, compared with 12% of all employed men.