chapter 5 work
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Chapter 5 Work. Focal Questions. What are the most important trends in the pattern of employment in Britain today? Why has self-employment increased? What might be its advantages and disadvantages? - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Chapter 5 Work
Focal Questions
What are the most important trends in the pattern of employment in Britain today?
Why has self-employment increased? What might be its advantages and disadvantages?
Do you think the distribution of jobs and incomes in Britain is both fair to individuals and efficient for the economy?
How significant are trade unions in contemporary Britain? How would you account for the fact that far fewer women
than men are in top positions or have highly paid jobs?
Focal Question 1
The decline in the agriculture and textiles sectors
The decrease of the proportion working in the mining and transport industries
The manufacturing industries—not a drastic fall
The growth of the service sector The proportion working in office jobs
Employment rate http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=12
Average EarningsPay growth steady in year to July 2008
Claimant count (unemployment-related benefits), UK
A 2 Pattern of Employment cont
Focal Question 2
Decide-making as to what work to do, how and when to do the work and where to provide the services
To hire or to be hired? Working for a number of different people Construction, sales and distribution, hotels
and restaurants; and banking, finance and insurance.
Focal Question 2
To risk one’s own money (insecurity) Being responsible for one’s own tax and Na
tional Insurance contributions Affecting the benefits one can claim, eg. un
employment benefit Maternity leave? Redundancy payment? Liability to the public for the work you do for
them
Focal Question 3
Increased inequality of original income (wages & salaries, esp. skilled vs unskilled workers)
Slower growth in income from cash benefits Decline in the role of trade unions The Income Tax cuts of the late 1980s (inco
me – tax = ?)
Employment rates and gross weekly earnings for full-time employees of working age: by highest qualification, spr
ing 2003, UK
Reduction in Inequality of Income
Fall in inequality of original income Receipts of tax credits Increases to the rates for employees' nation
al insurance contributions
A 5 Gender & Ethnicity
High female employment rate The Equal Pay Act, 1970s, The Sex Discrimination Act (1975) and th
e Race Relations Act (1976) Ethnic minority: difficulties in finding jobs (p
86 table) Rate of unemployment for Muslims—27%,
Christians—10%
A 5 Gender & Ethnicity
Women MPs, 1997 Thatcher -- elected prime minister in 1979
Breaking the glass ceiling
In 1997, 5 women appointed to senior positions by Blair (Mo Mowlam as secretary of state for Northern Ireland)
A 5 Gender & Ethnicity
In the May 1997 general election 101 female Labour members of Parliament (MPs) were elected to the 659-seat House of Commons.
Britain: women MPs – 18%; Sweden -- 43%; Germany – 31%
The recent elections to the Welsh Assembly -- an equal 50:50 split between men and women
A 5 By Gender Employee jobs: by industry and sex at June each year.
A 5 By Gender Employment rates: by sex and age, 2008
A 5 By Gender All in employment: by sex and occupation, 2008
A 5 Gender
Female employees: administrative or secretarial work
Men: managers, senior officials or in skilled trades
Men: more likely than women to be self-employed
A 5 By Ethnic Group Self-employment as a percentage of all in employment:
by ethnic group, 2004, GB
A 5 By Ethnic Group People in employment in managerial or professional oc
cupations: by ethnic group, 2004, GB
Occupation—by ethnic group
1/7 Pakistani men (1/100 White British men) -- taxi driver, cab driver or chauffeur
¼+ Bangladeshi men (1/100 White British men) -- chefs, cooks or waiters
4% Indian men (0.4% White British men) -- medical practitioners
1/10 Black African women, 1/7 Other Asian women (1/30 White British women) -- nurses in 2004
Indian, Pakistani and Black African women (White British women * 4) -- packers, bottlers, canners and fillers
Pakistani (White British women *6) and Indian women (White British women*4) sewing machinists
A 4 Unions & Management
Pros. protecting the interests
of employees persuading the
government to pass the Health and Safe Act
a range of services, particularly through the TUC.
Cons excessive wage
claims undemocratic union
elections too powerful undermining the
competitiveness of British industry
Trade union density for employees in UK
A 4 Unions & Management
New Style Management – Japanese Influence Only one union representing workers Disputes that cannot be settled by union &
management will be decided by arbitrator No industrial actions (strikes) are used in disputes Workers enjoy same benefits and perks as
managers Pay rises reflect increase in productivity. Workers work in groups. (Compare Ford & Nissan pp 84 – 85)
A 4 Unions & Management
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) -- most unions ( 70 )are affiliated to it
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) –employers’ associations affiliated to it
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Services (ACAS) -- set up by government playing an important role in ‘new style agreement
A 4 Unions & Management
TUC Congress 2003
The TUC
With member unions representing over six and a half million working people, we campaign for a fair deal at work and for social justice at home and abroad.
The TUC brings Britain’s unions together to draw up common policies lobbies the Government to implement policies that will benefit people a
t work campaigns on economic and social issues represents working people on public bodies represents British workers in international bodies, in the European Uni
on and at the UN employment body - the International Labour Organisation
carries out research on employment -related issues runs an extensive training and education programme for union represe
ntatives helps unions develop new services for their members helps unions avoid clashes with each other builds links with other trade union bodies worldwide
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=1003 http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=10 http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=463&Pos=6&ColRank
=2&Rank=224 http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=11&Pos=2&ColRank=
2&Rank=448 http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=698 http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=332&Pos=1&ColRank
=2&Rank=448 http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/pdfs/ir56.htm#5b http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=4&Pos=4&ColRank=2
&Rank=448 http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=1654&Pos=1&ColRan
k=2&Rank=1000