Abstract
In essence, the post-war European economy developed on the basis of a social concensus, which institutionalised five ‘labour rights’ in the context of an essentially corporatist model involving state regulation of social and economic affairs. These labour rights were:
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(i)
Labour market security — state-guaranteed full employment.
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(ii)
Income security — earnings protected by minimum wage machinery, wage indexation, independent unions and employer organisations incorporated politically and economically into the state, insurance-based social security and taxes to reduce (or check the growth of) income inequality.
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(iii)
Employment security — with regulations on hiring and firing, pre-notification of redundancy, the imposition of costs on employers for ‘unfair dismissal’, and so on.
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(iv)
Work security — through health and safety regulations, limits on working times, unsociable hours, and so on.
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(v)
Job security — through the tolerance of demarcation practices and barriers to skill dilution, craft boundaries and job qualifications.
Views expressed in this chapter should not be attributed to the International Labour Office.
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© 1990 International Economic Association
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Standing, G. (1990). Labour Flexibility and Insecurity: Towards an Alternative Strategy. In: Brunetta, R., Dell’Aringa, C. (eds) Labour Relations and Economic Performance. International Economic Association Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-11562-4_18
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