Aliki Mouriki
Moreover, the overall level of labour market flexibility achieved in a country should be examined
also from the perspective of whether this flexibility at the workplace is geared more towards the em-
ployer than towards the employee, or whether its outcome is balanced. Chung (2007) has classified
the EU countries according not only to their degree of flexibility (low, medium or high), but also
according to the additional criterion, whether the flexibility arrangements that are practiced actually
favour one or the other side or both (see Table 7). She concludes from her analysis, that countries
with a high flexibility score for establishments also have high flexibility scores for the workforce, and
vice versa.66 Not surprisingly, Denmark and the Netherlands fall under the first group whilst Spain
and Greece fall under the second.
Table 7: Division of countries, their level of flexibility and to whom it is geared towards
|
Country |
Overall Flexibility |
Geared towards |
|
Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands |
high |
employees |
|
France, Germany, Ireland, UK, Poland, Czech Rep. |
medium-high |
both |
|
Austria, Luxembourg, Latvia, Slovenia , Italy, Hungary |
medium-low |
both |
|
Cyprus, Greece, Spain, Portugal |
low |
employers |
Source: Chung, 2007
The impact of labour market reforms is also affected by the outcome of collective bargaining at
the various levels of negotiation. In the Netherlands, the good intentions of the legislator and the fair
provisions of regulations or agreements are often overturned at the sectoral or firm-level of collec-
tive bargaining. This is more so during periods of economic downturn, when trade unions are in a
weaker position to negotiate the flexicurity agenda. As Houwing (2009) observes, an agreement may
be considered as fair and balanced at the level of the peak organizations, but at the sectoral level,
unions often have to consent to deviating provisions in the collective agreements to the detriment
of workers (especially temporary agency workers, whose security is significantly reduced), accepting
more flexibility than the one laid down by legislation. 67 So even if the intention of the legislator is to
strike a balance between flexibility and security, the security dimension is often weakened at a lower
level of negotiation, especially so as the most vulnerable groups in the workforce are those the least
represented by unions. The market forces seem to acquire a greater influence in policy outcomes
66 The two liberal economies, the UK and Ireland, are a case apart, with a medium-to-high level of flexibility geared
more towards the establishment (ibid.).
67 Houwing’s research findings confirm that between 2001-2004, there has been a shift towards more flexibility in a
number of sectors of the Dutch economy.
Page • 80