The Project
Phase 2: Assessing the impact – employment, labour relations and productivity
Research activities
In a first step towards impact assessment, this phase of the PIQUE research will investigate both the quantitative and qualitative changes in employment, using, among other things, labour market data and data on the development of productivity. A second major point includes the description of sector-specific changes in labour relations either based on legal reforms or collective agreements. A first step towards stakeholder involvement in the research will be achieved in this phase through contacts with representatives of stakeholder groups and expert interviews. The research phase is split into three work packages each led by a partner specialising in one particular dimension of the impact of liberalisation and privatisation:
Secondary analysis – employment
The work package aims at describing the development of employment both in quantitative and qualitative terms. Forms of employment (part-time work, fixed-term contracts, agency work, marginal employment contracts, etc.) will be used as rough indicators for the quality of employment.
Description of changes in labour and employment relations
Sector-specific changes in labour and employment legislation as well as in collective agreements shall be described and analysed. In addition, the sector-specific system of industrial relations and main changes in the ‘social dialogue’ in the sector shall be explained and discussed.
Secondary analysis – productivity
For all countries, comparable data on productivity from the Gröningen Industry 60 database will be used for the following public services: electricity, gas and water supply (as one sector), education, health and social work. The data set on productivity will be merged with the data set on employment from WP 3 to study the impact of liberalisation and privatisation on the quality of employment and the productivity of public services.
Publications and dissemination activities
In addition to a number of project reports, this phase of the research will result in 3 policy papers:
- Policy Paper 2: Conclusions about the impact of liberalisation and privatisations on the size and quality of employment in public services.
- Policy Paper 3: Perspectives for the social dialogue in public services
- Policy Paper 4: Conclusions about productivity and the quality of employment in public services for policy makers and stakeholder