Die Europäisierung der Beschäftigungspolitik und die Destandardisierung der Beschäftigung in Deutschland

The European Employment Strategy and the Destandardisation of Employment Relations: The German Case (English title) Abstract: ‘Non-standard’ employment reflects a continuum of work and employment situations, ranging from well-paid and secure occupations to precarious employment. The paper first identifies both standardisation and de-standardisation processes of work and employment by building on the work of Serge Paugam. This perspective considers work and employment dimensions to vary independently. For example, a maximum of employment rights can be combined with a low quality of work or a great deal of individual motivation and autonomy in the work process can be linked to a lack of employment rights. The paper hypothesises that non-standard employment is likely to rise due to both mayor structural trends (financialisation and transnationalisation of investment and production) and changes in labour market and welfare regulation both at the European and national level. It then specifically analyses recent German labour market reforms (on the basis of qualitative interviews with labour market experts specialised in the application of the European Employment Strategy in Germany) and selected employment indicators. Data for the period 1997 to 2008 show that standard employment has been decreasing, while non-standard employment in its different forms as fixed-term contracts, part-time work, mini jobs and self employment have all increased as a percentage of total employment. Furthermore, the destandardisation of employment is accompanied by the expansion of the low-wage sector and a general increase in social inequality