Enforced Flexibility? Working in Ireland Today
This TASC research shows that ‘flexibility’ is being imposed on more and more workers in Ireland across a range of different industry sectors. Enforced Flexibility? Working in Ireland Today analyses the quality and quantity of jobs focusing on the hospitality, construction, financial services and ICT sectors.
Key findings include:
Hospitality Sector
- Earnings are low because of the combination of poor hourly rates of pay with low and variable hours.
- There is little structured training and limited career progression, while health and safety issues often go unreported.
Construction Sector
- There has been a dramatic growth in the proportion of craft workers who are self-employed. Many of these are ‘bogus self-employed’ having been compelled by their employer to declare themselves self-employed.
- Many labourers and general operatives now work for agencies with irregular hours and fluctuating earnings.
Financial Services and ICT Sectors
- Most jobs here are well paid, but these sectors have seen the growth of low quality jobs in back office customer service work and call centres.
- Short term and temporary employment in these sectors has expanded with mobility now being imposed on many younger workers.
The report was published at the TASC-FEPS Annual Conference in Croke Park, Dublin, on 17th June 2016.