Social dialogue and non-standard workers: a literature review

Non-standard work here refers to all work that does not correspond to standard employment, that is guaranteed fulltime and open-ended subordinate employment. Non-standard work has been on the rise across Europe in recent decades with the growing use of temporary contracts, zero hour and on-call contracts, temporary agency work, marginal parttime work, self-employment, platform work and other types of work that are not full-time and on permanent contracts. Non-standard workers often, but not always have low quality jobs, in terms of pay, job and employment security, social protection, working conditions, training and growth opportunities. Often therefore they are referred to as precarious workers however, not all non-standard workers are precarious, and not all precarious workers are non-standard workers. Still, there is a strong overlap between the two categories. As such, non-standard work has become a serious concern.

The growth of non-standard work as well as its quality is not an inevitable outcome of 'neutralʼ economic and technological developments, but to an important extent of conflicts, choices and power in the political sphere and in labour relations. In the political sphere it matters what type of social and labour regulations prevail, what type of employment relations they allow for, and what rights and protections they confer on non-standard workers. In labour relations the interests and ideas of workers and employers matter, as well as the choices they make (e.g. to create non-standard jobs or not, to become self-employed or not), the extent to which they are represented by employersʼ organizations, trade unions or other collective organizations, and their access to power resources.

The Integrating Diversity in Social Dialogue project (INDI) focuses on non-standard work from the perspective of social dialogue. Following the definitions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and EU, social dialogue here encompassing all types of negotiation, consultation, participation and information exchange between, or among, representatives of governments, employers and workers, on issues of common interest relating to economic, employment and social policy. Social dialogue in its various forms can be a key mechanism for improving working conditions, enabling access to social protection, empowering workers to voice their concerns, and bolstering employer competitiveness. It can be particularly important to protect workers and facilitate organizational adjustment in times of profound change, like during the ongoing green and digital transitions. Social dialogue does not always cater to the interests of non-standard workers, however. Non-standard workers often find themselves at the periphery of social dialogue processes and benefit only scarcely from the outcomes. As a result, they are often left without the protections and benefits ensured by statutory regulations and collective agreements. The extent to which this is the case however differs across countries and business models.

The INDI project studies the extent to and the way in which existing and emerging social dialogue processes and structures integrate the interests of non-standard workers, and what options exist to make social dialogue more inclusive to and beneficial for nonstandard workers. The present literature review forms the initial step in IN-DI's research, reviewing how these questions have been discussed in the literature. Most of this literature review qualifies as expert review, synthesising the most important and relevant literature on the subject, and working towards the identification of promising directions for new research. The exception is chapter 7 on alternative forms of representation, which includes a scoping review as the subject is less systematically discussed in the literature. The review consists of seven chapters.

• Chapter 2 addresses the agency of non-standard, precarious workers and the strategies and tactics they devise to deal with their work situation.
• Chapter 3 discusses why workers should participate in decision-making processes, how such participation can unfold, and what we know about democracy and participation among different groups of workers, including workers in non-standard work.
• Chapter 4 discusses the different industrial relations regimes and employment regimes in Europe and how they affect (various types of) social dialogue in general, but with a focus on the representation and inclusion of non-standard workers.
• Chapter 5 discusses how and why non-standard work is used differently in distinct business models.
• Chapter 6 reviews the literature on the relationship between trade unions and non-standard workers and the extent to which trade unions want to and manage to represent this group of workers.
• Chapter 7 discusses alternative models of representation and voice, focusing on grassroots initiatives and institution-led initiatives, as well as in the way digitalisation has affected the representation of non-standard workers.
• Chapter 8 presents an outlook of the issues and questions that the review suggests as relevant and interesting for future research in general and for the INDI project in particular.