Decent work: A job to be done

What do you think makes for decent work? Is it about being paid fairly? How about having a supportive manager? Or is it simply about being safe in your workplace?

In Scotland , around half of working age adults and two thirds of children in poverty are living in working households. This 'in-work poverty' is partly a result of low-pay, but it is also due to a number of other factors including job insecurity and the lack of enough, regular or predictable hours.

Participants, who were recruited from low-paid sectors such as social care, hospitality and cleaning, prioritised 26 factors. Top of the list were: a decent hourly rate; job security; paid leave; a safe working environment and a supportive line manager. These are fairly basic conditions which all workers should be able to expect. None are unreasonable or extravagant. But is Scotland delivering this vision of decent work? The experiences shared by participants, combined with an assessment of the labour market in Scotland, indicate there is still a long way to go despite welcome momentum on this agenda.

Yet research shows employers who invest in their workforce through increased pay and improved conditions can benefit significantly through, for example, increases in productivity and lower staff turnover. Encouragingly, the priorities identified in our research are areas within which businesses and policymakers can make a real difference. Our report therefore makes a number of recommendations to the Scottish Government, as well as to employers. These include: giving the Fair Work Convention a specific role in investigating and improving employment conditions; ensuring public procurement is used to incentivise and reward good employment practices; and the development of strategies to tackle low pay in sectors where it is endemic.

Given the large numbers of people in low-paid, precarious and insecure jobs, it is also clear that merely counting the number of people in work no longer adequately represents the labour market's performance; we must monitor and increase the quality of work too. By working across Government, employers, trade unions and the third sector, Scotland can make progress towards the delivery of decent work for all - as defined by the people who need it most. However, as our research makes clear, there is a significant job still to be done.

Source:

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/scotland/blog/2016/09/decent-work-a-job-to-be-done