CHALLENGES AND CHOICES

JOBS: Full Employment

In present day society, the major route to self-reliance for the majority of individuals, is via paid employment. From this standpoint, the primary responsibility of the State is to provide opportunities and encourage the private sector to provide opportunities, for full employment of those individuals who are willing and able to work. There cannot be, therefore, in a liberal democratic society - where the individual is the highest unit of value, and where the individual is responsible for her well-being - a choice between full employment and economic efficiency. Full employment is economically efficient when individuals are responsible for their well-being.

There can be a choice among the means for achieving full employment. It is in the discussion of these means that the value of economic efficiency can be used. Of the four choices put forward by the Commission, two are congruent with the role of the State in liberal societies. Job creation schemes developed by government is a direct action of the latter for providing individuals with opportunities through which they can work toward becoming self reliant. Direct intervention of government in the private sector and the labour establishment to encourage the creation of jobs and the protection of existing ones, is also in keeping with the primary function of government - serving the interests of individuals.

Essential for the achievement of full employment is the development of a comprehensive employment strategy. This strategy should be people- centered and not business-centered. The welfare of the individual human being should be the cornerstone of such a strategy.

A comprehensive, people-centered employment strategy should focus on the employment needs of individuals and disadvantaged groups. More specifically, such a strategy should be functionally linked to the education and training needs of workers and the special supports that would facilitate productivity in the workplace.

A comprehensive, people-centered employment strategy must address the employment and related needs of women. Sixty percent of women work because they are living alone, single parents or married to someone who earns less than $10,000.00 a year. (7) Two-thirds of the people entering the labour force in the next decade will be women. (8) The Dodge Report predicted that by the year 2,000, the female labour force participation role is expected to approach that of the male labour force. (Some of the implications of this demographic factor will be discussed later under "Education and Training" and "Social Support".)

Women's struggle toward becoming self-reliant individuals via paid employment has been very difficult. It is now common knowledge that working women earn 60 percent: of working men's salaries, and that the demand for traditionally female jobs is declining due mainly to automotive technology. In this economic context, women are financially dependent upon men and will continue to be so unless they gain access to a wider variety of occupations, especially traditionally male occupations, which are better paid. Yet, there are several institutional and attitudinal barriers to women's entry into such occupations. A comprehensive employment strategy should contain: measures to eliminate the barriers, target goals and time lines for woman's employment in these occupations. Most important, such a strategy should address the issue of equitable wages for women and men, commonly referred to as equal pay for work of equal value".

Acknowledgement of part-time work as a significant part of the economy and correction of the inequities associated with such work, should also be a major component of the employment strategy. By the end of the century, part-time workers will comprise between 15 and 19 percent of the labour force. (9) The present majority of part-time workers are women (72 percent). (10)

Part-time workers are generally not paid fringe benefits; have very few chances for promotion, and are in the least unionized occupations and thus most vulnerable to exploitation. Yet, many women must work in part-time jobs because of their family responsibilities.