Zonas dialectales

The previous two sub-sections have shown differences in hourly wages between full-time and part-time employees, and between employees working under different contractual arrangements. This raises the question of whether these wage differences are due working arrangements per se, or to the differential distribution of influential factors, such as characteristics of individuals or jobs, across of working hours or contractual arrangements. So, for example, we cannot tell from the bivariate descriptive analysis whether employees on fixed-term contracts earn less than permanent employees because the former tend to be younger (or some other factor), or because workers on fixed term contracts earn less, irrespective of age.

Table 3.16 Regression Model of Log Gross Hourly Wage in 2000

All Men Women

Coefficient Std. Err. Coefficient Std. Err. Coefficient Std. Err. Constant 1.591 *** 0.042 1.648 *** 0.051 1.284 *** 0.087 Female -0.146 *** 0.016 Part time 0.065 ** 0.021 0.173 *** 0.046 0.053 * 0.023 Fixed Term -0.131 *** 0.029 -0.060 0.045 -0.195 *** 0.038 Casual/ other -0.233 *** 0.025 -0.263 *** 0.040 -0.212 *** 0.031 Junior Cert 0.103 *** 0.024 0.080 ** 0.030 0.112 ** 0.040 Leaving Cert 0.239 *** 0.025 0.199 *** 0.032 0.294 *** 0.039 3rd Level 0.542 *** 0.032 0.549 *** 0.044 0.563 *** 0.048 Age 25-34 0.068 *** 0.026 0.124 ** 0.036 0.010 0.038 Age 35-44 0.070 0.041 0.141 * 0.055 -0.049 0.063 Age 45-54 0.130 * 0.058 0.260 ** 0.077 -0.088 0.089 Age 55+ 0.065 0.078 0.199 * 0.101 -0.184 0.120 Married/Partner 0.119 *** 0.016 0.178 *** 0.024 0.068 ** 0.022 Public Sector Job 0.161 *** 0.021 0.078 ** 0.029 0.254 *** 0.031 Yrs out of work -0.008 *** 0.002 -0.012 ** 0.004 0.001 0.003 Yrs at work 0.006 ** 0.002 0.002 0.003 0.014 *** 0.003 Occupation Agricultural -0.080 0.082 -0.162 0.096 0.123 0.166 Producer 0.129 *** 0.034 0.099 * 0.039 0.172 * 0.082 TransCom 0.075 0.041 0.026 0.046 0.242 * 0.098 Clerical worker 0.142 *** 0.038 0.081 0.051 0.237 ** 0.076 Commercial 0.037 0.041 0.040 0.053 0.088 0.079 Service worker 0.062 0.039 0.124 * 0.049 0.078 0.078 Professional/ Mgt 0.403 *** 0.040 0.345 *** 0.050 0.477 *** 0.081 Other Occupation 0.375 *** 0.041 0.364 *** 0.049 0.426 *** 0.085 Economic Sector Agriculture -0.283 *** 0.077 -0.244 ** 0.090 -0.346 * 0.162 Construction 0.120 *** 0.029 0.105 ** 0.032 -0.127 0.110 Commerce, Finance 0.019 0.024 -0.036 0.031 0.081 * 0.039 TransCom -0.008 0.030 0.039 0.036 -0.079 0.055 Prof. Services -0.047 0.029 -0.130 ** 0.041 -0.019 0.044 Public Admin -0.059 0.035 -0.047 0.044 -0.102 0.057 Other sector -0.153 *** 0.026 -0.161 *** 0.037 -0.116 ** 0.040 N of cases 3019 1688 1330 Adjusted R2 0.54 0.50 0.59 * p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001

Reference categories: Full-time, permanent, No Qualifications, age less than 25 years, single, private sector, labourer, production industry.

In the regression analysis presented in Table 3.15, we test the influence of non-standard working arrangements on hourly wages, more formally by examining their impact in models which control for a range of other likely influential factors. These are conventional wage regression models, which use the log of gross hourly wages in order to render the dependent variable more linear, and to minimise the influence of outlying values (such as very high or low income values) on the estimated parameters.

The first model combines men and women, and shows a negative effect for women: women earn about 15% less per hour than men. Part-time employees earn about 6% more than full- time employees, when all other relevant variables, including personal and job characteristics are controlled for. This is an important finding, since it is somewhat counterintuitive, and because it suggests that at least some of the concerns about the quality of part-time jobs is misplaced, at least in Ireland. Fixed-term workers earn about 13% less than permanent employees, and casual workers about 23% less than permanent workers.9

In other respects, the results of this model are familiar and in accordance with previous research. Education increases earnings, and the effect of education increases by level, so those with the Leaving Certificate earn, on average, 25% more than those with no qualifications, those with third level education earn about 54% more. Age is also associated with higher earnings, although not all of the differences by age group achieve statistical significance. Married people tend to earn more than single individuals. The number of years out of the labour market has a negative impact on wages, years spent working, reflecting work experience, has a positive effect. Public sector employees earn more than those in the private sector. Professional and managerial workers, as well as those in the miscellaneous ‘other’ occupations earn substantially more than labourers (the reference category), and employees in the agricultural sector earn appreciably less.

Given the evident differences in earnings between men and women, it is useful to consider the models separately for men and women. Among male employees, part-time workers earn about 17% more than their full-time counterparts, a substantial wage gap, and much larger than the 5% difference found between female part- and full-time employees. Women employees on fixed-term contracts earn almost 20% less than their permanent counterparts, but there is no statistically significant difference between male permanent and fixed term employees. Casual work has a strong negative effect on the wages, reducing the wages of men by 26%, and those of women by 21%, compared to their permanent colleagues. In this section we have shown that the number of employees working either part-time or in non-permanent contracts has increased with the overall rapid increase in employment in the years 1997 to 2001. However, in proportional terms, their share of total employment has increased by little, if at all. Rates of flexibilisation of work thus continue to be lower in Ireland than elsewhere in the European Union. In Ireland, part-time working is associated with higher hourly wages. The wage premium associated with part-time work is particularly substantial for men, and remains even when we control for other relevant factors that influence wage rates. We also found that part-time employees are less likely than their full- time colleagues to have access to occupational pension schemes, and they are less likely to benefit from a range of employer-sponsored fringe benefits, including training. Women working on fixed-term contracts earn less than permanent employees, but this is not the case among men, when we take other factors into consideration. Casual workers of both genders earn less than permanent employees, even taking account of other relevant factors.

9

We also estimated these models with the addition of a measure of tenure in current job. The negative effects of both fixed-term and casual work remained.

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O’Connell, P.J. (2000) “The Dynamics of the Irish Labour Market in Comparative Perspective”, Pp 58-89 in Nolan, B., O’Connell, P.J., and Whelan, C.T., (eds.)

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O’Reilly, J. and Fagan, C. (eds.) (1998) Part-time Prospects: An International Comparison of

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Sexton, J. J. and O’Connell, P.J. (1996) “Labour Market Studies: Ireland”. Luxembourg: European Commission.

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Section 4: Equal opportunities between Men and Women