Abstract:
In the last three decades for all the countries having a functioning and competitive market economy there is a weight of loss concerning the labor earnings to GDP (approximately 8 to 10 percentage) and also for available families income, status which not necessary diminish the role and place of wage labor in the grounds of economic performance.
In the same time, overcome the current economic and financial crisis requires diminishing the role of the financial sector (real estate, stock, financial services, insurance, etc.) in the production and use of GDP and the corresponding to the increase of production and trade of goods, which will be accompanied by returning of wage policies in the position of driver of economic growth performance and also will lead to work motivation. In this context, any strategy for motivating the labor, including the wage income differentiation it may seams more appropriate.
Key words: labor motivation, wages, economic performance, wage income, family income
JEL Classification: E24, J01
In the functioning and competitive market economy, the labor market has the decisive role, also because of the fact that it involves the action of the most active and decisive factor of any production - WORK. Moreover, the goals of the other markets are directly related to the better gratification of the human needs by harmonizing the economic interests involved. Without detailing the factors that require, in central plan, the labor market, we want to emphasize its specific, respectively by adding to the elements theoretically established (inhomogeneous, non-unitary, segmented, rigid, regulated, imperfect) the current features, respectively participatory, contractual, prone to dispute, the balance achieved by reducing the accepted offer, and not least the intervention of non-economic factors and the direct involvement of the main branches of government.
The importance of the labor factor is due to the fact that the extension of globalization and economic integration has determined and are still determining the divergent evolution of productivity and economic return between economic spaces, but especially between branches, sub-branches, activities, within the economies of the countries involved.
These differences, in literature are more and more explained both through social models in which we meet different degrees of state involvement in GDP allocation and use in the level, structure and dynamics of population revenue, as well as through the work program (the day and the workweek duration, the vacantion), and the participation rate on the labor market combined with the retirement age, increasing the minimum wage, social assistance. Arguing this we are taking into account the highest level of those two percentages of 55-65% as share of wages in GDP and respectively 55-60% share of available family's incomes- but also the increasing share of employed persons in the working population.
Salary issue was a concern for multiple analyses, strategies and this is explained by the fact that today no modern economy can be conceived and developed to be prone to performance without regarding the salaries. Wages are a source of income for most of the population, while profit, dividends and interest regard a minority, including processes of saving and investment, the salary comes to provide today the essential sources for economic growth, and for establishing the economic and social structures there are only several arguments which lead us to say that the wage rate of active and total population represent benchmarks to characterize an economy and an economic structures. (Ciutacu C., 2001, p.169).
The differentiation of wages is one of the expected opportunities, at least as a response to unfair differences, disincentives caused by inflation, big salaries made by the employees ​​less prepared in the establishments which have a certain monopoly as well as by the income from tax evasion and underground economy.
The factors which determine the price, namely wages, in this market are the result of the conflict of economic interests of the current dispute between the main structures of power. For example it is sufficient to think of the nature and the implications of the new factors accepted in literature, respectively besides the classical ones (labor productivity, technical endowment of labor, working hours, the relative evolution of wages according to the prices of the others factors, the consumption of goods related to decent life, etc.) the modern factors become known (the nature and the stage of the economic cycle, the degree of integration into a specific economic space, international migration of population, the level and share of the income obtained through social protection, the degree of unionization.).
In the context of the things provided, the market is in a strong and lasting crisis, within it the multiple and diverse forms of manifestation, we appreciate without considering the issue closed, that the followings cannot be marginalized:
the relative alienation of wage from the ratio between supply and demand of labor and of the economic-financial results of the companies
the increased rigidity of wage and the decreasement of potential or of differentiation of wages according to performance
the incensement of the share of the fix part in the earnings to the detriment of the variable part associated with the competence annuities, ability annuities
The income that employees receive and uses have more sources, the situation is justified by the implications of the labor factor, the need to harmonize the economic interests and not least the demands of sustainable development. In this context, we believe that the analysis of the level and structure of primary income can be triggered by the following scheme
Scheme 1
The typology of income from work, property and transfers
Income from work
Income from property
Income from budget transfers
wages
awards
profit sharing
dividends
interest
land rent
royalties for patents, licenses
pensions
family allowances (child allowances, maternity)
unemployment assistance
welfare
Source authors 'own processing based on scientific literature
Obviously, based on the above scheme we can achieve assessments regarding the state's social assistance, the cooperation between generations and why not the subsidiarity, namely, the involvement of local communities in the implementation and management of common property in terms of individual responsibility.
Labor market crisis' implications are more multiple and diverse materialized mainly in the lower occupancy rates and the corresponding increase in unemployment, the decreasement of real unemployment, illegal work, partial or total default of obligations to the state, the refusal to hire superior trained workforce (this means that it is less disposed to crime and fraud), reducing profitability.
In this context the economic conditions for increased growth and employment in Europe have shown a clear improvement in recent years. On the one hand, this is due to the ongoing endeavors' to make structural improvements to the operation of the markets in goods and services and the labor and capital markets. On the other hand, the macro-economic conditions for growth and employment, in particular, have also been decisively strengthened. The reduction of government deficits, the achievement of lower rates of inflation, and a macro-economic wage trend which has facilitated a reduction in the rate of inflation and a significant improvement in the profitability of job-creating investment, have all helped to create monetary conditions which are favorable to growth and employment (Economic and Social Committee, 2001, ECO/042).
In literature (Simon I., 2007 and Aubrez D., 2007) it is estimated that the expansion of the labor market crisis is leading to the reduction, alteration of the motivational climate. Relevant in this regard are the following assessments from the economic point of view, the most serious repercussions have been reducing the motivation for work, the quality and efficiency led to slowing the reforms, loosing performance and increasing production, on stock, increasing the financial hardship, reducing the sources for investment.( Vasile V., 1996, p.13)
The space allocated to study does not allow the extremely useful analysis of the PIN and VAN structure in terms of weight related to rewarding the employees, the income from property, the entrepreneurs' profit or interest. For the present study our interest is in the income from employment without marginalizing the other components. In this context we consider that the income from employment must hold a dominant share in the total revenues available to the families' level for a society, community to grow, to reproduce through labor.
Starting from the idea according to which at company level the main income related to work are determined by salaries (including bonuses) awards and the employee's participation to profit).
Work should be rewarded so that its useful results to increase the company's economic performance, resulting mainly in the incensement of efficiency indicators, especially the economic-financial return (calculated at least as the ratio between the profit and production cost, gross value added, net value added, the value of manufacturing goods) and labor productivity (calculated as the ratio between the minimum physical production VAB, VAN and salaries, on the one hand and labor consumption expressed in the number of the employees, the number of hours-man worked or minutes -man worked).
From the calculation it results that to adequately capture the implications of wage policies it is required the concurrent approach of wage with the status of cost componence and the one of income componence. Basically, the desire to encourage, to reward the work is limited by the extent of income and by the necessity of profit existence. If we measured correctly the size of the wages accepted by the evolution of income and costs we should build a distribution system to reflect the work for performance.
In the context in which the working personnel involved in all activities more or less effective a distribution system must be built in which individual and collective performance to be rewarded. We infer from this postulate that a performant employee may receive different revenues, bonuses and participation to profit, even if the company has not fulfilled ​​the physical production planned, has exceeded the costs, has not fit in the level of the profit planned even registering losses.
As it is shown in a European document (European Economic and Social Committee, 2008, SOC 283 and OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers No. 54, 2007) the labour market changes have led to an increasing share of part-time and fixed-term work. These types of employment may have helped to ease entry into employment and increase employment rates in Europe. But workers in temporary employment tend to be less productive, receive less employer-supported training and are more prone to work-related accidents. They also risk getting stuck in temporary employment. Just over half of those with temporary contracts have a permanent contract after six years compared to more than three-quarters of those who started with a permanent contract.
In this context it is imperative that at the level of each working place to primary be established the indicators which highlight the physical production including the consumption of working time (rated, done) on categories of skill and complexity. Let us never forget that the current economic crisis has among the causes the marginalization of physical indicators (partly motivated by the lack of homogeneity of consumption and production resulted) and the exaggerated role of financial indicators.
Secondly it is necessary that at each hierarchical level, if possible at every team, brigades, section level, etc., the level and cost structure to be known so that each deviation regardless of the level to be analyzed and appreciated accordingly. In these conditions it is relatively easy to give awards for saving raw materials, energy, including labor. Egalitarian sharing, and more recently due to the crisis not giving awards is counterproductive, disincentive. At the same time the justification or fitting to planned losses of overflows of normed consumptions, without the present sanctions, not only justifies the funds but discourages the efforts for performance. Concretely the source of awards must be supported in addition to savings by the penalties, the sanctions applied to those who do not fit into normed levels.
Thirdly, profit sharing should become a permanent source of revenue growth especially when the automation, automatization of production is a more obvious reality. Basically the administration remuneration being generalized we must reconsider and use at least a quarterly sharing to profit as it is taxed.
Fourthly, the importance of differentiation in relation to the achievement of a minimum threshold of profitability, employment or exceeding the average profit in the branch, activity, respective field should not be minimized.
Fifthly, the wage differentiation should lead to the creation of a meritocratic society. In this context the functions, the statutes should be carried out inclusively through laws, but not least the payment levels that should include the rent of competence. The stipulations of the new unitary law, which unfortunately abandoned the traditional seniority, are outstanding in this regard.
And last but not least a capital trust should be formed and enabled, which can be done in addition to the employees' participation to profit and by practicing the participatory management. Related to this last aspect we consider necessary to include in various strategies of interests at least the following powers: the state power (legislative, executive and judicial), the employees' power (unions), the employers' power (its different confederations) and last but not least the power of civil society (NGO).
The differentiation of revenue should be made ​​so as to ensure the satisfaction of three basic necessities: food, health and education. Unfortunately, after a relative consideration of these activities (embodied in the wage increases which located the income levels above the national average) by reducing wages by 25% started in June 2010, despite the measures taken since the 1st of January 2011 the three activities are again below the national average. Thus in February 2011, according to INS releases, compared to the same month of 2009, the net average earning was of 56 RON for total economy, while in education has been a drop of 471 RON (from 1771 RON to 1300 RON), regarding health it was of 226 RON (1393 RON to 1167 RON).
Conclusions
The incensement of the social dimension of wages in the detriment of the economic one caused by labor productivity for the savings in transition to market economy and in the post-accession period to the EU as in the case of Romania, besides those shown we also meet specific forms, respectively:
price liberalization on the other markets up to the global and European level, on the background of maintaining the salary within the limits of an internal price with a level well below the one used on international market
lowering the occupancy degree and the corresponding incensement of unemployment
work is no longer the basis of wages growth, nominal and real, it causes the alteration of performance and motivational climate
maintaining and enhancing the favorable differences for the employees in the public sector
the level of the wages in the branches which influence the basis of development in a contemporary economy, education, health and organic farming, are below the national average.
