"We are like the Poles": On the ambiguous labour market position of young Icelanders
Paid work is quite common amongst young people under the age of 18 in the Western world, although most undertake flexible part-time work. Nevertheless, studies on their labour market position are rare. The aim of this article is to examine the labour market position of young people in Iceland, a hig...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.13177/irpa.a.2015.11.2.8 https://doaj.org/article/7bab21d555db46aaaa96ad4e0161e298 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:7bab21d555db46aaaa96ad4e0161e298 2023-05-15T16:51:32+02:00 "We are like the Poles": On the ambiguous labour market position of young Icelanders Margrét Einarsdóttir Jónína Einarsdóttir Guðbjörg Linda Rafnsdóttir 2015-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.13177/irpa.a.2015.11.2.8 https://doaj.org/article/7bab21d555db46aaaa96ad4e0161e298 EN IS eng ice University of Iceland http://www.irpa.is/article/view/2091 https://doaj.org/toc/1670-6803 https://doaj.org/toc/1670-679X 1670-6803 1670-679X doi:10.13177/irpa.a.2015.11.2.8 https://doaj.org/article/7bab21d555db46aaaa96ad4e0161e298 Stjórnmál og Stjórnsýsla, Vol 11, Iss 2, Pp 269-288 (2015) Youth work labour market position labour market rights child labour policy high-income countries Political institutions and public administration (General) JF20-2112 Political science (General) JA1-92 article 2015 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.13177/irpa.a.2015.11.2.8 2022-12-30T22:58:39Z Paid work is quite common amongst young people under the age of 18 in the Western world, although most undertake flexible part-time work. Nevertheless, studies on their labour market position are rare. The aim of this article is to examine the labour market position of young people in Iceland, a high-income Nordic country. We ask about: (i) young people’s general labour market rights regarding payslips and formal work contracts; (ii) their special labour market rights, safeguarded by child labour laws, in relation to rest periods, working hours, the prevalence of injuries and the consequent absence from work, and; (iii) the young persons’ own perceptions of their labour market position. The study is based on mixed methods: a survey (N = 952) and group interviews (N = 42) with 13-17-year-olds. The research reveals that the labour market position of young people is characterised by ambiguity. While their general rights to employment and decent pay are recognised to some extent, their work often violates child labour laws and accidents do occur. Young people commonly perceive their labour market position as weak. Their position in society, on the other hand, allows them to quit when confronted with an adverse work environment or if the work interferes with other duties. To conclude, education on occupational health and safety (OHS) and additional research on their labour market position are needed. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Veftímaritið Stjórnmál og stjórnsýsla 11 2 269 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English Icelandic |
topic |
Youth work labour market position labour market rights child labour policy high-income countries Political institutions and public administration (General) JF20-2112 Political science (General) JA1-92 |
spellingShingle |
Youth work labour market position labour market rights child labour policy high-income countries Political institutions and public administration (General) JF20-2112 Political science (General) JA1-92 Margrét Einarsdóttir Jónína Einarsdóttir Guðbjörg Linda Rafnsdóttir "We are like the Poles": On the ambiguous labour market position of young Icelanders |
topic_facet |
Youth work labour market position labour market rights child labour policy high-income countries Political institutions and public administration (General) JF20-2112 Political science (General) JA1-92 |
description |
Paid work is quite common amongst young people under the age of 18 in the Western world, although most undertake flexible part-time work. Nevertheless, studies on their labour market position are rare. The aim of this article is to examine the labour market position of young people in Iceland, a high-income Nordic country. We ask about: (i) young people’s general labour market rights regarding payslips and formal work contracts; (ii) their special labour market rights, safeguarded by child labour laws, in relation to rest periods, working hours, the prevalence of injuries and the consequent absence from work, and; (iii) the young persons’ own perceptions of their labour market position. The study is based on mixed methods: a survey (N = 952) and group interviews (N = 42) with 13-17-year-olds. The research reveals that the labour market position of young people is characterised by ambiguity. While their general rights to employment and decent pay are recognised to some extent, their work often violates child labour laws and accidents do occur. Young people commonly perceive their labour market position as weak. Their position in society, on the other hand, allows them to quit when confronted with an adverse work environment or if the work interferes with other duties. To conclude, education on occupational health and safety (OHS) and additional research on their labour market position are needed. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Margrét Einarsdóttir Jónína Einarsdóttir Guðbjörg Linda Rafnsdóttir |
author_facet |
Margrét Einarsdóttir Jónína Einarsdóttir Guðbjörg Linda Rafnsdóttir |
author_sort |
Margrét Einarsdóttir |
title |
"We are like the Poles": On the ambiguous labour market position of young Icelanders |
title_short |
"We are like the Poles": On the ambiguous labour market position of young Icelanders |
title_full |
"We are like the Poles": On the ambiguous labour market position of young Icelanders |
title_fullStr |
"We are like the Poles": On the ambiguous labour market position of young Icelanders |
title_full_unstemmed |
"We are like the Poles": On the ambiguous labour market position of young Icelanders |
title_sort |
"we are like the poles": on the ambiguous labour market position of young icelanders |
publisher |
University of Iceland |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.13177/irpa.a.2015.11.2.8 https://doaj.org/article/7bab21d555db46aaaa96ad4e0161e298 |
genre |
Iceland |
genre_facet |
Iceland |
op_source |
Stjórnmál og Stjórnsýsla, Vol 11, Iss 2, Pp 269-288 (2015) |
op_relation |
http://www.irpa.is/article/view/2091 https://doaj.org/toc/1670-6803 https://doaj.org/toc/1670-679X 1670-6803 1670-679X doi:10.13177/irpa.a.2015.11.2.8 https://doaj.org/article/7bab21d555db46aaaa96ad4e0161e298 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.13177/irpa.a.2015.11.2.8 |
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Veftímaritið Stjórnmál og stjórnsýsla |
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11 |
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269 |
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