Paul Bradford
Ceist:38 Mr. Bradford asked the Minister for Labour if he intends to expand the availability of job sharing in view of the crisis in unemployment, and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Job Sharing.
Job-sharing can make a contribution to the more equitable sharing of existing employment.
Arrangements for the increased use of job-sharing as a way of organising and distributing work are primarily a matter for negotiation between employers and worker representatives and/or between individual employees.
The Civil Service operate a job-sharing scheme which shows what can be done in this area. At the moment, 1,132 females and 22 males are availing themselves of this scheme.
It has to be borne in mind that job-sharing can lead only to the redistribution of existing work and therefore could not be regarded as a significant element in addressing the problem of rising unemployment.