Industrielle Einfacharbeit - Stabilitat und Perspektiven

The paper outlines the development prospects of low-skilled industrial work. The hypothesis is that this kind of work is not a negligible factor in the 'high-skilled' economies. The paper critically reconsiders the mainstream perspective. It is shown that in specific industrial sectors and fields low-skilled industrial work indicates a remarkable stability. In particular, the contribution will focus on low-skilled work in the German food industry. Many unskilled and semiskilled workers are employed in the tasks of manufacturing and packaging. Though the job requirements are at a low level, the complexity of work is increasing, several work-organizational patterns of low-skilled work so that several exist as a result. [PUB ABSTRACT]