5 February, 2009
Periodically, the ICEM issues an electronic newsletter on news and effects surrounding the complex issue of Contract and Agency Labour. In the version contained below, trade unionists can find the revealing facts to a comprehensive survey ICEM among its affiliates, as well as other topical news on this subject.
ICEM Contract and Agency Labour Survey Shows Troubling Trends
ICEM affilliates responded in large numbers to a global survey on Contract and Agency Labour (CAL), allowing the Global Union Federation to analyse extensive data.
The survey supports predictions that temporary work and work through labour agencies is becoming more common, and that workers employed through such work are in far worse economic and job security situations than permanent workers. The survey also illustrated how trade unions are prioritising the organising of temporary and agency workers.
“The response to this survey was impressive,” said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. “But even more impressive is the depth to the responses. Both are an indication that this issue is growing in importance for virtually all workers and unions around the world.”
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda
Data was collected in the second half of 2008. In total, over 100 trade unions completed the survey. The responses came from all regions of the world and from all ICEM sectors, including energy, mining, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, rubber, pulp and paper, and building materials manufacturing. Click here for the visual representation of data collected.
The ICEM survey follows a 2007 query by the International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF) of its affiliates, which allows certain comparisons between the two surveys. For instance, 20% of all ICEM respondents said wages of non-permanent workers are less than half that of permanent workers. Of IMF affiliates that indicated wages for precarious workers are lower than those of permanent workers, one-third indicated those wages are less than 50%.
Another similarity is the level of fear bought on by the changing employment landscape. The ICEM survey reveals that 83% of unions responding cite fear among workers over job security as a major concern, while 9 of 10 IMF respondents say workers in their countries feel less secure because of the changing work relationship.
In addition, the ICEM poll reflects that fear is by far the biggest obstacle to union organising of temporary workers, specifically the fear of getting fired for such activity. Government legislation, union rules and structures, and opposition by trade unionists are cited as lesser obstacles to overcome. (An overview to the ICEM survey, complete with the IMF similarities, can be found here.)
The results of the survey support the 20-million-member ICEM’s four-and-a-half-year campaign to respond to the rampant increase in the use of contract and agency labour. An alarming number of respondents wrote that temporary and agency workers not only are paid less, but also do not receive pay for overtime and holiday work.
Health and safety conditions are far worse for temporary workers, and often they are not entitled to medical benefits. ICEM-affiliated unions also note that unskilled temp workers are abused more than skilled workers.
Some positive points for trade unions did come out of the study. For instance, unions are increasingly aware of the importance of organising precarious workers and some 87% stated that they are actively engaged in organising such workers. For 62% of the respondents, organising part-time and agency workers is a priority and 69% of unions inform their members on issues related to part-time and precarious work.
For the ICEM, the survey’s outcome confirms that CAL will remain a focal issue for the coming years. Establishing communication networks in order to inform trade unions on this growing menace to the concept of decent work, as well as bringing unionisation to non-organised workers will therefore remain high on the ICEM’s agenda.
Unionisation by Unilever Contract Workers in Pakistan Demands Action
The ICEM fully supports the work of the National Federation of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Workers of Pakistan, an affiliate of the International Union of Food Workers’ Association (IUF). The 723 contract labourers at Unilever’s last directly-owned and operated Lipton Tea factory in Pakistan have organised to form the Unilever Mazdoor Union Khanewal. The newly organised workers, with the support of the IUF and ICEM, are preparing a new round of public action to press their case.
The ICEM and IUF call for international support for the cause of these contract workers to form their union. To support their struggle click here to send a message to Unilever.
Unilever's Khanewal factory employs 22 permanent workers, union members who are covered by a collective agreement. But another 723 workers are hired through six contract labour agencies. The union is assisting contract agency workers to file petitions in the Labour Court to secure their right to permanent employment.
The permanent workers receive a monthly base wage of PKR 18,000 - some US$226. The basic wage for non-permanent workers is PKR 6,000, if they are lucky enough to work a minimum 26 days per month. Otherwise the daily wage is PKR 232 - less than three US dollars a day. Where permanent workers receive double for overtime/holiday work, agency workers simply receive the basic hourly wage. Disposable workers have no annual or medical leave. From one week to the next, they do not know their assignments or work schedules - or whether they will have work. Through exploiting workers in this way, Unilever was able to send CEO Niall Fitzgerald into retirement with a £17 million golden handshake.
Two Lipton workers dismissed in August after 30 years of working at Unilever's Khanewal tea factory at minimum wage received no social security, medical benefits or pension.
The Lipton workers are fighting for the right of workers everywhere to decent work - secure employment, a living wage, health and retirement benefits, and the right to join a trade union with a collective bargaining relationship to their real employer.
Copies of your messages will be sent to Unilever corporate and Pakistan management, to the union, and to the IUF.
You can give additional support by taking a moment to visit http://www.unilever.com/sustainability. Scroll down the page to a section on the lower right entitled, "Sustainability during the credit crunch." There you can vote yes/no to the question, "Do you consider sustainability in your product purchasing decisions?" This is followed by "Please tell us what actions you are taking to make the world more sustainable," with fields for name/message. Please take a moment to send the following response, or a message of your own:
"Sustainability is about investing in sustainable jobs - over 700 workers at the Khanewal Lipton factory are disposable workers hired through labour hire agencies, with no employment security and inferior wages and benefits though many have worked continuously for decades. Make the Khanewal workers permanent through direct negotiations with the National Federation of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Workers of Pakistan!"
Find the leaflet here.
FNV, ICEM Plan ‘Decent Work’ Conference, 6 March in The Netherlands
On Friday 6 March 2009 in Utrecht, The Netherlands, the ICEM and Dutch trade union FNV Bondgenoten, together with the Dutch Building and Woodworkers’ union, FNV Bouw, are organising an international conference on decent work, with special focus on the implications of the growing flexibilisation of work. The central question of the conference will be how trade unions worldwide can work together to reduce the impact of the flexible work trend.
The conference will see delegates from around the world speak on union strategies towards flexibilisation and contract and agency labour, with practical examples from various sectors and specific multinational companies.
Utrecht NL 6 March 2009
As illustrated by the ICEM survey on Contract and Agency Labour that was conducted last year (see above), increasingly companies outsource parts of their production, hire employees only on temporary contracts or use fake freelancers. Outsourcing allows companies to become more flexible financially and in their planning. But the position of employees is deteriorating rapidly.
This flexibility trend is impacting across the globe and international cooperation between trade unions is more important then ever.
The FNV Decent Work Conference will address several sectors; the chemical industry, the cleaning sector, construction, forestry and agency work in general.
The full agenda for the day will be available soon. ICEM affiliates are invited to participate, but please be aware that no subsidies for travel or hotel costs are available. Places are limited so register early here.
Namibian Social Partners Ready as Temp Agency Ban Nears, 1 March
With a section of Namibian labour law to be implemented on 1 March 2009, effectively banning labour agencies from operating in the southern African nation, there have been examples of blatant sackings of temporary employees and employers preparing for the new law in a socially responsible manner by absorbing precarious workers into direct employment.
Estimates range between 10,000 and 16,000 Namibian workers are caught in the uncertainty of temporary employment.
The country’s largest temp agency – Africa Personnel Services (APS) – has challenged the legal ban by bringing the matter through Namibia’s court. APS also sacked hundreds of workers in January, staff who had been under fixed-term contracts working at several companies that APS serves.
Those sackings are alleged to have breached a part of the new statute, a part which guarantees workers 30 days notice before termination, as well as a mandatory consultation period with the workers’ representatives. That provision was placed in the law to prevent sudden sackings before the effective date of the ban.
Trade unions, including the Namibian Food and Allied Workers’ Union and the National Union of Namibian Workers, have themselves filed unfair dismissal cases with the Labour Ministry over the firings. Labour Minister Immanuel Ngatjizeko himself publicly declared the firings “apparent retaliation against Government and Parliament’s decision to ban exploitative labour brokerage practices,” adding the offending companies are violating the government’s authority.
Namibia Labour Minister Immanuel Ngatjizeko
In early December 2008, a three-judge panel of the High Court rejected APS’s legal challenge to prevent the ban, with one judge equating labour hire, as practiced by labour brokers, to modern-day slavery, saying it reduces human beings to personal property. “In my opinion,” said Judge Collins Parker in a 26-page judgement, “it is letting or hiring of persons as if they were chattels.”
APS, which places 6,000 to 8,000 temporary workers inside Namibia, appealed the ruling, and a hearing on that appeal is scheduled for 3 March, two days after the effective date of the ban. APS is now seeking a separate court order to delay the 1 March ban to 31 March, in order to get its appeal heard. Business groups in Namibia have consistently asked for stricter licensing and controls on labour brokers, rather than an outright ban.
There has been much debate in Namibia over the past two years on this issue. But one positive effect already, three weeks before date-of-effect of the ban, is that enterprises have moved away from using labour agencies, and companies are employing an agency’s staff directly. Some employers are calling that good, and say it will be an advantage to have multi-tasked employees directly on the payroll.
One essential area in which the government is currently dealing with is health care workers employed by labour placement companies. This affects staff doing HIV/AIDS work, including those contracted by the Global Fund, NGOs, and other global aid organisations. Those donors rely on Potentia Namibia Recruitment Consultancy to provide staff.
One report cited 1,400 health workers, including 100 doctors, 100 nurses, and over 600 community counsellors could be affected by the 1 March ban. The Health Minister and Labour Minister Ngatjizeko are in talks with Namibia’s Attorney General to address this issue, without losing these critical staff workers.
‘Decent Work’ Means Tougher Controls on Labour Brokers in South Africa
In South Africa, as Parliamentary elections near, the issue of placing stringent regulations on labour brokers has become one of the foremost workplace issues before the government. Under the term decent work, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) decreed that now is time to better regulate labour-hire agencies and short-term contract work.
The party’s manifesto, heavily influenced in this area by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), states: “… to avoid exploitation of workers and ensure decent work for all workers as well as to protect the employment relationship, (the ANC will) introduce laws to regulate contract work, subcontracting, and outsourcing, address the problem of labour brokering, and prohibit certain abusive practices.”
The ANC intends to make the creation of decent work the central focus in all of the party’s economic policies. In a recent heated radio debate on the issue, a COSATU representative described short-term hire through brokers as “an extreme form of free market capitalism.”
There are an estimated 500,000 workers in South Africa that are used by labour brokers. Parliamentary elections in South Africa must be held by April, although no date has yet been set.
Korean Government Seeks to Amend Irregular Workers’ Law, Citing Economic Crisis
If there has been any country in the world in which the issue of short-term contract workers or temporary employment has been in full public view, it is the Republic of Korea. National labour centres have used mass mobilisations to draw attention to it, there was the contentious U-Land retail sit-ins in 2007, and finally implementation of the Irregular Workers’ Protection Law in mid-2007, which did not go far enough to protect the rights of fixed-term contract and agency workers.
Now the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) is attempting to further weaken that law. In a special parliamentary session set for this month, the GNP together with Labour Minister Lee Young-hee will introduce a bill to increase from two years to four years the amount of time a boss can use contract or agency workers before making them permanent.
The government, together with business groups, is using the excuse that in the present economic crisis, temporary workers are the first to be laid off, which will lead to mass unemployment in South Korea. But labour unions and their allies in the largest opposition party, the Democratic Party, say a change to four years will pose a major threat to the creation of secure jobs.
South Korea is the country in the OECD with the largest proportion of non-regular employees in its workforce, now totalling some 37% of 15 million workers. That is three times higher than the average for OECD countries.
The 2007 Irregular Workers’ Protection Law has had no effect in reducing this, specifically because there are no sanctions prohibiting employers from sacking workers just prior to the two-year period coming due. Also bosses have found other loopholes, including increased use of outsourcing to avoid employing full-time, permanent staff.
In point of fact, the courageous workers who took sit-in action at 13 U-Land retail stores did so in the days before and after the 1 July 2007 enactment of the law. U-Land fired 900 temporary workers in the days prior to the law going into effect.
As part of the proposed GNP legislation this month, corporate tax breaks or insurance benefits will be granted to small and medium sized companies who do make temp workers permanent before the proposed four years. But labour unions will resist the effort to weaken a law that they were never entirely satisfied with. On 29 November 2008, 30,000 workers held a manifestation organised by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions in Seoul to protest the proposed revision.
The ICEM supports trade union and civil society efforts to oppose this revision, and will continue to monitor the business-oriented efforts to push through this legislation.
Canadian Province of Ontario Proposes Law to Assist Temporary Workers
In Canada, nearly all labour law is written and enacted on the provincial level. Currently, a proposed law is making its way through the country’s largest populated province, Ontario, which will assist workers employed through temporary agencies.
Bill 139 is an amendment to the Ontario Employment Standards Act (ESA), and is part of the provincial government’s Poverty Reduction programme, aimed to assist low-income workers. The central purpose of Bill 139 is to create added protections for temp workers, including elimination of the “elect to work” exemption regarding termination and severance provisions of the ESA.
“Elect to work” employees are temporary workers who have the option to work on any given day of a week when work is offered. But such workers currently are not entitled to termination notice, severance pay, or public holiday entitlements. Under the proposed legislation, those negative consequences will be removed.
Another important aspect to Bill 139 is elimination of the “finder’s fee,” which serves as a disincentive for businesses to promote temp workers from an agency to full-time, direct employment. In Canada, this system sees typically a significant amount paid by a client to an agency for taking on a worker permanently. Under Bill 139, labour hire agencies would be prohibited from charging this fee where a worker has been employed for six months or more.
The proposed legislation in Ontario does not apply to temporary workers who perform professional services, personal support services, homemaking, or work in community care service operators.
Obama Signs Order Giving Contract Workers Continuity on US Federal Jobs
US President Barack Obama pleased American labour leaders when he signed a series of three executive orders on 30 January that deal with federal procurement issues. One of those orders, related to rights of contract workers, ensures that qualified workers keep their jobs even when a federal contract changes hands between one contractor and another.
Obama signed the orders in front of US labour leaders at the White House, marking a new era of access and an open door regarding policy for US labour unions.
USA President Barack Obama
The order requires that when a federal contract expires and a contract is awarded to another contractor for the same work at the same location, the successor contractor must offer jobs to the predecessor’s employees.
It revokes a Bush administration order, issued on 17 February 2001, a short month after George W. Bush became president, in which such continuity and commitment to public service was signed away as not being a priority. “I’m issuing an order so that qualified employees will be able to keep their jobs even when a contract changes hands,” said Obama at the signing. “We shouldn’t deprive the government of these workers who have so much experience in making government work.”
The US president added that he signed the order, named the Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers under Service Contracts, as a means to reduce disruptions when a federal contract changes hands. It requires that any US service contract, and solicitations for such contracts, include a clause alerting contractors and their sub-contractors that they must offer existing employees the right of first refusal on positions for which they are qualified under the new contract.
The two other pro-worker executive orders that Obama signed on 30 January includes a requirement that federal contractors must post a notice advising workers of their rights under the US National Labor Relations Act. (It replaces a Bush directive advising non-union workers on their rights regarding payment of dues.) The other Obama order prohibits government reimbursement to contractors for costs incurred to influence workers regarding the decision to form a union and to bargain collectively.
US Labor Department Survey Reveals Involuntary Part-Time Work on the Rise
The US Labor Department’s Current Population Survey says the number of Americans working part-time for economic reasons increased late in 2008, due primarily to the economic downturn. Termed “involuntary part-time workers,” the US federal agency considers such workers under-employed, or individuals wanting full-time jobs, but who have less than 35 hours in a surveyed week does to slack work.
In November 2008, 7.3 million Americans were working part-time due to economic reasons, up from 3.9 million in April 2006. In the US, the percentage of total employment consisting of involuntary part-time workers increased by 2.4% to a total of 5.1% over the same period.
In general, workers under the age of 25 are over-represented in this category of part-time workers who have had their hours cut back because of economic reasons. In third quarter 2008, persons from age 16 to 24 account for 25% of those affected, while that age group is just 14% of the entire workforce. Retail trade, food services, and construction are the three industries in the US that have been most heavily impacted by the economic factors driving the increase in part-time work.
Calendar for Upcoming Regional Contract and Agency Labour Conferences Taking Shape
The ICEM will conduct a Contract and Agency Labour (CAL) conference for the Asia-Pacific Region on 15-16 April in Singapore. The Sub-Saharan Africa Regional conference for CAL will likely be held in November 2009 in a yet-to-be-determined location.