12 December, 2010
ICEM’s Contract and Agency Labour (CAL) newsletter is a quarterly publication by Ashling Seely and ICEM staff intended to bring the latest news, developments, and trade union initiatives against the growing use of temporary and casual work. The global, Nordic-sponsored project of the ICEM is headed by Seely, who is the Global Coordinator of the CAL Project, now in its seventh year.
25-Day Sit-In Strike by Hyundai’s Contract Workers Ends
A sit-in strike by contract workers at the Hyundai Motor factory in Ulsan, South Gyeongsang, South Korea, which at times turned violent, ended on 9 December. The 25-day strike ended when three unions, including one representing the contract workers, met and agreed to halt the strike on condition that management would negotiate in good-faith to make the workers full-time Hyundai staff. The strike and blockade of production was over the auto manufacturer’s refusal to grant permanent work status, in accord with a July Korean Supreme Court decision. (See related story below.)
The workers, some 550 in total who are members of the Hyundai Motors Irregular Workers’ Union, began sit-in actions at Ulsan on 15 November and are demanding an end to discrimination in wages and job conditions. The militant strike action was started by some 30 workers after Hyundai sought to replace a terminated seat-assembly subcontracting company called Dongsung with another, and insisted that the contract workers sign individual contracts with the new company.
In the weeks prior, some 1,900 contract workers at Hyundai, buoyed by the 22 July Supreme Court decision stating they must be made permanent and direct workers of the car producer after two years employment, joined the Korean Metal Workers’ Union (KMWU). With the change in subcontractors, Hyundai also attempted to coerce the workers to withdraw from the KMWU.
The strike had been met by the use of beatings and tear gas by local police brought in by the world’s fifth largest car-maker. At the outset on 15 November, Hyundai managers attacked the sit-down strikers with heavy metal fittings and iron frames. Scores of contract workers have been arrested, and the company has filed both criminal and civil lawsuits against the strikers, including a civil one against 419 strikers seeking 16.2 billion won (US$14.1 million) for lost production. One contract worker attempted to set himself on fire during a plant gate rally on 20 November.
At times, three assembly lines had been blockaded by angry contract workers, costing Hyundai some 24,000 units of production. As of early last week, contract workers were occupying one line at Ulsan, the world’s largest integrated automobile manufacturing facility, thus cutting production of the company’s newly-unveiled Accent model, as well as Click and Verna subcompact models.
Union leaders at Ulsan had been seeking dialogue with Hyundai Motor management in order to resolve the ever-growing number of issues, but reportedly senior management would not meet until the strike actions cease.
The strike by contract workers did catch the attention of autoworkers throughout the world. On 6 December, the American United Auto Workers’ (UAW) Union held a manifestation attended by 150 people at the Hyundai-Kia America Technical Center in the US state of Michigan in support of the Korean autoworkers.
Seoul Court Rules Subcontract Workers Full-time after Two Years
In August, this Contract and Agency Labour newsletter reported that the Supreme Court of Korea had issued a groundbreaking ruling that in-house subcontract workers employed for two years at Hyundai Motor in Ulsan, South Gyeongsang province, must be made permanent employees.
On 12 November, a similar ruling was made, this time by the Seoul High Court. This case was brought by seven former subcontract workers at the Asan Plant of Hyundai Motor. In line with the Supreme Court decision, the ruling states that in-house subcontractors’ employees, who worked continuously for two or more years, should be treated as the employees of the user enterprise.
The Seoul High Court ruling is particularly significant as it has broad coverage over several production departments at the plant.
Shortly after the Korean Supreme Court ruling on 22 July, the Korean Metal Workers' Union (KMWU), asked Hyundai to conduct collective bargaining with the union over direct employment for the subcontract workers. But Hyundai Motor refused, stating that it would appeal the Supreme Court decision.
On 4 November, KMWU filed a lawsuit against Hyundai demanding that a total of 1,900 in-house subcontractors with service of two or more years should be made full-time Hyundai workers, moved into regular jobs, and compensated for lost wages. (On average, contract workers at Hyundai earn 50 to 60% less than that of direct employees.)
On 5 November, KMWU submitted an application for mediation of an industrial dispute over collective bargaining with Hyundai Motor to the National Labor Relations Commission.
The Supreme Court’s ruling, and Hyundai’s intransigence in elevating subcontract workers to permanent status, has spurred workers to dramatically disrupt production at the Ulsan city factory in continuous sit-in strikes that began on 15 November. (See the article above.)
Broad Political Support in Finland to Erase Precarious Worker Abuse
The Finnish Parliament, in an interpellation or action to proceed to a motion of confidence over the government, voted on 19 November to challenge the government more vehemently on measures to ensure full-time, permanent work. Lawmakers from all political parties, left to right, voted 105 to 67 to challenge the government’s job creation policies in a no confidence ballot aimed at stemming the grey economy.
The vote was highly significant since it did garner cross-party support and was met with little employer opposition. It also sets the stage for better and more worker-friendly amendments next year to the Finnish law on the Contractor’s Obligations and Liability when Work is Contracted Out.
The interpellation, initiated by Left Alliance Leader Paavo Arhinmäki, was supported by many parliamentarians of Finland’s centre-right ruling government, and very likely will lead to legislation that goes beyond the requirements of the European Union’s Directive on Temporary Agency Work. As well, any new legislation in Finland would likely limit the employers’ use of fixed-term contracts and prohibit employers from repeatedly using temporary workers when their need is a permanent workforce.
One trade union leader in the country said lack of business resistance to the interpellation vote is a clear signal that employers realize productivity is better and Finnish society as a whole benefits when full-time employment is the norm.
Last month’s interpellation vote was preceded by the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) publishing a list of 25 proposals that should be contained in legislation to stifle the grey economy. One such proposal would give more power to the country’s trade unions to enforce, through courts and other venues, nefarious work practices.
Precarious Work Mounts in Latin America … But So Do Union Actions to Counter It
The ICEM held, as part of its ongoing series of national and international events, discussions on Contract and Agency Labour (CAL, known as “tercerización” in Latin America), at an international conference in Montevideo, Uruguay, on 16-17 November 2010. Participants at this CAL campaign event, sponsored by Swedish LO/TCO and LO Norway, came from Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, and ICEM headquarters.
Judging by participants’ accounts, the problem of outsourcing and precarious labour seems to be at least as widespread in Latin America as it is in other parts of the world. It was said, for example, that it is not uncommon for up to 40-50% of the formal workforce in these countries to work for subcontracting companies, with outsourced workers often doing exactly the same work as permanent staff, but for a much lower salary.
That said, in nearly all countries in the region there also were - in addition to a large number of bad practice examples - encouraging stories on how different unions successfully managed to deal with part of the problem.
In the host country Uruguay, for example, some unions now have CAL workers as board members and, in the paper sector at least, most outsourced workers are union members. On the other hand, the country is also known for its omnipresent “use” of cooperatives, which seems to be a means in Uruguay to avoid unionisation.
These cooperatives, which were said to employ great numbers of workers, very often are small, worker-owned and independent enterprises that cater to other, larger enterprises. As such, they have become part of the subcontracting chain and it is not unusual for an entire department of a company to be turned into an “independent cooperative.”
ICEM Latin American CAL Project Coordinators Rosane Sasse and Elias Pintado
During the last few years, Uruguay has adopted two new laws on temporary employment. The most recent one, adopted in 2007, introduces the idea of co-responsibility in case something goes wrong when workers are in a triangular relationship (i.e., when working for a “third” company, which is not the “user-enterprise”).
This co-responsibility, which was mentioned by trade unionists from various countries as a key item, makes sure that workers can claim their salary, benefits, and/or social security from the user-enterprise in case “their real employer” fails to pay, or, as is fairly common, simply disappears.
An interesting presentation was made by ICEM Project Coordinator Patricio Sambonino on the contract and agency labour situation in his home nation, Ecuador, a country where the government in 2008 adopted a new law that bans “tercerización.”
According to a 2010 FES-ICEM research effort that looked into the effects of this new law, the success of the recent ban on outsourcing (the key point of the new law, which still allows exceptions for such jobs as catering, cleaning, security) has been mixed. Among the problems found by the FES-ICEM research was that workers that had to be rehired by the user-enterprise started at a lower salary than those that already had or have permanent jobs. Most workers also did not get lost rights, such as seniority or a decent pension. It was further pointed out that some companies have in the meantime found new ways of outsourcing.
ICEM Project Coordinator Patricio Sambonino
In the Ecuadorian mining sector, the level of informal work appears to be so high that the new law has not been able to make a difference. The study described the use of cooperatives in mining and in many cases, cooperatives are, in fact, just another form of bogus self-employment. In the oil sector, the new law has not brought the hoped for progress for workers. In the electricity sector in Ecuador, on the other hand, unions are very happy with the new law and the protection it brings, since many more workers now have direct and permanent contracts.
In total, over 200,000 Ecuadorian workers have been made permanent since 2008> This must be qualified by stating that in many cases, the permanent status is only for one year, after which workers were dismissed again. This is the case for many oil workers. Still, a lot of workers were able to join the social security system for the first time and a few thousand “subcontracting” companies have closed their doors.
Another important point is that, even though it was “predicted” by those opposed to the law, none of the major investors left the country as a result of the ban. Unions in Ecuador, who were not involved in the drafting of the law at the time, are now looking to dispel the negative consequences of what is, essentially, an excellent improvement for workers.
Also noted is the fact that multinational companies in Ecuador seem to have accepted the new law much easier than most national companies. Reportedly, multinational companies were faster to calculate that the changes would not bring extra costs, and if any, certainly not in comparison to their total turnover.
Participants at the Montevideo Seminar
An interesting “best practice” example was provided by the representatives of Argentinean ICEM affiliate FASPyGP, the Federación Argentina Sindical del Petróleo, Gas y Biocombustibles.
In each of their sectors (oilfields, oil refineries, and gas) good sectoral collective agreements exist. And each of these sectoral agreements also fully covers all outsourced workers. The result is that, even though the outsourcing rate is around 60%, all workers - CAL or not - receive the same salaries and the same benefits for equal work of equal value.
Participants at the meeting in Uruguay were also informed about proposed legislation that is currently being prepared in Brazil by one of the national labour centres, CUT. If and when adopted, this proposal would strengthen earlier laws that deal with Contract and Agency Labour, which now already foresees co-responsibility in triangular work relationships.
The new law would introduce, among other items, a ban on outsourcing core jobs, a strengthening of the co-responsibility, language to make sure that the union at the actual workplace can also represent the CAL workers, equal pay for equal work, and an obligation to inform unions in advance of any outsourcing plans.
Finally, also mentioned at the seminar was a study by the Brazilian ICEM affiliate FUP, which showed that it would - all things considered - actually be cheaper for state-owned oil giant Petrobras to turn all its outsourced workers into direct workers. Knowing that, there still is a long way to go for Petrobras, as the company employs just over 70,000 direct employees, with almost 250,000 outsourced staff working on its assets.
Africa Regional CAL Seminar Takes Place in Ghana
The ICEM’s Contract and Agency Labour (CAL) Regional Seminar for Sub-Saharan Africa took place in Accra, Ghana, on 8-9 November. The seminar brought together ICEM affiliates from Senegal, Guinea, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Namibia, Nigeria, Mauritius, Ghana, and Togo to discuss CAL developments in their countries.
Representatives from SASK, the international arm of the Finnish national labour centre, which supports the Sub-Saharan Africa CAL project, and the ICEM CAL global and African coordinators also participated in the seminar.
Joseph Toe, CAL Sub-Saharan Africa Project Coordinator, at the Ghana seminar
Affiliates exchanged information on what steps they had taken in respect to their specific action plans developed during previous workshops. Many participants reported that dealing with the issue of short-term contract work or agency labour was becoming more and more challenging. This was the case expressed by those coming from Nigeria, where management attitudes are increasingly favouring the use of precarious employment.
Although unions in Nigeria have been demanding that remuneration of contract staff should be determined by the industry in which the contract operates, so that workers receive equal pay for equal work, they have not managed to achieve this yet.
Matti Koskinen, from the Finnish Union of Salaried Employees, Toimihenkilöunioni (TU), made a presentation on how CAL is dealt with in Finland, and said that collective agreements mostly regulate the use of short-term labour. Matti also drew attention to the European Metalworkers’ Federation’s second common demand for more secure employment, against precarious work. Joseph Toe, the Sub-Saharan Africa CAL Project Coordinator, presented a paper on membership recruitment, which participants said would prove to be very helpful in their CAL organising campaigns.
Looking to the future, affiliates proposed that they should concentrate more on collecting facts and figures relating to CAL, and that they should prioritise the organising of CAL workers. Affiliates also suggested that dedicated funds should be raised for CAL workers, and that there should be more capacity building for dealing with CAL workers.
Interview with Jorge Alberto Monjane, Deputy General Secretary, Mozambique Chemical and Allied Workers’ Union
How common is Contract and Agency Labour (CAL) in Mozambique?
At the moment, we do not know how frequently this employment practice is used. In September, we discovered for the first time the use of contract workers in Maputo – in a factory with 1,700 workers, there were at least 800 on fixed-term contracts. We also discovered that at another factory, which produces washing powder, all employment comes through labour agencies.
More companies are taking advantage of the new labour law of 2007, which says that it is possible to have three-month, six-month, and one-year fixed contracts. Permanent work was much more common with the old law. Many companies are functioning normally, but still making retrenchments. Fixed-term contracts and other types of employment practices are then brought in.
The previous law was stronger and provided better protection for workers’ rights, but companies wanting to invest in Mozambique thought the law was too rigid. The new law cancelled many rights, for example holidays have been reduced from 30 days to between 12 and 20 days. Under the old law, there was a bonus payment for seniority, but not anymore. When workers were retrenched under the old law, they were entitled to three months salary if they had worked for two years. Now, they are entitled to only 21 days salary.
What are conditions like for CAL workers?
According to the law, every worker is entitled to the same benefits, salary, etc. However, employers often do not obey the law. There are never salary increases for CAL workers and social security payments are not taken care of.
There was one case when an agency worker in a chemical factory had an accident when the sack he was carrying broke and chemicals burnt his skin. The worker asked the company to pay for his treatment, but the company said it was not responsible. When the worker asked the agency, they also denied responsibility. The worker eventually died from his injuries.
We became aware of the health and safety issue to CAL after an ICEM workshop where workers said there were big differences. Permanent workers have all their health and safety rights respected, but CAL workers do not. Our union needs to investigate this more, but it is already clear to us that employers look at health and safety for all as an additional cost. The union is demanding check-ups for everyone, and the labour inspectorate is looking at these issues very seriously, especially in two new factories – one for textiles, one for glass – that are going to open. Our union is already there trying to make sure that the rights to negotiate, and to a healthy and safe working environment are respected.
Even if the government is in favour of reasonable conditions, international investors would like less regulations and more flexibility. They have publicly announced that they would like another new law! The Mozambique Chemical and Allied Workers’ Union has rejected this, as the law was a result of heavy tripartite negotiations, and not something that we are going to do again.
What actions has your union taken on CAL?
Once we became aware of the problem – it was brought to our attention through the ICEM project which made us sensitive to the issue – we took action very quickly. We have had some success with changing the attitude of companies and getting them to accept contracts of longer duration for contract workers.
It is difficult for us to get information about what is happening behind the scenes as the situation is very opaque, but we are trying to organise CAL workers. We have already started to invite them to come to meetings where we’ve explained that they have the same rights as everybody else. It is difficult to access CAL workers so we invite them to come to our office.
The constitution of our union is open and the labour law says that workers are free to have union activities in the workplace or outside if need be, so that is not a problem. LOFTF in Denmark has also assisted us a lot by funding the production of brochures and pamphlets to inform CAL workers about their rights. With the project funded by LOFTF, we have managed to provide free legal assistance to members who have paid their dues – this is a very powerful organising tool.
What plans has the Mozambique Chemical and Allied Workers’ Union for the future, with regard to CAL?
We want to research the extent of the contract, agency labour problem and to inform all workers about their right to join a union. We will also engage with companies and employment agencies so they recognise that workers’ basic rights must be respected regardless of whether they are employed directly or not.
The trouble is that companies like to keep CAL workers ignorant about their rights, and union people are sent away. The more ignorance there is, the more exploitation there is. In the workshop organised by the ICEM, one worker said he was not sure if he could continue in his job because he had attended the workshop, but the labour inspectorate said they would follow up with him and intervene if needed.
We are also planning to work with the labour inspectorate to investigate and correct working conditions. When we find a problem we create a “mixed brigade,” with representatives from the union and the inspectorate, to solve the problem. Unions need to be militant to encourage labour inspectors to work well, and to develop relationships with them.
Interview with Reeaz Chuttoo of the Chemical, Manufacturing, and Connected Trades Employees’ Union (CMCTEU) of Mauritius
How prevalent is CAL in Mauritius?
The whole history of Mauritius itself is CAL history, so to speak. It is traditional to have seasonal workers for sugarcane plantations; it is accepted by everyone that this is needed for the economy to survive. But, with the introduction of the textile sector, came more and more workers employed in precarious work, including migrant workers recruited especially from China.
The labour law was reformed in 2006 and migrants no longer have to follow a procedure – they come to Mauritius on tourist visas then search for employment. Protection against dismissal has been removed from labour law, so in a way all workers in Mauritius are CAL. There are no severance payments for workers under 60 years. Now, outsourcing even exists in the oldest spheres of the economy, and the way it is done is almost mafia-like.
How does the law protect against abuse of CAL workers?
The new legislation says that workers should not work more than 90 hours in a fortnight, but does not limit the number of hours per day or per week. There are situations where employers are making contract workers, migrant workers, and others work 20 hours in one day, without overtime. A complaint filed with the ILO got a favourable result in 2009 but despite this, Mauritius got the top African place in the World Bank’s Doing Business Report, 2010.
From 2006 until now, we have seen considerable economic progress. The official unemployment rate is not meaningful as it does not take into account the high numbers of workers in the informal sector.
How do conditions differ for CAL workers?
CAL workers are obliged to work on Sundays. For new recruits, the definition of a week is no longer Monday to Sunday, but can be any seven days in a row. CAL workers also have to be completely flexible with regard to their working hours and starting times. In addition, CAL workers are not protected against occupational health and safety hazards. People are being transformed into a commodity.
Migrant workers do the same job but without the same pay. They receive no production bonus and no meal allowances. The Ministry of Labour will not deal with their complaints. Employers have the power to send away workers who complain, but so many are heavily indebted to labour brokers that they have no alternative but to accept their conditions.
The exploitation of CAL workers is heavily supported through discrimination. The law itself states that old workers must remain in the same work conditions, but newer recruits have worse conditions. So employers fire old workers unjustly or for petty reasons. For example, simply to accuse them of becoming unproductive as they get older.
Are there hostilities between permanent and CAL workers, and if so, how does your union deal with this?
There is hostility between CAL and permanent workers in the construction and textile sectors. In these two sectors, many companies close and reopen under another name and then employ only migrant workers. There are some cultural differences. It took four-to-five years to break down the barriers, but in general now all are persuaded that we should be defending migrant workers’ rights. In practice, migrant workers cannot organise.
What other action is your union taking on CAL?
Since 2006, several forms of taxation have been reduced for the very rich. Unions have been constantly demonstrating against this, as it is unfair. In 2009, the government introduced a corporate social responsibility system where 2% of net profits must be paid as a tax to finance social projects. The CMCTEU has proposed that half of this new tax should go to the workers – corporate responsibility to employees should come before corporate social responsibility, especially for CAL workers who are exploited. This would be paid as a bonus every year and everyone, including migrant workers, would receive an equal part.
We are hopeful that the government will agree to this and we have the full support of the media and civil society.
The strength of the union is its capacity to hold members. CMCTEU started by analyzing worker behaviour and found that most workers are primarily concerned about servicing their debts: more than 70% of workers in Mauritius are in debt. The union created an Information Technology school, open to all workers and their families, a credit union with low interest rates, and we are currently developing a two-story building that will be put at the disposal of members for social gatherings.
We are changing the view of workers, and they are becoming more interested in the union. We reduced the membership fee drastically and as soon as we did that we gained 3,000 new members. We’ve also amended the union rules: now every woman is considered a working woman even if they work from their home. Construction was the sector with the second biggest membership gains, including membership in cement plants and petroleum distribution. In construction, 85% of workers are employed on fixed-term contracts and those who join the union have big problems.
In the future, we will prioritise creating a severance allowance for workers based on one day’s wages for every month worked. It was agreed by the ILO experts and now it is only the employers who are resisting, but I am sure we can win.
ICEM CAL Campaign Releases Country Report on the Netherlands
The ICEM Contract and Agency Labour (CAL) Campaign has released a new country report focusing on CAL use in the Netherlands. The report, which was developed with the assistance of FNV Bondgenoten, highlights the fact that 1.9 million people in the Netherlands work for temporary employment agencies, are employed by fixed-term or on-call contracts, or are bogusly referred to as self-employed.
See the full report here.
The Netherlands was deeply affected by the global economic crisis, and the economy shrunk by 4% in 2009. In 2010, the country has seen a weak recovery, with many of the jobs that are being created, for example in the chemical industry, are precarious jobs.
As is the case in many countries, CAL workers in the Netherlands receive lower wages, fewer benefits, and have less social security than permanent, directly-employed workers. In the Netherlands, companies may only hire a worker on three fixed-term contracts of up to one year each before the worker must be offered a permanent position. This regulation is often circumvented by allowing a one month period of unemployment before rehiring the worker on a further fixed-term contract.
The report details how Dutch trade unions have been active in challenging CAL, particularly the abuse common to workers hired through temporary employment agencies. This year alone, 12 new collective agreements have been negotiated by the national labour centre FNV, which include provisions that temporary workers may only be deployed in busy times and to cover for absences of other workers in case of illness, and that if they work longer than nine months in one year, they should be awarded permanency. There were also 34 new agreements signed which state that only certified employment agencies can be used.
Dutch unions have also been active in bargaining for improvements for CAL workers at the sectoral level, and this year new collective agreements were signed with the two employers’ organizations representing temp agencies in the Netherlands: the ABU (ABU (Algemene Bond Uitzendondernemingen) and the NBBU (Nederlandse Bond van Bemiddelings-en Uitzendondernemingen). The most significant improvement in both collective agreements is that the training possibilities of people working through temp agencies have been expanded. Under the ABU collective agreement, workers are entitled to the same wages as employees of the hiring company after 26 weeks of employment. In the NBBU, the agreement states that workers receive equal pay for equal work from day one.
A new foundation (the SNCU) was also established to monitor compliance with these collective agreements. The foundation - a partnership between employer and employee organisations in the temporary work sector – has the power to decertify temporary employment agencies which fail to respect the terms of the relevant labour agreement.
The report also details the heroic efforts of CAL cleaners, who joined forces this year to assert their rights. Many cleaners in the Netherlands, including those contracted to work for companies such as Shell and Akzo Nobel, went on strike and organised protests for nine weeks. Their efforts ultimately resulted in a new collective agreement that provides better wages and more educational opportunities.
Precarious Women Workers’ Resolution Passed by European Parliament
The last issue of this Contract and Agency Labour newsletter reported that a draft report on precariously-employed women workers was presented to the European Parliament by Danish Social Democratic MEP, Britta Thomsen.
The report called on the European Commission and European Union Member States to ensure that all employees are granted equal access to social services and benefits regardless of their employment conditions.
On 19 October, the European Parliament adopted a resolution expressing disappointment that the EU employment law package and the directives on fixed-term, part-time, and temporary agency work do not adequately address the precarious nature of employment, and called on the Commission and the Member States to take further specific legislative measures. Those measures include introducing binding minimum social standards for employees and granting all employees equal access to social services and benefits, including maternity leave, health care and retirement pensions, as well as to education and training, regardless of employment conditions.
Britta Thomsen, MEP
The resolution recognises that the “over-representation of women in precarious work is a key contributing factor to the gender pay gap.” It also states that “improving job quality for women will reduce the gender pay gap.” The resolution calls on the Member States to take legislative measures to put an end to zero-hour contract and to introduce controls to regulate all types of false training, which conceal actual employment without proper payment or protection.
The Commission and the Member States are requested to develop strategies on precarious work in order to emphasize decent work and green jobs, and incorporate gender balance; and to take action in order to reduce the double burden of work on women.
Attention is brought on the fact that studies have shown that precarious employment, in which minimum health and safety standards often are ignored, carries higher injury rates and a greater risk of disease and exposure to hazards. The Commission and the Member States are requested to enhance their monitoring of minimum health and safety requirements in the workplace, paying particular attention to the specific risks to female workers.
Due to the lack of adequate research on the subject, the resolution calls on the Commission and Eurofound to cooperate with the European Institute for Gender Equality and to initiate targeted research in order to assess the cost of de-skilling and welfare loss resulting from precarious employment, taking into account the gender aspect.
The resolution has been sent to the European Council, the European Commission, and the governments of the Member States.
UK Government Abandons Attempt to Dilute Agency Workers’ Regulation
Since the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition took leadership of the UK government, it has been exploring ways to amend the Agency Workers’ Regulation, adopted to implement the European Temporary Agency Workers' Directive.
According to the Trades Union Congress’s (TUC) head of Employment Rights, Sarah Veale, “An agreement was reached between the TUC and the CBI (UK’s business grouping) two years ago, after many hours of discussion and compromises from both sides.”
The compromises included a clause that agency workers would not receive equal treatment from day one, as per the European directive, but after 12 weeks of employment. Despite this, employers and their representatives expressed a range of concerns over the regulation to the new government, arguing for amendments to be made before its entry into force in October 2011.
The TUC responded by saying: “There is no point unpicking that now, after the regulations have been enacted, and business and unions are preparing to work co-operatively with what we have agreed.”
Following consultations with both sides, the Minister for Employment Relations, Consumer, and Postal Affairs, Edward Davey, announced in October that due to the “unique legal situation” of the regulation, any amendments proposed which did not have the agreement of the TUC and CBI would “face the risk of being set aside in the courts in the event of a legal challenge.” He went on to say, “Were that to happen, the effect could be to call into question the very foundation of the fundamentals of the implementing legislation, crucially including the 12-week qualifying period itself.”
Although he described the outcome as “clearly disappointing,” Minister Davey confirmed that the Government would not be making any further attempts to amend the regulation.
UK Public Sector Union, Unison, Applauds United Utilities’ Move to End Offshoring
The privatised water firm United Utilities’ decision to drop its offshore contract with Accenture and bring its customer service back to the UK was met with applause by Unison, Great Britain’s public sector union.
“This is good news for United Utilities customers and a much needed jobs boost,” said Unison General Secretary Dave Prentis. “The company is right in its belief that in-house operations are more efficient than offshoring.”
Unison General Secretary Dave Prentis
United Utilities told investors on 1 December that it would bring Information Technical services back to the north-east of the country to gain “greater control” of its technology. Accenture has a contract with the private utility until November 2011 for billing business processes and other services, but United Utilities said it will bring office, income, and collections activities to full-time public workers of the company over the next 12 months.
“Right from the start, UNISON campaigned against outsourcing and offshoring in the utilities sector, because permanent staff provides a better service,” said Prentis, who predicted it would create hundreds of jobs in the northeast. “We hope this decision will act as a good example to other employers, particularly in the public sector, where there in enormous pressure to outsource services.”
Canadian Auto Workers Reject Government’s November Statistics Stating Job Growth
The Canadian Auto Workers’ (CAW) Union, at its CAW Council meetings 3-5 December in Toronto, rebuked Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey for November. The government agency reported that in November, 26,700 part-time jobs had been created, while 11,500 full-time were lost.
CAW President Ken Lewenza said new job creation based solely on part-time growth is no cause to celebrate. “Workers must be able to realise their goal of having a full-time job, a job you can raise your kids on, and later retire from in dignity,” said Lewenza in his opening day keynote address to the Council, the union’s governing board.
CAW President Ken Lewenza
Lewenza said that the loss of full-time workers across Canada has put a major strain on provincial budgets, particularly as they work with federal and municipal governments to set up stimulus programmes to support local economies.
Provinces in turn have put pressure on public sector workers to freeze wages, while failing to guarantee and preserve public services or jobs. The effect has meant a downward spiral to social services and on living standards of workers.
The CAW Council also agreed at its deliberations to donate C$10,000 to a trust fund established to help families dealing with the tragedy of the Pike River coal mine disaster last month in New Zealand. That trust fund was set up by ICEM affiliate Engineering, Printing, and Manufacturing Union (EPMU). In a letter to EPMU National Secretary Andrew Little, Lewenza said, “Know that we are making this donation in full solidarity with your union’s continuing efforts to improve working conditions in safety standards in mines and every other workplace in New Zealand.”
ICEM Launches Mini Guide to Dealing with Contract, Agency Labour
The ICEM has developed a short guide to dealing with Contract and Agency Labour (CAL). The guide, intended to help unions raise awareness of the prevalence and impact of precarious work, outlines what types of employment are included in the ICEM’s definition of CAL, and highlights some of the most common problems associated with such work.
The guide also gives an overview of what the ICEM and its affiliates around the world are doing to promote permanent, direct employment, and at the same time to promote better conditions for CAL workers.
The guide lists a number of specific attempts unions have made to keep employment permanent and direct, for example, by agreeing to a cap on the number of CAL workers who can be employed in a particular company or sector, or by restricting the number of times a fixed-term contract may be renewed before employment becomes permanent.
In terms of ensuring respect for the rights of CAL workers, ICEM affiliates have sought guarantees that CAL workers will receive equal treatment from the first day of their employment and that those on fixed-term contracts will receive severance fees in the event their contracts are not renewed. Unions have also attempted, and in some cases succeeded, in negotiating collective bargaining agreement clauses, which require the company to consult with the union, and to get their approval, before outside labour is used.
The guide proposes ways in which unions can build relations with CAL workers, suggesting that unions consider altering their internal rules to permit CAL workers to join; create a dedicated precarious workers’ section or representative; or consider introducing different membership fee levels and alternative methods of dues collection.
The guide concludes by encouraging affiliates to initiate a discussion on CAL within their own unions, and suggests a number of questions which may help to get these discussions started.
The ICEM’s Mini Guide to Dealing with CAL is available here.
CAL Facts and Figures Overview, now also in Spanish
An updated version of the extensive presentation on “CAL and the ICEM CAL Campaign” has now been made available on the ICEM site. This PowerPoint presentation, which can be used by anyone, contains not only a considerable number of key statistics on Contract and Agency Labour and other forms of precarious work, including the ICEM’s own statistics, but also contains a wide range of “best practice examples,” highlighting what unions around the world have done quite successfully to counter the problem.
A full-length version of the presentation in English can be found here.
The Spanish version of the presentation can be found here.