3 September, 2007Temporary, casual, insecure and contingent work is on the rise in the metal working sector, according to a recent IMF survey.
GLOBAL: Metalworkers around the world are increasingly feeling less secure in employment, according to the findings of a recent survey on changing employment practices and precarious work conducted by the International Metalworkers' Federation.
The International Metalworkers' Federation, representing the interests of 25 million metalworkers in 100 countries, surveyed its affiliates in 2006 and 2007 about the prevalence of precarious work in the metal sector and on how trade unions are responding to the problem.
The survey found that:
• Ninety percent of respondents said precarious work has increased in the last five years.
• Two-thirds of respondents indicated precarious workers are paid much less than permanent workers.
• Two-thirds of respondents said companies in their country were shifting from directly employing temporary workers to hiring them through agencies or brokers.
The survey also found that metalworkers' trade unions are using collective bargaining to respond to precarious work, are mobilizing for legislative changes for better protection of workers' rights and believe that precarious workers should be recruited into existing unions.
"Precarious work is caused by employment practices designed to maximize employer profits and flexibility and to shift risks onto workers. As the results of this survey show, it is an increasing problem on every continent, undermining wages and conditions of work," said IMF general secretary Marcello Malentacchi.
"The IMF and its affiliates will be taking up this issue and deciding on a strategy to take co-ordinated global action against precarious work at our Central Committee in November this year," said Malentacchi.
A total of 54 unions whose combined membership represents 62 per cent of the global IMF membership responded to the survey, including unions from all five continents. Precarious work is typically non-permanent, temporary, casual, insecure and contingent and workers in these jobs are often not covered by labour law or social security protections.
For more details and a copy of the results of the survey go to: www.imfmetal.org/CC2007