What is CAL?

2. The issue of contract and agency labour (CAL) was established as a keypriority for the ICEM at the ICEM’s World Congress in 2003 • At the 2007ICEM World Congress in Bangkok, virtually all participants mentioned the continuous growth of the phenomenon - and talked about the problems that are the result of it. Time and again, reference was made to a clear need for continued action on this issue.

3. What is CAL?

4. Many different words exist to describe what essentially is a precarious “work relationship”. The “new ways of employment” do away with what used to be “standard”, meaning a permanent full-time job, directly employed by a single company, with a regular working week and benefits, and the protection, including against dismissal, that comes from a legal status as an employee. ICEM concentrates on contract and agency labour, but there are also other forms of precarious employment(informal work, simply badly paid jobs)

5. What is CAL? Some of the ‘precarious job’ terms used

6. Contract labour The word “contract” is used in two ways. First in the sense of temporary, short-term or part-time contracts (sometimes through an agency). Secondly, as in “contracting out”, which is when a company “contracts out” work to another employer. In some cases, this can also bean individual. The work may or may not be done at the same location. The new employer may take on none, some, or all of the staff members of the existing workforce. Whereas the first usually entails an employment relationship, the second usually brings about a commercial relationship. Agency labour Agency labour is where a company needs workers and, rather than employing them directly, asks an agency to send the required number of workers.

7. Contracting out, slowly but surely, has become a problem for many, if not most, workers in the world, affecting workers everywhere, in different regions, different sectors and different lines of work. It spread from a relatively limited number of sectors - it always was a problem for migrants in the construction sector, for example - to all industries, affecting jobs that were considered “safe”. A leading example are the textile companies, who outsource everything, except “branding”. Inside the ICEM sectors, some sectors appear to be more concerned than others. The mining and diamond sectors, are dealing with huge numbers of contract workers. In the mining sector, there are countless examples where the contracted workforce outnumbers the permanent workforce. However, it also seriously affects the chemical, paper, materials or energy industries Who does it affect?

8. CAL used to be a problem affecting only certain types of jobs : cleaning, catering, security, transport, maintenance or repair Later, others jobs were outsourced : sorting, packing, loading or unloading, engineering, warehousing and administration or clerical work Now, almost everything can be contracted out, including, for example, “core” production, extraction or sales jobs. The result: two categories of employees: coreworkers, who commonly receive relatively good employment conditions, on the one hand, and contract or agency workers, or workers in other precarious jobs, on the other, with the latter usually getting the inferior deal. Who does it affect?

9. CAL is the resultof adeliberate employer’s decision to lastingly limit or reduce the permanent workforce. Arguments used to do this include the need to “maximise flexibility” (read: make it easier to dismiss workers from one day to the other) or the search for “cheaper alternatives” because of “market pressures”. The end result of the outsourcing effort commonly is a shift of the risk onto the workers, with jobs typically becoming non-permanent, or temporary, casual and insecure. Workers in these jobs are usually not (well) covered by labour law, nor by social security protections. Identifying the real employer, and establishing under whose responsibility such issues as working conditions and benefits fall, is a often a huge problem. A well-defined “work relationship” between an employer and an employee does often not exist. Main problems caused

10. Among the main problems for CAL workers Job insecurity and an uncertain future. Uncertain working hours Low(er) wages, or irregular wages No annual pay rise or bonus, fewer benefits overall The right to sick leave often does not exist Limited or no access to social benefits, including pension rights health insurance maternity/paternity rights holiday rights and payments Increased risk to health and safety problems Poor, or no training - same for career development Lack - or denial - of rights at work, including the right to join, or form, a union and the right to collective bargaining

11. Among the main problems for unions CAL is a threat for trade unions as the phenomenon is often simply misused as a tool to put pressure on workers not to join a union Many contractors/agencies to negotiate with Unclear which employer is responsible Permanent workers can be hostile to contract workers. Sometimes, 2 separate workforces are created with different interests. Contract and agency labour workers are legally, or practically, not allowed to join the union, or a union. Contract and agency workers don’t see an immediate value in joining the union Contract workers are scared of loosing their jobs Unions are losing members Collective bargaining is more difficult as there is less bargaining power

12. Among the main problems for society As CAL workers are commonly poorly paid, they pay less taxes, contributing much less (if at all) to the pension systems. It is part of a race to the bottom. As CAL workers encounter more health and safety problems than other workers, they cost more to the health insurance system (in addition to paying less into the system), … Whereas education is the key to progress in any country, CAL workers get less training and acquire less skills. …

13. A 2009 report by the US Minerals and Management Servicewarned against the complicated chain of MNEs, contractors, subcontractors and sub-subcontractors in the oil rig drillingindustry (even before the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010), quoting safety and environment concerns. (Later, BP underlined that “the responsibilities at that platform were shared by various companies”.) The US report investigated almost 1,500 oil platform accidents. The vast majority of these were not caused by defects, but by lack of communication, lack of (and ignoring of) safety procedures.

14. Keeping workers on a series of consecutive short-term contracts - typically a few months (sometimes 3, sometimes 6, depending on what the law, or CBA, says) and have them re-apply time and time again (often a loophole in the law).(Thai Linde example: Dismiss workers after 17 months as they would get CBA benefits after 18 months). Or ask them to re-enter under another company name – or even under another name. Creating fake agencies or fake sub-contractors, catering to only one company. Using “seasonal workers” in every season. Tricks and abuses

15. In many countries, as agency or subcontracted workers are not regarded as employees of the user enterprise, CAL workers are often prevented to participate in strikes as this is considered illegal “secondary action”. Agency or outsourced workers are quit often (in many countries) listed as “service sector workers”, making it impossible for them join a “industrial sector” union. The Polish Ministry of Labour estimated (in 2009) that half of agency workers do not have employment contracts, but, instead, service or commission contracts for a specific task or project (bogus self-employed). In Serbia, Coca-Cola sells its trucks to its drivers, who become “self-employment” (no rights, no paid leave, no benefits, no…). (bogus self-employed)

16. In some cases, agencies themselvesare allowed by law to directlyemploy workers through a contract of unlimited duration. Even though the worker is “guaranteed” a permanent salary, this often leads to situations where there is no longer is any link between the salary of a worker and the salary of a comparable worker at the user-enterprise, opening the door for further misuse. In too many countries (e.g. South Africa), employers start hiring workers through agencies once “independent contracting” becomes illegal. Or they switch from using agencies to using subcontractors once that becomes regulated. In some other countries or situations, it’s the other way around.

17. In New Zealand, “dependent contractors” have contracts which define themselves as contractors (providing contracts for services) and self employed. They are responsible for paying their own income tax and other levies. (bogus self-employed). However, their contracts bind them in to providing services for asingle employer, they have little or no say over the terms of that contract and are required to provide a level of service which usually has no hours of work protections. (NZDWU document on precarious employment, 2010) In Malaysia, companies advertise jobs for foreign workers in front of their factory gates, and identify and interview potential candidates themselves. Identified candidates are then sent to an employment agency to sign a contract, usually without receiving a copy. (Presentation on CAL at an ICEM seminar in Malaysia, 2010)

18. “The new "Generation X" and "Generation Y" are no longer willing to commit to long-term employment in the hands of a single employer, and favour self-managed development plans and career paths that suit their individual aspirations.” “Permanent and especially unionized workforces tend to possess a "sheltered employment" syndrome, which reduces productivity and installs a "I just need to show up" mentality.” “More than 32% of these (temporary, part-time and contract) employees secured traditional, permanent jobs within 12 months - and 47% did so within 3 years”. Employers’ “views” Source: CAPES reaction to COSATU, South Africa, 2009

19. “Agency workers are the first to be laid off when business turns bad”. “The flexible component of a company’s workforce thus serves as a buffer in times of crisis, softening the impact on permanent staff.” “Agency workers are the first hired when business recovers” “The agency work industry will be among the first to create jobs as soon as the economy recovers, as companies first hire agency workers to meet an increase in orders, before recruiting permanent staff when the situation stabilises.” Source: Ciett, 2010

20. Many employers argue that open-ended contracts are “difficult” due to the huge dismissals fees. According to FGTB figures of 2010, over 80% of all Belgian white-collar workers (a country with decent dismissal fees, at least for white-collar workers), get a termination fee of 3 months salary or less…. ….golden parachutes are not for ordinary workers

21. (More than) A few statistics

22. Temporary employment Higher than average temporary employment is reported in Spain (34%), Poland (27.3%), Portugal (20.6%), Slovenia (17.3%), Sweden (17.3%), the Netherlands (16.6%) and Finland (16.4%). Germany is almost at the EU27 average (14.5%, compared with the average of 14.4%).(Eurostat, 1990-2005)

24. Temporary employment advanced economies – 1991 – 2006 (source: IILS - ILO)

25. Temporary employment transition economies – 1998 – 2006 (source: IILS - ILO)

26. Temporary (fixed-term) employment figures for some EU countries (*) Eurostat 2006 figures – data from 2005 (**) EU Commission 2008 figures – data from 2007

27. The German Statistics Institute said in 2010 that more and more workers have a fixed-term contract while they would prefer a permanent one.In 2008, 8.9% of employees had a fixed-term contract, up from 5,7% in 1991.For new recruits, this figure reached 47%. In France, the vast majority (about80%) of all job entries into the private sector were made, already in 2004, through fixed-term contracts. (CEPR). Fixed term work affects more workers than agency work

28. In Croatia, “almost 90% of new recruitment is for a fixed term, which prevents many people who are newly entering employment or changing jobs to join a trade union”. (FES 2009) In October 2006, about 20% off all employees in the Netherlands had a fixed term contract (not counting people working through temp agencies). In October 2009, this number had risen to24%, while the number of agency workers had decreased from 5.5% to 4.5%.(ICEM CAL country report 2010) In New Zealand, almost 10% of all workers has a fixed-term contract in early 2008. (NZDWU Document 2010) Fixed term work affects more workers than agency work

29. Unilever has approximately 500,000 employees. In 2000, 300,000 of these were on permanent contracts. By 2008, this was reduced to 140,000. The IUF estimates that Unilever eliminates over 20,000 permanent jobs every year through subcontracting, outsourcing and agency labour.

30. From the 2010 annual report of Ciett(the International Confederation of Private Employment Agencies) Across the world, 9.5 million agency workers (full-time equivalent) were employed daily in 2007 (up from 8.9 million in 2006). This decreased by 1% in 2008.31% of them are in the USA. The number of agency workers has more than doubled from 1997 to 2007. (Ireland x 8.75, Japan and Sweden x 4, Germany, Switzerland, Finland, Denmark and Norway x 3) The averageEuropean agency work penetration was 1.7% in 2008, down from 2% in 2007. (“notably due to the early impact of the economic crisis on the UK”) In Japan, this figure still grew (from 2.1% to 2.2%)

31. “The global annual turnover of the Private Employment Agency industry amounted to € 232 billion in 2008” Source: Ciett 2010 - “The agency work industry around the world”

32. Europe is the largest in terms of Ciett affiliates’ income (48% of worldwide revenues in 2008), followed by USA (21%) and Japan 21%) Source: Ciett 2010 - “The agency work industry around the world”

33. Source: Ciett 2010 - “The agency work industry around the world”

34. Source: Ciett 2010 - “The agency work industry around the world”

35. Large firms play an important role in the TAW (Temporary Agency Work) sector. However, their dominance of national markets varies a great deal between countries. Large firms are generally important in the European countries, in particular those with the most extensive use of agency work. In 2005, the largest “concentrated markets” were France (83% of industry turnover by the largest5 companies), Belgium (74%), the Netherlands (69%) and Spain (59%). TAW

36. Adecco is the world's largest private employment agency, serving over 140,000 clients (down from 150,000 clients in 2007) in over 60 countries in 2009. It is currently employing an internal staff of 28,000. The company says its “daily number of staff on assignment” is over 500,000,with over 100,000 clients every day . Over 90% of its sales comes through providing temporary staffing. Manpower used to be the world's second-largest provider of temporary employees. It states it places 4 million people yearly in permanent, temporary and contract positions through officesin 82 countries. It claims it has 400,000 “associates” on assignment on any given day. The previously third largest employment agency, Vedior,was bought in 2008 byNo. 4, Randstad, making Randstad currentlythe globalNo. 2,operating in more than 50 countries, employing 465,000 people every day in 2009.

37. According to FNV Netherlands, there were not only around 100,000 agency workers sent out daily in 2009 by reasonably well-behaving bonafide agencies, there is also an equal 100,000 sent out through (much) smaller, less credible agencies. 51% of Belgian agency workers works with day contracts. 22.4% of all Belgian job openings go to agency workers. 8% of the remaining 77% are for ex-agency workers andan additional 19% gets a temporary contract. That means that only 49% gets a contract of unlimited duration when hired.

38. In Japan, 70% of non-regular workers are women. In Thailand, 80% of all contract workers are women. In Korea, 67.7% of women workers are non-regular (versus 32.3 % for men). The average wage of a female non-regular worker in 2008 was 67% of a typical male worker. In Australia, 1 in 3 women was casually employed in 2008,paid 21% less than permanent workers. In New Zealand in 2009, 70% of all agency workers were female. According to Ciett, in 2009, more than 3 in 5 agency workers were aged less than 30. Gender - Youth

39. Gender Differences for agency workers Source: Ciett 2010 - “The agency work industry around the world”

40. On average, every year, between one-fifth and one-quarter of all European workers changes jobs. Statistics - Europe From: European Parliament Resolution on Atypical Contracts, 2010

41. European differences: in the UK, some 70% of temporary work is in the service and public sectors. In France, 75 % is in the construction and the manufacturing sectors. Temporary workers in the EU are mostly men. However, in some Nordic European countries, they are predominantly female. From: European Foundation for the improvement of living and working conditions, 2007

42. Another difference is in the percentage of young/old agency workers, from around 80% under 26 years in Poland, to almost 25% between 45 to 60 in Denmark…. …or in the duration of agency assignments, from short (an average of 1.9 weeks in France) to much longer… ….63% of all Belgianagency workers in the private sector has been working as an agency worker for over 1 year, close to 40% for over 3 years. (ABVV sources, 2009) From: “Temporary agency work and collective bargaining in the EU” (Dec. 2008)

43. Source: Ciett 2010 - “The agency work industry around the world”

44. TAW employment and revenuesA few European examples Source: European Institute for the Improvement of Living Conditions, Dec. 2008

45. Inconsistent and often limited figures In the UK, the figure for agency workers varies from 1.4 million (employer’s organisation) to 270,000. (Labour Force survey, 2008) In the Czech Republic, “agencies are obliged to report data annually to the Ministry, or attract a fine”. However, “only a third of all agencies complies”. The requirement is not enforced partly because the Ministry cannot cope with current levels of data given the large number of agencies now operating.” From: “Temporary agency work and collective bargaining in the EU” (Dec. 2008)

46. Trade union density for agency workers differs widely, also inside Europe. It ranges from Denmark (50%) and Finland (44%), over Netherlands (17%), Austria (5%) or Germany (4.3%) to Italy (1.7%), France (0.9%) and Slovenia (0.18%). In Sweden, a difference is noted between white-collar (17%) and blue-collar (50%), the latter figure “might reflect higher exposure to trade unions in the user companies.” From: “Temporary agency work and collective bargaining in the EU” (Dec. 2008)

47. An August 2009 IG Metall + University (Germany) survey finds that agency labour is increasingly being used more strategically by enterprises as a way of passing on the business risk of the cost of longer-term employment. In 2008, in Germany, 66% of all employed people had a regular job (secure jobs with social benefits and at least 20 hours a week). In 1998, that was 72.6%.

48. In Germany, the “Hartz reforms” included the creation of ‘mini’ and ‘midi-jobs’ which are typically low quality part-time jobs and established small grants for entrepreneurs to build a group of self-employed workers. This category of self-employed workers came to be known as ‘Ich AG’, or ‘Me inc.’. The percentage of part-time workers in Germany rose from 14 to 22.8% between 1991 and 2004. Similar to experiences in other countries, this employment status is made up of 86% women. Source: “Moving from precarious work to Decent work”, TUAC, 2009

49. In many Central European and Balkans countries, “the legal exclusion of certain larger groups of persons ” (often including contract workers, e.g. Poland ) “from trade union membership” is identified “as a considerable problem” and something which is “no longer compatible with the principle of freedom of association”. Source: FES 2009

50. Higher-skilled white-collar employees have more permanent open-ended contracts than lower skilled.