The EU Directive on temporary agency work and the Convention 181 on private employment agencies Reaching appropriate regulation for the agency work industry Annemarie Muntz Eurociett President Eurociett/Uni-Europa Round Table – Turkey 7 th December 2011

2 An TAW regulation based on a specific triangular relationship Employee: agency worker Temporary Agency Work is based on a triangular relationship between an agency, a worker and a user company ( not related to fixed-term contracts, subcontracting or self employment) Supervision of work Employment contract Commercialcontract Employer : Private employment agency Client: User company where agency worker is assigned

Agency work is well regulated Global level –ILO Convention 181 on PrEAs (adopted in 1996) EU level –Agency Work Directive –Posting of Workers Directive (cross border activities) –Health & Safety Directive National level –Labour laws –Several waves of national agency work regulation, leading to an increased role of agency work in the labour market –Eurofound carried out 2 studies on temporary agency work showing that agency work is overall highly regulated and that collective bargaining plays an important role Social partner s –Collective labour agreements The AW industry (self-regulation) –International and national Codes of Conducts developed by national and international trade organisations –Private companies’ Code of Ethics/Conduct

The ILO Convention 181 Legal recognition of private employment agencies and temporary agency work provided that –companies operate under public supervision –comply with labour laws –employer and user company’s responsibilities are clearly allocated Convention covers allocation of responsibilities in terms of: –Collective bargaining –Minimum wages –Working time –Other working conditions –Statutory social security benefits –Access to vocational training –OSH protection –Compensation for occupational accidents or diseases –Compensation in case of insolvency –Maternity protection 4

Ratifying ILO Convention 181 is essential to develop the agency work industry Convention 181 is broader than EU Agency Work Directive Acceptance of the triangular relationship Good tool to work on a fair agenda for regulation More than 80% of the 139 voting countries were in 1997 in favour of the Convention (5 against, 19 abstentions) 5

Agency Work Directive: Objectives Developing agency work activities Protecting temporary agency workers By establishing a suitable frame- work for the use of agency work without unjustified restrictions with a view to contribute to job creation (Flexicurity) By ensuring the protection of temporary agency workers based on the principle of equal treatment Temporary agency work meets not only undertakings‘ needs for flexibility but also the need of employees to reconcile their working and private lives. It thus contributes to job creation and to participation and integration in the labour market. (Recital 11)

7 Reaching the right level of regulation should be based on a Flexicurity approach Flexibility Workers Develop more work opportunities Allow part time & temporary jobs to gain extra money Ensure work-life Balance Employers Enabling fast workforce adjustments Improve market position by responding to changing demands Workers Ensure work security Maintain and develop employability Ensure continuity of rights Employers Increase competitiveness to allow sustainable growth and job creation Guarantee access to skills Develop workforce loyalty Security

4 main dimensions of the contribution of agency work to Flexicurity 8 Agency work is based on flexible and reliable contractual arrangements Agency work facilitates skills enhancement and life-long learning Agency work contributes to more effective active labour market policies Agency work can be an important policy instrument in modern social security systems

Appropriate agency work regulation should be based on 4 main principles Contributing to better functioning labour markets Avoid the introduction of unjustified restrictions (such as sectoral bans, too short maximum length of assignments or too narrow reasons of use Establish the principle of equal treatment, while providing for derogations (CLA & open-ended contracts) Recognise the role of social partners, CLAs social dialogue Promote the contribution of agency work to labour market policies (Flexicurity, skills enhancement) 9

Any Questions? Eurociett Secretariat Tel Thank you for your attention! 10