Precarious work: Union strategies & initiatives Jenny Holdcroft International Metalworkers’ Federation

Precarious employment practices Direct hire on temporary labour contracts Hiring in via employment agencies or labour brokers Contracting out functions to other companies Personal labour contracts as bogus 'self-employed' workers Abusive probationary periods Disguised employment training contracts On call / daily hire Illegal or involuntary part-time work Homeworking

Precarious workers Are effectively excluded from: Union membership Collective bargaining Social insurances

IMF survey results 90% said precarious work had increased Women, migrants and young workers are disproportionately affected Electronics is the main industry affected Two thirds said companies in their country were shifting from directly employing temporary workers to hiring them through agencies or brokers Wages are generally much less than for regular workers (one third said less than 50%) 90% said workers feel less secure

Precarious workers are effectively denied their rights to join a union and collectively bargain How? Employment relationship Agency employment, sub- contracting, outsourcing Legal barriers Restrictions on categories of workers from coverage under existing agreements (eg. migrant workers, dispatch workers) Restrictions on categories of workers from joining the relevant union Deliberate employer strategy To divide the workforce to prevent a collective approach Weak connection to the workplace Employment is short term or sporadic, no guarantee of continuity Fear of job loss

What employment practices do companies use to resist unionisation and collective bargaining? Avoiding a permanent workforce all together and hiring only by way of agencies, brokers, contractors Threatening dismissal by not renewing fixed-term contracts combined with dangling promises of possible permanent work if workers “behave” Creating such poor conditions for non-permanent workers that high turnover and a constant churning of the workforce results Taking advantage of weak legal protections for precarious workers, or lack of enforcement

Some examples In Korea, when irregular workers are regularised by applying the 2 year limit rule, they do not become regular workers, so are still not covered by the collective agreement and stay on lower wage rates In Malaysia, migrant workers are officially employed by a outsourcing company, not the company they work for, and are thus not covered by the collective agreement Contract workers at Ford plant in St Petersburg receive lower wages and benefits and are not covered by the Ford collective agreement In the US, Toyota terminates temporary contracts after 2 years, imposes a six month break before re-employment at the original starting salary

R.198 Article 4 National policy should at least include measures to: (c) ensure standards applicable to all forms of contractual arrangements, including those involving multiple parties, so that employed workers have the protection they are due; (d) ensure that standards applicable to all forms of contractual arrangements establish who is responsible for the protection contained therein; C.154 Article 5 (a) collective bargaining should be made possible for all employers and all groups of workers in the branches of activity covered by this Convention C.181 Article 4 Measures shall be taken to ensure that the workers recruited by private employment agencies providing the services referred to in Article 1 are not denied the right to freedom of association and the right to bargain collectively –What measures have been taken? –Who do the workers bargain with?

Mobilising against precarious work To stop the massive expansion of precarious work To make wages and conditions of precarious workers equal to those of regular workers To get workers directly hired and discourage indirect employment To limit precarious employment to cases of legitimate need GOALS:

Mobilising against precarious work Industrial Organise precarious workers Use collective bargaining to limit precarious work Include precarious workers in collective agreements to ensure equal wages and conditions Legal/political Resist legal reforms that facilitate precarious work Remove legal restrictions on rights of precarious workers to join the same union Make principal employer take responsibility for precarious workers International Lead global campaigns Work with ILO, OECD

Collective bargaining goals for precarious workers ensure non-discrimination and equal pay guarantee trade union rights for precarious workers convert precarious jobs into permanent ones reduce or limit allowable time periods protect against dismissal promote industry bargaining  In Indonesia, IMF affiliates are assisting agency workers to become contract workers and contract workers to become permanent workers, covered by the collective agreement  Spanish affiliates are calling for ways to limit temporary work to be included in collective agreements

Mobilising against precarious work Global Action October

2009 Actions march in Bangkok trainees release balloons in Germany Flash mobs in Hungary march in Bangkok Joint GUF actions in Turkey and Thailand Pickets in South Africa Themed sports games in Bulgaria

Council of Global Unions Work Relationships Group ILO call to action to: Gather information and experience to address the many circumstances under which precarious workers are denied the effective right to organize and bargain collectively Implement the Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalisation Promote the Employment Relationship Recommendation Focus on precarious work in ILO collective bargaining meetings in 2009 Focus on specific countries for legislative change in order to apply labour standards to precarious workers Strengthen national labour inspection to eliminate abusive use of precarious employment

Complaint to ILO against Korean government For neglecting to protect and facilitating violations of subcontracted workers’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining 1.Workers weren’t regularised as required by the law 2.Workers dismissed for trying to form a union By non-renewal of contracts By principal employer not renewing its contract with subcontractor 3.Subcontracting used to disguise employment relationships and deny workers their rights 4.Legal mechanisms (obstruction of business) used to prevent organising in subcontracted companies and attempts to bargain on an industry basis

Legal Catch 22 1.Dismissals due to anti-union discrimination are disguised as termination of contracts 2.Principal employer refuses to negotiate, claiming no employment relationship BUT Subcontractor also refuses to negotiate claiming no control of terms and conditions of employment 3.Industrial action can only take place at principal employer’s plant and is treated as illegal action against a ‘third party’

ILO recommendations to Korean government 1.Develop mechanisms to strengthen the protection of dispatch workers’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining 2.Take all necessary measures without delay to bring ‘obstruction of business’ provisions in line with freedom of association principles 3.Promote social dialogue and collective bargaining rather than applying the ‘obstruction of business’ provisions and the use of damages suits against workers 4.Conduct independent investigations into all cases of anti-union discrimination and acts of physical violence against unionists carried out by police or private security forces.

The situation in Korea today Unions report deterioration of situation subsequent to lifting of OECD monitoring process Korean government has made no response to ILO recommendations Violence and climate of intimidation has worsened Thousands more precarious workers have lost their jobs as a result of the economic crisis Government proposes amending legislation to extend period within which temporary workers must be made permanent from 2 years to 4