Temporary agency work
Temporary agency work (TAW) was the most rapidly growing form of atypical employment in the European Union during the 1990s. By 2000, 2% of workers in the EU15 were on temporary agency contracts. Sectors currently expanding their use of TAW at a rapid rate include the metal and electronics industries. In the new EU Member States for which data is available, employment levels range from 0.5% in Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, to 1.4% in Hungary (2004).
The European social partners signed an inter-sectoral agreement on fixed-term work in 1999, paving the way for a directive in 2001. However, due to differences of opinion over the issue of comparability and equality of terms and conditions of employment between agency workers and employees in the user firm, the Directive was not adopted. In 2002, the Commission took the initiative to propose a draft directive on TAW, endorsing the principle of non-discrimination between temporary agency workers and ‘comparable workers’ in the user firm, subject to certain limitations and exemptions. Objections were raised by several Member States and little progress was made on the issue. Eventually, in September 2005, the Commission indicated that it would rethink proposals for intervention in this area as part of its ‘better regulation’ initiative.
Given the continuing debate, the Foundation decided to revisit the subject of temporary agency work. The enlargement of the Union from 15 to 25 countries in May 2004 has reinforced the need for further research. The report, Temporary agency work in an enlarged European Union, commissioned by the sectoral social dialogue committee on temporary agency work, is based on EIRO work and covers 28 countries.
Recent data from the Fourth European Working Conditions Survey reveal that temporary work has remained marginal over the last five years. On average, only 2% of employees hold temporary agency contracts; such contracts are most commonly held by employees in the hotels and restaurant sectors and by unskilled workers (4% for both groups). Analysis of the survey data shows that temporary agency contracts are equally held by women (2%) and men (2%). The overall trend is that workers holding temporary contracts are more likely to fall into the lower income categories, and to receive less training. Only 18% of people working under a temporary agency contract receive some form of training.