Social partners debate effect of EU temporary agency work directive

The new European directive on temporary agency work grants workers employed on a temporary contract working conditions which are comparable to those of permanent employees. In Belgium, the directive will result in few changes since the law already allows significant rights for temporary workers. Nevertheless, the new directive provided an opportunity for the social partners to debate the issue; trade unions insist that the existing law must not be weakened.

Background

At the end of October 2008, the European Parliament finally approved the proposal for a directive on temporary agency work. This directive is important because it improves the working conditions of temporary workers in all EU Member States. As a result, these workers will be granted the same rights as permanent employees in several areas – such as wages, leave, training or access to childcare facilities (EU0807049I).

In Belgium, the transposition of the directive should not lead to many changes since the law already grants temporary workers significant rights. For instance, the law imposes the same level of wages and working conditions for these workers compared with permanent employees. User enterprises are able to hire temporary workers in only three particular situations: to replace a permanent worker, during temporary and exceptional peaks of work, and to perform a non-routine task.

Views of social partners

According to the Belgian trade unions, the adoption of the directive constitutes an important step towards better working conditions in Europe. However, they fear that the directive could undermine working conditions for temporary workers in Belgium. The directive proposal highlights the restrictions to temporary agency work and aims to avoid overregulation in this regard. For example, while Belgian trade unions refuse to consider a temporary employment contract as a trial period, the employers seem rather in favour of this strategy.

Moreover, the issue of authorising temporary work within the public sector is a highly sensitive subject for the trade unions, which consider temporary agency work more as an exception than the rule. According to the Belgian General Federation of Labour (Fédération Générale du Travail de Belgique/Algemeen Belgisch Vakverbond, FGTB/ABVV): ‘The directive should be transposed in the national legislation after a debate with the social partners.’

In the opinion of the Federation of Temporary Work Enterprises (Fédération des partenaires de l’emploi/Federatie van partners voor werk, Federgon), the directive is important because temporary agency work is now recognised as a significant part of the economy and labour market. A greater harmonisation of standards will lead to the internationalisation of this activity. Furthermore, the directive offers the opportunity to reconsider the justification of the restrictions included in Belgian law. In some economic sectors, temporary jobs are still not allowed and employing a worker on a temporary employment contract in order to test their competence before offering a fixed-term employment contract is not legal.

Trade unions campaign for rights of temporary workers

In the current global economic crisis, trade unions in Belgium have recently organised several campaigns to highlight the rights of temporary workers and the precarious nature of their employment contract. They believe that many temporary workers do not know exactly what their rights are towards the user enterprises and temporary work agencies. Moreover, due to a lack of experience and training, it appears that temporary workers are more often victims of industrial accidents than permanent workers are.

The trade unions particularly underline the precarious conditions of workers employed for several years as temporary workers in the same company. When a restructuring process is initiated, these workers are the first to be affected. FGTB/ABVV has proposed granting long-term temporary employees with a dismissal notice or compensation, and has asked the Minister of Employment and Equal Opportunities, Joëlle Milquet, to intervene quickly in relation to this issue.

Meanwhile, recourse to temporary workers is growing in all sectors of the economy and the number of temporary work agencies is increasing. Nevertheless, the trade unions remain sceptical about this form of employment and emphasise the need to provide stable and long-term employment contracts to workers. If the new EU directive challenges the existing law on temporary agency work in Belgium, the trade unions are determined to avoid any negative change for these workers.

Emmanuelle Perin, Institute for Labour Studies (IST), Catholic University of Louvain (UCL)