Union inclusiveness and temporary agency workers: the role of power resources and union ideology

This article investigates the determinants of union inclusiveness towards agency workers in Western Europe, using an index which combines unionization rates with dimensions of collective agreements covering agency workers. Using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis, we identify two combinations of conditions leading to inclusiveness: the ‘Northern path’ includes high union density, high bargaining coverage and high union authority, and is consistent with the power resources approach. The ‘Southern path’ combines high union authority, high bargaining coverage, statutory regulations of agency work and working-class orientation, showing that ideology rather than institutional incentives shapes union strategies towards the marginal workforce.

Winners or losers? Work/life balance and temporary agency workers

This article focuses upon temporary' agency workers' capacity to balance work/life needs. Two extremes are identified within the Victorian temporary agency labour market. On the one hand, there are skilled temporary agency workers employed in areas of high demand accompanied by labour shortages. Nurses are one such group. At the other extreme, there are skilled and semi-skilled temporary agency workers who face a shortfall in demand for permanent, direct hire employees. Drawing upon a survey and focus groups of temporary agency workers, their potential for achieving a satisfactory work/life balance is assessed in relation to control over working time, income and employment security, and a narrow band of employment conditions. The findings differ substantially between the two groups of agency workers, contributing to significantly different perceptions of the personal benefits of working through a temporary employment agency.

Temporary agency workers and the contribution of workplace unfamiliarity to workplace injuries

International and Australian research agrees that temporary agency workers have a higher incidence of workplace injury, and those injuries are more severe. Much less research has been undertaken upon the cause of those injuries. This paper explores one factor contributing to their poorer occupational health and safety through an examination of the role of unfamiliarity with the hosts’ tasks and workplace. The paper commences with a review of the temporary agency employment literature relevant to placing workers in unfamiliar workplaces, and the OHS literature related to timing of injuries. Archival research on investigated workers’ compensation claims for a sample of agency workers and direct hire workers in Victoria is then analysed to assess the importance of unfamiliarity, and training undertaken to overcome that unfamiliarity, for these injured workers. The analysis includes an examination of the timing of the injury in relation to the workers’ placement with the host, and regression analysis on a range of characteristics related to newness at a host’s workplace. The findings confirm that agency workers are especially vulnerable to injury early in their placement, and insufficient attention is given to accommodating unfamiliarity to counter workers’ vulnerability in new workplaces.

How precarious employment affects health and safety at work : the case of temporary agency workers

International studies indicate temporary agency workers are more likely to be injured at work than other types of employees. However explanations for this have been less forthcoming. This paper seeks to begin filling this gap. A study was undertaken in Victoria, Australia, of occupational health and safety (OHS) amongst temporary agency workers drawing upon workers' compensation claim files for injured agency and directly hired workers from 1995-2001, and focus groups of temporary agency workers conducted in 2003. In analyzing the results, use was made of risk factors identified in a model that has been developed to explain how precarious employment affects OHS--the pressure, disorganization and regulatory failure (PDR) model (Quinlan and Bohle, 2004, 2009). Drawing principally on qualitative data, the paper finds that whilst agency workers share common risk factors with other forms of precarious workers, unique characteristics associated with the triangular nature of agency employment heighten their vulnerability further.

Beyond statutory enforcement - alternative approaches to improving OSH in the temporary agency sector

As with other types of flexible employment, a growing body of international research has found an association between temporary agency work and comparatively poor occupational safety and health outcomes. Temporary agency work has also been found to pose a serious challenge to regulatory regimes, including the activities of inspectors. Government agencies have responded to these challenges in a number of ways. This study examines a project undertaken in the Australian state of Queensland that sought to identify both particular problems and ways of resolving them. The focus of the project was to identify ‘non-regulatory’ solutions based on information collected through focus groups of agency and host employer representatives. However, while a number of policy interventions were identified that fitted this approach, the project also found that both agency firms and hosts believed additional regulatory controls were required. This paper assesses these findings in the context of broader research and policy debates about how to deal with the occupational safety and health problems posed by the global shift to more flexible work arrangements.

La Direttiva 2008/104/CE relativa al lavoro tramite agenzia interinale: aspetti problematici e modelli di implementazione = Directive 2008/104/EC relating to temporary agency work: problematic aspects and implementation models. WP C.S.D.L.E. “Massimo D’Antona”.INT – 101/2013

The problematic gestation of the Directive on temporary agency work shows the presence of several criticalities that there are also in the national transposition in relation to the principle of equal treatment and to the mechanisms for preventing abuse during successive assignments. From a first analysis it can be said that in some EU Member States only the derogations have been implemented and not the general principle of equal treatment. At the same time, the obligation of the Member States, contained in the Directive on temporary agency work, to establish mechanisms for preventing abuse during successive assignments is crucial, especially in the light of the recent case law of the EU Court of Justice in which the Court does not apply to the temporary agency workers the protective rules of the Directive on fixed-term contracts (see C-290/12 , Della Rocca).

The OHS regulatory challenges posed by agency workers: evidence from Australia

The purpose of this research is to analyse the problems for occupational health and safety (OHS)regulators posed by agency work/leased labour (also known as labour hire in Australasia), using Australian evidence. The analysis is based on an examination of prosecutions involving labour hire firms along with other documentary records (union, industry and government reports and guidance material). The study also draws on interviews with approximately 200 regulatory officials, employers and union representatives since 2001 and workplace visits with 40 OHS inspectors in 2004‐2005.The triangular relationship entailed in labour leasing, in combination with the temporary nature of most placements, poses serious problems for government agencies in terms of enforcing OHS standards notwithstanding a growing number of successful prosecutions for breaches of legislative duties by host and labour leasing firms. Research to investigate these issues in other countries and compare findings with those for Australia is required, along with assessing the effectiveness of new enforcement initiatives. The paper assesses existing regulatory responses and highlights the need for new regulatory strategies to combat the problems posed by labour. The OHS problems posed by agency work have received comparatively little attention. The paper provides insights into the specific problems posed for OHS regulators and how inspectorates are trying to address them.

An analysis of associations between human resources practices, affective commitment, exhaustion and cynicism of temportary workers

This research examines the relationships between Human Resources Practices (HRP) and affective commitment, exhaustion, and cynicism of temporary workers. Furthermore, voluntariness and tenure with the client organization are assumed in the analysis as moderators. A sample of Temporary Agency workers was surveyed. It was assumed that HRP positively relates with affective commitment, while negatively with exhaustion and cynicism. Results confirmed the proposed relationships. Regarding the moderators, it has been proved that voluntariness partially weakens the relationships between HRP and temporary workers’ outcomes. However, contrary to the hypothesis, this effect cannot be affirmed also for the tenure with the client organization. Previous literature as well as implications of the findings are discussed.

Taller sobre programas para trabajadores migratorios temporales: compilación de trabajos = Workshop on temporary migrant workers programs: compilation of works

Incluye Bibliografía

The Agricultural Recruitment System : an employer's guide to hiring temporary agricultural workers.

Shipping list no.: 92-608-P.

Migration intermediaries and codes of conduct: temporary migrant workers in Australian horticulture

Over recent decades, developments in network governance have seen governments around the world cede considerable authority and responsibility to commercial migration intermediaries for recruiting and managing temporary migrant labour. Correspondingly, a by-product of network governance has been the emergence of soft employment regulation in which voluntary codes of conduct supplement hard (enforceable) legal employment standards. This paper explores these developments in the context of temporary migrant workers employed in Australian horticulture. First the paper analyses the growing use of temporary migrant labour in this industry. It then describes how different types of intermediaries interact with this workforce. The paper then outlines both hard and soft employment regulations, and contrasts them with actual employment conditions, questioning how a network governance approach has affected this vulnerable workforce. The paper concludes that changes in network governance of migration and employment relations have emasculated formal legal regulation, leaving market forces to operate without effective or ethical constraints at the expense of the public good.