Temporary Agency Work across the world

David Arkless Senior Vice-President, Global Corporate Affairs, Manpower Inc

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Ciett at a glance

• Founded in 1967

• The only international body representing the interests of agency work businesses, with a specific organisation for Europe: Eurociett

• Recognised as such by international organisations (e.g. ILO, European Union, OECD), key stakeholders (e.g. IOE, BusinessEurope, ITUC) and national governments

• Is the only association representing agency work at large (brings together 38 national federations) and in its diversity (uniting seven of the largest multinational staffing companies as well as hundreds of thousands of SMEs)

• Ciett Members comprised of private companies operating in the following HR activities: temporary agency work, recruitment, interim management, executive search, outplacement, training

• Ciett Members gather 120,000 branches and employ almost 9 million agency workers on a daily average (FTE)

Secretariat

General Assembly(44 members)

Ciett governing bodies

Decision making bodies

Executive bodies

Board(15 members)

Committees- Corporate Members- Federation Members- Research & Economic Affairs

Executive Committee- President- Vice-President- Immediate Past President- Treasurer

Ciett vision

The Agency Work industry provides more freedom of choice in the labour market

(broadened choice through triangular work relationship)

The Agency Work industry provides more freedom of choice in the labour market

(broadened choice through triangular work relationship)

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Ciett’s long term objectives

• To improve the image of the industry and strengthen its representation

• To promote quality standards within the staffing industry

• To create the most suitable legal environment for the industry to operate in

• To facilitate contacts between members and sharing best practices

• To seek greater recognition for the contribution that private employment agencies make to labour markets, especially in relation to 3 key aspects:

– Job creation

– Higher participation and diversity in the labour market– Economic growth and tax revenues

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Ciett Code of Conduct

• Services provided by PrEAs represent a modern answer to reconcile the requirement of labour market flexibility and the need of work security

 • Being aware of such a social responsibility, the PrEA industry has

adopted, for many years, national codes of conduct at country level.

 • Because of the growing importance of PrEAs at the international level

and the need for strengthening self-regulation principles to enhance the quality standards of the industry, Ciett has established a global Code of Conduct, which provides General Agreed Principles on private employment agency practices, shared by all its Members

 • This Code of Conduct is in line with ILO C181 and other international

regulatory instruments (e.g. EU Directives, ILO core Conventions)

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Ciett Code of Conduct (2)

• 10 general agreed principles on private employment agencies’ practices, shared by all Ciett members:

– Respect for Ethical and Professional Conduct– Respect for Laws– Respect for Transparency of Terms of Engagement– Respect for free-of-charge provision of services

to jobseekers– Respect for Safety at Work – Respect for Diversity– Respect for the Worker’s Rights – Respect for Confidentiality – Respect for Professional Knowledgeand Quality of Service– Respect for Fair Competition

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Ciett main past achievements

1. Legal recognition of the AW industry

– Legal recognition of the industry in France (1972), Belgium (1987), Denmark (1990), Finland (1993), Sweden (1993), Spain (1994), Italy (1998), Greece (1999), new EU member States (2000 onwards)

– U-turn position of the ILO: From strict prohibition (Convention n°96 - 1949) to formal recognition in 1997 (Convention n°181)

• Definition of an international relevant regulatory standard for the AW industry

- Convention 181 provides the right balance between freedom to provide AW services and the need to define some agency workers’ working conditions

2. Better visibility & understanding of the AW sector– By initiating strategic reports on the PrEAs’ contribution to the labour

market (McKinsey study in 2000, Bain report in 2007)

– By strengthening Ciett representation: 10 new members have joined since 2005

– By developing robust statistics and case studies to fight misconceptions about the reality of our industry

– By ensuring speaking opportunities in key events

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Number of agency workers is strongly linked to economic growth

Note: *number of TAW workers in FTE; GDP realSources: PrEA national federations, EIU, Analyst reports

0

1

2

3

4%

-20

-10

0

10

20%

99 00 01 02 03 04 05

# TAW workers YoY growth*GDP YoY growth- The Netherlands

0

1

2

3

4%

-10

0

10

20%

96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05

# TAW workers YoY growth*GDP YoY growth- Belgium

0

1

2

3

4

5%

-10

0

10

20

30%

00 01 02 03

# TAW FTE YoY growth*GDP YoY growth- Denmark

0

1

2

3

4

5%

-20

-10

0

10

20

30%

96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05

# TAW workers YoY growth*GDP YoY growth- United States

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TAW supplies companies with skills and workforce flexibility

Reasons for hiring Agency Workers (% of total agency workers)

4%

15%

81%

Providespecialised

skills

Provideemployees for

regular jobs

Help absorbfluctuations

10%

21%

23%

27%

Economiccycle

Unexpectedpeak

Seasonalfluctuations

Replacements

Source: CIETT - “Orchestrating the evolution of Private Employment Agencies“ - 2000

Percentage of Agency Workers

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A very tightly regulated market

• Based on a triangular relationship between a PrEA, a worker and a user company

– No confusion to be made with fixed-term contracts, subcontracting or self employment

• A well-regulated industry at international, European and national levels

– International level: • Legal framework provided by ILO Convention n°181 and Recommendation n°188

on PrEAs• Self-regulation provided by Ciett’s Code of Conduct

– EU Level• Posting of Workers Directive, Health & Safety Directive, Personal data protection

Directive, Information on employment contract Directive• Eurociett’s Code of Conduct (self regulation)

– National level• Industry mainly regulated by national labour law• Legal framework strengthened by collective labour agreements in many EU

countries• PrEA trade organisations’ national Codes of Conduct

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TAW: A triangular work relationship

Works under the supervision of user company

Employment contract

Commercial contract

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ILO Convention 181 (adopted in 1997)

• Purpose– To allow the operation of private employment agencies as well as the protection of the

workers using their services (replace C96)

• Recognises– Importance of flexibility in the functioning of labour markets– Role of private employment agencies in a well-functioning labour market– Competent authorithy to regulate fee-charging employment activity

• Provides the legal framework and regulatory conditions for fee-charging employment agencies

• Recognises the workers’ rights in terms of (inter alia):– No fees to be charged to jobseekers– Non discrimination, protection of personal data, freedom of association, collective

bargaining– Minimum wages, working time and other working conditions– Statutory social security benefits

• Promote cooperation between the public employment service and private employment agencies.

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Ciett & UNI Global Union Global Social Dialogue

• Joint action plan to promote further ratification of Convention 181– Objective: To organise a 2-day workshop within the ILO office in order to:

• To promote Convention 181 within ILO members (trade unions, employers and governments)

• To develop a better understanding of the reality of the PrEA industry• To identify misconceptions and barriers about ratification of C181

– Initiative supported by the ILO Governing body in March 08 - Workshop to be organised in October 2009

• A complementary initiative could take place by the end of 2008:– The ILO Skills and Employment Dept is willing to organise a “technical

assistance” training session in Turin by end of 2008 to promote further ratification of C181

– Objective: to provide technical assistance in terms of content and process to countries (e.g. China, Lebanon, Philippines, Russia, Zambia, Nigeria) willing to ratify C181

– Talks with Ciett Corporate Members with the view to reach an International Framework Agreement (IFA)

– Objective: To gain a better recognition of the PrEAs’ contribution to better functioning labour markets

Workforce Development

• Workforce Development, key in Manpower’s CSR strategy

• Manpower co-operates with governments, NGOs and businesses in areas such as:

– Youth unemployment– People with disabilities– Long-term unemployed– Disenfranchised areas.– Lack of skills– Ageing populations

Manpower’s governmental partnerships

• Manpower Argentina

Juntos por los Jóvenes (Together for the Youth) program.- Co-operation with the Dirección Nacional de la Juventud (DiNaJu), the Social Development Ministry, and NGO “Fundación SES”.

- To help prepare the economically disadvantaged youth for work.

• Manpower France

Manpower Placement - designed to help the long-term unemployed, back to work.- In co-operation with government agencies, assisted 3,300 people secure employment (67% of total).

Manpower Mexico

• Caminemos Juntos (Walking Together)- Partnership with Mexico’s Secretary of Labor, NOGs and businesses and educational institutions.- Brings job opportunities to people with disabilities- Unique agreement means businesses incur no charge.

• Recognitions by President of Mexico and Labor Ministry- Manpower named as an Inclusive Firm for hiring people with disabilities- Recognized by President Vicente Fox and CONEVyT (Mexican Council for Education and Labor), for supporting programs to provide training and employment to disadvantaged groups.

Manpower Sweden and Manpower U.K.

• A a co-operative agreement between Manpower and the Swedish Electricians Union. - To address critical shortage of qualified electricians- Worked to Increase interest amongst disadvantaged groups- By the end of 2006, 900 long-term unemployed back in training.

• Manpower UK and Working Links.- Unique public/private partnership between government and businesses.- Assists disenfranchised groups back into the workforce by refining skills and sourcing sustainable work.- To date, tens of thousands of people back into employment.

Manpower in the U.S.

• Partnership with the Dept of Labor

- Partnership to assist redundant, low-skilled, disadvantaged groups

- In addition, piloting DOL’s Ticket-to-Work program, creating opportunities for people with disabilities.

- Service provider for DOL’s OneStop Career Centers

• Employer of the Year 2004

- In recognition of its dedication to assisting people with disabilities

- Recognised by Association of Persons in Supported Employment (APSE) and the National Disability Council.

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Conclusion

• Discrepancies are huge within the TAW market worldwide in terms of:

– Market development (emerging markets vs more mature markets)

– Level and typology of regulation (law and/or collective labour agreements)

– Market characteristics (profile of agency workers, use by sectors)

• However, the TAW industry faces similar issues across the world:– Misconceptions about the role the industry plays in the labour market,

leading to image problems

– A level of regulation that is not yet appropriate in several countries:• Lack of minimum regulation in some emerging markets• Remaining obstacles in developed markets (e.g. sectoral bans, restrictions to

range of services provided)

• TAW should be seen as a sector on its own

– Not to be confused with other forms of flexible employment (outsourcing, subcontracting)

– Because TW agencies remain the employer, they should have the freedom to contract and to negotiate

– Sectoral social dialogue to be promoted at national and international levels