Siptu president Jack O'Connor has warned the Government that the law must be changed to protect agency workers before more flexible arrangements for employers are introduced.
Mr O'Connor told an Ictu conference in Dublin this morning that the idea of "flexicurity" would be opposed by the union in the absence of reform to guarantee equal pay and treatment for agency workers.
The term "flexicurity" refers to job flexibility and security and was first introduced by Danish prime minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen in the 1990s.
It was designed to enhance labour market flexibility by providing greater economic security and training opportunities to those forced to change jobs as a result of economic restructuring. It would also allow employers to change staff in a more flexible way.
Mr O'Connor said the term was "much talked about but will never really materialise into hard guarantees". It would "not be easy to devise measures which both enhance flexibility and security", he added.
He said Ireland already had one of the least-regulated work regimes in Europe and the minimum notice period of five days was one of the second lowest in the EU. Making it even easier for employers to dismiss staff "won't reduce the two tier labour market, or assist in providing pathways for workers in transition", he added.
The European Commission needed to promote a flexible model such as that in Denmark that combined "protected mobility" with income protection and "lifelong 'employability' training".
"Only when these 'benefits' are present, achieved via labour law, will there be a belief in a win-win situation for companies and workers alike."
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