Flexible labour market crucial to economy

Restricting employers from using temporary workers serves no one's interests, argues Brendan McGinty.

Restricting employers from using temporary workers serves no one's interests, argues Brendan McGinty.

In advance of the negotiations on the next phase of the social partnership agreement, some unions appear determined to pursue a number of inappropriate demands.

One of these relates to the employment of temporary agency workers, despite the fact that the issue was comprehensively addressed when unions and employers signed up to the current agreement, Towards 2016.

This agreement set out a broad range of new measures to protect employment rights, including plans for new laws specifically designed to regulate employment agencies and the establishment of a statutory code of practice, to set out clearly the standards that such agencies must meet to stay in business. In addition, all employment agencies established or operating in Ireland are now required to hold a licence.

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Separately, the National Employment Rights Authority has been set up to ensure that employers are fulfilling all their obligations with regard to employment rights compliance.

Given the more challenging economic climate we are now in, the priority for the new round of talks must be the health of the wider economy and the need to safeguard existing jobs and create more. This is the best way of raising living standards, providing job security, combating poverty and social exclusion, and providing the exchequer with the necessary revenue to invest in the essential infrastructure and public services we all need.

A flexible labour market is a prerequisite to economic success. This has always been so, but is even more the case at this time of greater economic uncertainty. The importance of flexibility was formally recognised by EU states when they signed up to a long-term jobs and growth strategy in 2000, and has been recognised by Irish governments, trade unions, employers and others in the national partnership process since 1987.

The upcoming negotiations must therefore aim to ensure that the labour market is able to respond quickly to fast-changing global and domestic economic circumstances, thereby safeguarding jobs and investment in the long term. In this context, the role played by temporary agency workers is vital.

Temporary agency workers are, and will remain, a small part of the labour force in Ireland. They nevertheless fulfil a vital role of enabling companies to carry out work that they might otherwise not be able to do due to a lack of in-house resources or expertise.

At the same time, agency work can also prove to be attractive to workers that might not otherwise be in a position to get a full-time permanent role. Agency work can often offer a level of flexibility with regard to working hours and location.

Of course, the use by companies of agency staff does raise legitimate questions. Firstly, do such employees have the proper and necessary protection under law to prevent any abuse of their position? And secondly, do these staff provide vital services to companies that might not otherwise be available and, in doing so, contribute to the overall strength of the Irish economy? The answer to both questions is a clear and unequivocal Yes.

Agency workers are fully protected by employment legislation. The only issue is whether the employer is deemed to be the agency or the user that contracts that agency. It is usually the agency. In the case of the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977-2001, the end-user is always deemed to be the employer. Agency workers have the same protections as permanent workers under unfair dismissals, redundancy, holiday pay, minimum wage and working time.

In addition to the rights that temporary agency workers have under employment legislation, the current partnership agreement also provides extra reassurances.

The focus must be on safeguarding existing jobs and creating more. Business will oppose any measure that will make it more difficult to get a job and keep a job, including any attempts to make the labour market less flexible.

Brendan McGinty is director of industrial relations and human resources at Ibec, the Irish Business and Employers Confederation