Aug 02 - Unite Hits Out At Use Of Agency Workers And The “Curse Of Casualization”
Unite the union has criticised the increased use of agency workers and suggested that the Government either give these workers priority when vacancies are announced or make their contracts permanent with “decent pay and conditions.” The union has also said that the use of such labour practices “has a destabilising effect” arguing that this then feeds through into weaker economic performance.
A spokesperson for Unite said: “Since the Chief Minister’s announcement on May Day in respect to the eradication of Agency workers within the Public service, which was in response to Unite speeches at the rally, Unite the Union have had discussions with the Chief Minister on the matter.
“Our main concern is that all those agency workers currently in posts could have their contracts terminated in order to eradicate the practice.
“Unite’s plea to government is that we as a Union are included in negotiations/discussions in order to find the best possible outcome for all those agency workers across the public sector at large.
“Our aim would be that all current agency workers are given the opportunity to be left in post once the process of eradication begins by way of announcing vacancies and that these workers are given priority over external candidates or their contracts be made permanent with decent pay and conditions of employment.
“Public and also Private Sector agency workers deserve to be paid the same as direct employees if they’re doing the same job, so the government should look to close the loophole that allows agency workers to sign away their right to equal pay and conditions. Unite is hopeful that 2018/19 will be the year of action on fair pay and conditions for agency workers.
“Many workers doing the same job on the same terms as employee colleagues deserve to take home the same day’s pay and enjoy the same terms and conditions of employment.
“We call on all agency workers both in the public and private sector to join our endeavour to eradicate this practice and ultimately secure dignified employment for the future, as we cannot allow ourselves to adopt the negative practices as in other countries.
“As a union we cannot allow what’s currently happening in other countries. You only need to cast an eye across to the UK to survey an employment market cursed by casualization, an employment market that is replacing good quality, permanent jobs with a proliferation of zero hours contracts, agency workers and fixed term contracts. This rampant casualization has a destabilising effect, workers have no certainty in work and wages, this then feeds through into weaker economic performance as workers are not buying, secure a mortgage or loan, not consuming and not feeding the economy, resulting in weaker economic growth as demonstrated in the UK.
“We are experiencing the same threat in Gibraltar, sleepwalking into this same employment market of casualization. We are already experiencing increase in agency workers and the use of fixed term contracts across the economy within Gibraltar, be it in the public or private sector.
“The Agency workers regulations in Gibraltar requires that an agency worker receives parity on key terms of employment including pay when compared with a permanent member of staff after twelve months of an agency engagement. This compares unfavourably to the UK where the qualifying period is twelve weeks and is more shameful when the original European Union Directive envisaged the parity as a ‘day one’ right. Unite will be exploring a legal challenge against this twelve month qualifying period to bring an end to employers engaging agency workers on the cheap for one year.
"We also see the practice of employers engaging workers on eleven month fixed term contracts, laying them off for a period of a couple of weeks or days and then re-engaging them on a further eleven month fixed term contract, clearly believing that this will enable them to by-pass key provisions within the European Union Fixed Term Work Directive 1999 around permanency of employment. This is another area that Unite is exploring the potential for legal challenge and to fight back against poor employment practices in Gibraltar.
“The roles that these Agency workers are undertaking, serve an incredibly important purpose in Gibraltar and these are roles that we wish to pass on to the next generation of employees, when they move on or retire. We do not wish to stand by and see roles replaced by cheaper, casual labour in the form of agency contracts, fixed term contracts or zero hour contracts. We wish to defend decent jobs in Gibraltar as decent jobs mean decent terms and conditions, which in turn mean that Gibraltarians and cross-border workers can spend and invest in Gibraltar, contributing to a prosperous Gibraltar.
“Unite the Union and its members will not stand back whilst the curse of casualization continues, will always seek to defend jobs and conditions in Gibraltar. We hope that employers and Government choose to engage with the union when seeking to defend jobs and conditions, as a prosperous Gibraltar sits at the heart of the Union’s agenda.”
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