Agreement to comply with labour and equal opportunity laws

Consistent with their status as commercial businesses, PrEA should be made to comply with all appropriate labour and equal opportunity laws and/or regulations.

Although this requirement seems to be self-evident, it is, for various reasons, of crucial importance. First of all, to fulfi l this condition it is necessary to delimit the responsibilities between the agencies and user enterprises concerning the pro-tection of workers. Th is is particularly important in the case of temporary work

or overseas agencies. According to Article 12 of Convention No. 181, governments have the right to determine and allocate the respective responsibilities of PrEA and user enterprises regarding “a) collective bargaining; b) minimum wages; c) working time and other working conditions; d) statutory social security benefi ts; e) access to training; f) protection in the fi eld of occupational safety and health; g) compen-sation in case of occupational accidents or diseases; h) compencompen-sation in the case of insolvency and protection of workers claims; i) maternity protection and benefi ts, and parental protection and benefi ts”.

Th is provision mirrors the relationship between the PrEA, the jobseeker and the employer, also referred to as “triangular” employment relationships. In the con-text of temporary agency work, in particular, this relationship has been widely dis-cussed.3 In practice, the allocation of responsibilities has very diff erent repercussions, depending on the type of PrEA governments are dealing with. PrEA, whether func-tioning as temporary work agencies or engaged in the recruitment for work abroad, have the same obligations under the law. However, each type of PrEA is governed by specifi c regulations covering their activities.

Furthermore, most national laws provide for the protection of workers from violations of fundamental rights, either in their constitution or other sources of law. Th ey are usually based on the 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Prin-ciples and Rights at Work and its follow-up, adopted by Member States in 1998.

Governments, therefore, have an obligation to protect all workers from violation of these rights, whether they have ratifi ed the respective ILO Convention or not.

Th ese principles stipulate that all workers have the right to associate freely and to bargain collectively. Th ey should be protected from discrimination in the world of work. Th is principle is of particular importance to women or minority groups that have diffi culties in entering national or global labour markets. While PrEA cannot be held accountable for the general discrimination of certain groups in a particular country, they should refrain from all activities that may perpetuate such discrimina-tion. Furthermore, since they are acting as brokers, they also have some amount of leverage in promoting the inclusion of discriminated groups. Th is is oft en regulated through collective agreements.4

Th e principle of non-discrimination is also inscribed in Article 5 of Conven-tion No. 181. It says that PrEA should “treat workers without discriminaConven-tion on the

3. ILO: Th e Scope of the Employment Relationship, ILC 91st session, Report V, Geneva, 2003. Th is topic was also on the agenda of the 95th session of the ILC, held in May-June, 2006.

4. In Germany, for example, the Association of Private Employment Agencies signed a collec-tive framework agreement with members of the German Confederation of Trade Unions (Deutscher Ge werkschaft sbund-DGB) in 2003 where the agreement regulates working time and assignments of con-tract workers, establishment and termination of the employment relationship, payment of wages and leave time. It stipulates further, that staff members shall not be assigned to companies that are directly aff ected by a legal strike. Source: Bundesverband Zeitarbeit Personal Dienstleistungen e.V. http://www.bza.de/tarif/

tarifvertraege.php

basis of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction, social origin, or any other form of discrimination covered by national laws and practice, such as age or disability”. Th is provision is of fundamental importance as many temporary and migrant workers, and also women, have diffi culties in exercising their rights, are oft en excluded from social benefi ts and face other disadvantages in the form of low wages, poor working conditions and denial of freedom of association.5

Also relevant to the regulation of PrEA is the principle that no worker should be held under conditions of forced or bonded labour. Th us, PrEA have to abstain from all illegal practices that tie workers to their own agencies or to specifi c employers, for example, through debt bondage (possibly linked to the illegal imposi-tion of recruitment fees or illegal wage deducimposi-tions), the illegal retenimposi-tion of identity documents or various forms of threats. Finally, PrEA should respect the principle

Box 7

Private employment agencies:

The “Gatekeepers” to employment

Employment agencies, whether private or public, can either promote equal oppor-tunties and improve transparency in the labour market or perpetuate discriminatory practice. Through fear of losing existing or potential clients, employment agencies might discriminate in recruitment. Nevertheless, Adecco, the leading private employ-ment agency for temporary jobs, has established a number of measures to promote equal opportunity. These include, a free line for temporary workers alleging discrimina-tory treatement, training for 2,000 of its 4,700 employees, and the obligation of staff not to accept discriminatory job requirements by employers, under threat of sanctions including dismissal.

Source: Y. Philippin: «Emploi. Le plus gros procès pour discrimination ethnique à l’embauche s’ouvre jeudi à Paris. L’enterprise prend des couleurs» in Le Journal du Dimanche, 14 mai, 2006 p. 15. See also http://www.adecco.com

Manpower, another international PrEA, has a proactive diversity policy in the USA and has also pioneered in promoting diversity in the workplace. As one of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies, Manpower considers diversity in the workplace essential. It defi nes diversity as differences of race, national origin, religion, cultural background, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity. This means promoting mutual respect and understanding between people with different personal situations and backgrounds. For example, in 1948, Manpower pioneered creating opportunities for women to engage and thrive in the workforce at a time when it was not socially acceptable for women to work outside the home and develop careers. In the 1960s, which was the most pivotal era for racial diversity in the USA, it also played an important role in providing jobs for racial minorities.

Source:http:// www.manpower.com/mpcom/content.

5. ILO: ILC 92nd Session, Provisional Record No. 22, Geneva, 2004, p. 57.

that child labour should be eliminated and that no child should be recruited into what ILO Convention No. 182 has defi ned as the “worst forms of child labour”.6 As a more general rule, paragraph 5 of Recommendation No. 188 contains the requirement that all contracts concluded between PrEA and jobseekers regarding employment conditions have to be in writing. Recommendation No. 188 also stipu-lates, as a minimum requirement, that workers should be informed of the conditions of their future assignment.

Since migrant workers, in particular, oft en lack information about the con-ditions in the countries of employment, many governments have set up minimum standards for employment contracts to be signed by the jobseeker. To simplify the procedure, many countries have developed model employment contracts, which are built around rules and regulations on PrEA. Th ese model employment contracts are not always mandatory, but they serve as a guide to the prospec-tive employers and workers in the formalization of the employment agreement.

Model employment contracts for migrant workers should as a minimum include the following:

l Description of the job, site of employment and duration of contract;

l Basic and overtime remuneration;

l Regular working hours, rest days, holidays;

l Transportation clauses to country/place of employment, and return;

l Employment injury and sickness compensation, emergency medical care;

l Valid contract termination grounds;

l Settling of dispute clause;

l Non-cash compensation and work related benefi ts.7

In order to protect in particular migrant workers, several countries have made the recruitment for work abroad dependent on the existence of bilateral agreements with the country in question. Th is is also refl ected in Art 8 (2) of Convention 181:

“Where workers are recruited in one country for work in another, the Members concerned shall consider concluding bilateral agreements to prevent abuses and fraudulent practices in recruitment, placement and employment”. A model agree-ment on temporary and permanent migration for employagree-ment can be found in the annex of the ILO Migration for Employment (revised) Recommendation No. 86.

According to this Recommendation, bilateral agreements should cover aspects such

6. See also ILO (2005): Human traffi cking and forced labour: Guidance for legislators and law enform-cent, Geneva.

7. ILO: Abella, Manollo: Sending Workers Abroad, Geneva, 1997, pp. 68.

as vacancy notifi cation, selection and recruitment, employment contracts, transport and conditions of employment, dispute settlement procedures, protection of basic rights, social security, and family migration and return. It should be noted, however, that in whatever form bilateral agreements exist, it is important to make sure they are accompanied by implementing guidelines. In addition, consistency between bilateral agreements and the regulations controlling the operation of PrEA is essential.

It is, however, important if such a condition of bilateral agreements exists, that the government in question has actually signed such agreements with other countries. If this was not the case, PrEA would automatically operate illegally. In addition, it is essential that the agreements signed set out concrete provisions for the protection of migrant workers. Experience shows, however, that many bi- or

Box 8

Recruitment of domestic workers

“In Asia, the large numbers of women migrating for work, as well as the demand for cheap domestic labor, has created a lucrative market for employment agencies spe-cializing in domestic workers. These agencies are typically involved in recruitment, training, transportation, and placement of domestic workers. They often play a central role in handling disputes between employers and workers. Inadequate regulation and inadequate government oversight combine to give employment agencies enormous infl uence over the fates of migrant domestic workers. In many cases agencies set the conditions of employment, including wages and rest days. Migrant domestic workers are subject to deception and abuse by labor agencies in their home countries as well as the counterpart agency in the receiving country.

Labor agents often give incomplete or false information about the terms of employ-ment and burden prospective domestic workers with onerous debts. For domestic workers migrating to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia, the recruitment fees are typically paid through long-term salary deductions. If they are migrating to the Middle East, they typically pay a large fee upfront to the local recruiter, often fi nanced through loans with interest rates as high as 100 percent. With a vested interest in recovering their investment, employment agencies routinely fail to protect workers from employer abuse. Sometimes, labor agents are directly responsible for the abuse.

The Philippines and Sri Lanka have more developed regulatory frameworks for monitoring migration than other labor-sending countries. Migrant domestic workers from these countries tend to encounter far more abuses when they go through unli-censed agents versus those approved by their labor ministries. In Indonesia, where there are over four hundred licensed domestic employment agencies and countless illegal ones, lack of effective government oversight, corruption, and the bureaucratic structure of labor recruitment increase the risks of exploitation of prospective migrant domestic workers.”

Source: Human Rights Watch: Swept under the rug. Abuses against domestic workers around the world, July 2006, Volume 18, Number 7 (C). See also ILO: Application of International Labour Standards: Report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, Geneva, 2005.

multilateral agreements on cross-border migration are primarily concerned with questions of illegal residence and/or deportation of illegally employed people.

Th ese agreements, therefore, cannot be regarded as helpful in terms of protecting this specifi c category of workers.