Transnational regulation of temporary agency work compromised partnership between Private Employment Agencies and Global Union Federations

This article critically assesses the potential for the international regulation of temporary agency work (TAW) through building partnership between the Global Union Federations (GUFs) and major Private Employment Agencies (PrEAs). Given the limits of existing national and international regulation of TAW, particularly in developing countries, and the current deadlock in dialogue through the International Labour Organization, the argument of this article is that Transnational Private Labour Regulation (TPLR) offers a unique opportunity to establish a basis for minimum standards for temporary agency workers. This article goes on to propose three potential TPLR frameworks that, although compromised, are transparent, fair and sufficiently elastic to accommodate the distributive and political risks associated with partnership. They also offer important gains, namely increasing the competitive advantage of the PrEAs involved, minimum standards for agency workers and ‘field enlarging’ strategies for the GUFs and their affiliates

Agency work and agency workers - employee representation in Germany and Singapore

Comparatively new forms of work, such as temporary agency work, have led to changes in employment relations systems resulting in various consequences for temporary agency workers. To date, analysis of such changes and their effects have been quite limited, especially with regard to comparative, international perspectives. Consequently, the intention of this article is to partially address that gap by considering temporary agency work and workers in Germany and Singapore. These countries were selected as both have experienced significant growth in agency work while possessing different features in their employment relations systems. The paper provides insights relevant to the contradictions and tensions inherent in the position of agency workers in the German and Singaporean system of employment relations, making suggestions for a new regulatory approach of the temporary agency industry

Temporary agency work in Australia, Germany and Singapore

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Temporary Agency Work and Labour Flexibility in 3 Countries: Can the ‘Playing Field’ be Levelled

There are many strands to the literature on the development of agency employment. Research to date has covered labour use strategies of employing organisations (Conley, 2002); the development and strategies of agencies (Peck and Theodore, 1998); the experience of those working on agency assignments (Forde, 2001) and the implications for labour market functioning (Gebel, 2010). Four developments stand out around agency employment internationally, namely, its growth in terms of the numbers of workers and assignments; its spread across all sectors and occupations; its incorporation and insertion into all areas of the labour market; and its internationalisation. The aim of this chapter is to advance understanding with regard to the diverse patterns of agency work in different countries, focusing on institutional and comparative analysis with regard to four key areas outlined in Figure 4.1. Agency employment and its development are examined in the context of three countries (Australia, Germany and Singapore) that have strong growth and stable economies, but with different forms and systems of labour regulation. These issues will be discussed in the context of the following questions in relation to temporary agency work in Australia, Germany and Singapore (as outlined in Figure 4.1)