Press Releases
Huge Increase in Contract and Agency Work in Global Garment Sector
A new survey has confirmed it: Contract and agency labour employment is on the rise and is condemning workers to sub-standard conditions including low wages, unpaid overtime, the denial of maternity leave and holidays and limited access to health and pension coverage, as well as denying workers job security and the right to organise.
The International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation (ITGLWF) has conducted a survey of how contract labour is affecting workers and unions, and what steps are being taken to deal with the issue. Forty-eight ITGLWF affiliates completed the online survey, which was conducted with the assistance of the ICEM’s Contract and Agency Labour project.
The results of the survey overwhelmingly indicate that precarious employment is an increasing problem in the textile, garment and leather sectors, with 69% of affiliates who responded saying that the share of short-term contracts in their sector and their country had increased over the past year. 37% reported an increase of 16% or more, while 26% reported a decrease.
In parallel with affiliates of sister GUFs ICEM and IMF, who conducted similar surveys earlier in the year, ITGLWF affiliates indicated that workers on temporary contracts receive significantly lower wages than permanent, directly-employed workers. Over 66% of those who replied said that wages paid to short-term workers are less than those paid to permanent workers, with 21% reporting that wages are less than half those of regular workers. 41% of those who responded indicated that the wages and benefits gap between permanent, directly-employed workers and contract workers had increased as a direct result of the global economic crisis.
The survey results make clear that employers evade their obligations to contact workers in various ways with the non-payment of overtime, denial of maternity and family leave, and denial of vacation and holiday leave being the most common forms of abuse. 18% of respondees said that temporary workers are denied access to social security and pensions, and 15% said that the biggest way employers evade their obligations is with regard to occupational health and safety.
There is a substantial difference in the number of contract workers ITGLWF affiliates represent, with 52% of affiliates indicating that contract workers make up between 0 and 5% of their membership, and 19% saying they made up more that 31% of their members. Almost one quarter of affiliates said that they had organised more contract workers in the last year, while 17% said they had lost such members. The survey asked affiliates what were the obstacles to organising more contract workers, and the results clearly demonstrate that the biggest obstacle is fear of dismissal or discrimination. 23% of affiliates said that government legislation was a barrier to organising temporary workers in their country. ITGLWF affiliates are including contract labour issues in their collective bargaining agendas, with the main focus being on guaranteeing equal pay for similar work, ensuring non discrimination and realisation of trade union rights, and converting precarious jobs into permanent jobs. In response to the fact that there is an increasing trend towards indirect and insecure forms of employment, 43% of affiliates indicated that they are currently taking action to ensure that new jobs created in the sector are filled by permanent workers with direct employment relationships.
More details on the results of the ITGLWF Contract and Agency Labour Survey are available here.
