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ILO / NON-STANDARD EMPLOYMENT
STORY: ILO / NON-STANDARD EMPLOYMENT
TRT: 02:35
SOURCE: ILO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / SPANISH / NATS
DATELINE: 14 NOVEMBER 2016, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / RECENT
14 NOVEMBER 2016, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Close up, cover of ILO report “Non-standard employment around the world”
2. Various shots, press briefing at Palais des Nations
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Deborah Greenfield, Deputy Director-General for Policy, International Labour Organization (ILO):
“Non-standard forms of employment are, they are fourfold: part-time work, temporary work, temporary agency work - that is there is a third party involved, and then disguised employment or disguised self-employment. What the report shows based on looking at 20 years of evidence is that non-standard forms of employment are on the rise across the globe.”
RECENT – SAN SEBASTIAN DE LOS REYES, SPAIN
4. Wide shot, people walking on the street
5. Med shot, fruit and vegetable vendor talking to a customer
6. Wide shot, retailer clothing sales clerk hanging clothes
14 NOVEMBER 2016, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Janine Berg, Senior Economist, International Labour Organization (ILO): “Workers might now know whether they are going to have an income in the next month, they might not know whether they are going to have a job, there’s challenges for occupational safety and health – the accident rates tends to be higher for workers in non-standard forms of employment. They also have challenges in joining a trade union for example, because they fear their contract might not be renewed.”
RECENT – SAN SEBASTIAN DE LOS REYES, SPAIN
8. Med shot, customers at cashier in Mercadona supermarket
9. Med shot, customers at supermarket
10. Pan left, employing marking prices
11. Med shot, employee packing fish
12. Wide shot, employees working at the cashier
13. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Rebeca Ledesma, bakery worker:
"It's mainly the security. Knowing that you're permanent from the beginning, from the first day on the job, makes a big difference from a temporary contract, where you never know from one day to the next, especially when you have a family, like I do. I'm grateful for that."
14. Wide shot, exterior sign of Mercadona supermarket
15. Med shot, worker at supermarket
16. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Silvia Yankovich, COOO Trade Union:
“If a contract is permanent rather than temporary, there's more interaction. The workers are satisfied and so they give more. We believe that this can be replicated at other companies, and in fact we're asking them to do this, so that we can generate stable employment at other companies."
17. Various shots, Mercadona supermarket
18. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Joaquín Nieto, Director, ILO Spain:
"If a company goes from being anti-union to accepting the unions' presence, giving most of its staff permanent contracts, paying the best wages in the branch and, doing all this, becomes the leader in the sector, the question should be, what are other companies waiting for to do the same thing?"
19. Pan right, supermarket employees and customers at cashier lines
Around the world, companies are increasingly using temporary employment for permanent tasks. According to a new report from the ILO, many workers in "non-standard employment" earn less, have less social protection and often cycle between temporary employment and unemployment. But some companies are finding that giving workers security through permanent contracts can also deliver a strong competitive advantage.
The report, Non-standard employment around the world: Understanding challenges, shaping prospects, highlights the policies needed to improve the quality of non-standard jobs. The report finds that there has been a rise in non-standard forms of employment (NSFE) globally, including increases in temporary work, part-time work, temporary agency work and subcontracting, dependent self-employment and disguised employment relationships.
Speaking today (14 Nov) in Geneva, Deborah Greenfield, ILO’s Deputy Director-General for Policy, said “non-standard forms of employment are, they are fourfold: part-time work, temporary work, temporary agency work - that is there is a third party involved, and then disguised employment or disguised self-employment. What the report shows based on looking at 20 years of evidence is that non-standard forms of employment are on the rise across the globe.”
ILO’s Senior Economist, Janine Berg, said “workers might now know whether they are going to have an income in the next month, they might not know whether they are going to have a job, there’s challenges for occupational safety and health – the accident rates tends to be higher for workers in non-standard forms of employment. They also have challenges in joining a trade union for example, because they fear their contract might not be renewed.”
In Spain, one of every four employees is on temporary, fixed-term contracts, making Spain a world leader in the use of temporary contracts. The international retail supermarket sector is one of the most competitive businesses in the world. Workers in these sectors are often hired on temporary, part-time, or even zero-hours contracts. As a result, many retail workers face unpredictable hours, lower levels of pay and fewer benefits.
Some companies are seeing competitive advantages in hiring employees under permanent contracts with no fixed end-date. It makes a profound difference to the employees.
Rebeca Ledesma, a bakery worker, said “it's mainly the security. Knowing that you're permanent from the beginning, from the first day on the job, makes a big difference from a temporary contract, where you never know from one day to the next, especially when you have a family, like I do. I'm grateful for that.”
Rebeca is one of 76,000 employees of the Mercadona supermarket chain working on a permanent contract with no fixed end date.
In the 1990s, Mercadona adopted the "Total Quality Model" of management, which included a core principle of employee involvement. Salaries were raised, with new workers earning twice Spain's minimum wage. Employees were also given their schedule one month in advance and the chance for promotion. They also get extensive on the job training.
The result: workers are motivated and satisfied. And that has resulted in higher productivity and sales compared with the company's competitors. Mercadona is now the market leader in Spain.
In the past, the company had a difficult relationship with the trade unions. But now, the trade union is involved and consulted. It's an approach that created dialogue and built trust.
Silvia Yankovich, COOO Trade Union, said “if a contract is permanent rather than temporary, there's more interaction. The workers are satisfied and so they give more. We believe that this can be replicated at other companies, and in fact we're asking them to do this, so that we can generate stable employment at other companies.”
ILO’s director in Spain Joaquín Nieto said “if a company goes from being anti-union to accepting the unions' presence, giving most of its staff permanent contracts, paying the best wages in the branch and, doing all this, becomes the leader in the sector, the question should be, what are other companies waiting for to do the same thing?”
As the world of work continues to transform, solutions can be found to new and challenging situations, if employers, trade unions and employees can build trust and work together toward results that benefit everyone.
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