The role of private employment agencies in a changing labour market Annemarie Muntz, Eurociett President ASSOLAVORO Workshop 9 November 2011 Rome

About Eurociett Eurociett represents 35,000 companies (50,000 branches), employs 230,000 internal staff and more than 3 million agency workers on a daily average (full time equivalents) and around 9 million a yearly basis (headcounts) Eurociett is the only association representing agency work: At large: brings together 30 national federations In its diversity: uniting 7 of the largest multinational staffing companies as well as tens of thousands of SMEs Eurociett represent the following HR activities: temporary agency work, recruitment, interim management, executive search, outplacement, training Is the only authoritative voice representing the interests of agency work businesses in Europe: Accounts for more than 90% of the total sales revenues of the industry Recognised as such by the EU Institutions as well as by key European stakeholders (e.g. ETUC, BUSINESSEUROPE, social NGOs, think tanks) Is the employers’ official social partner within the EU sectoral social dialogue on temporary agency work (facing UNI-Europa)

The new reality of labour markets Fundamental changes... Globalisation Volatility Demographic evolution Sectoral shifts New attitudes to work ...pose new challenges Persistent high level of unemployment (Italy 8.2%, EU 27 9.7%) Segmentation in the labour market Increasing mismatch between supply and demand of skills Unpredictability and lack of visibility Blurring the lines of employment forms (multiactivity)

How private employment agencies can help Governments Reducing unemployment and increase labour market participation PrEAs drive job creation even with low levels of GDP Better implementation of active labour market policies Alleviating pressure on social protection by bringing more people to (legal) work Workers Access point to the labour market Facilitating transitions from unemployment to work, from one job to the next Access to training and long-life learning: better skills for labour market needs Freedom of choice to meet different profiles of workers Protection of rights User companies Offer a flexible labour force that quickly adjust to production needs (seasonal, cyclical) In times of economic uncertainty, companies can hire more easily thus accelerating economic recovery Offer sourcing and screening to ensure that companies make the right selection

Agency work reduces unemployment and illegal work: the Italian case PrEAs reduce unemployment and bring more people to the legal economy

Maximising the PrEAs contribution PrEAs have an important role to play in the labour market and they represent a great potential However, agency work penetration rate still low – in Europe is 1.7% (2010) average, in Italy it is 0.8% (2010, defined in full-time equivalent ) The new report “Adapting to change”, carried out by the Boston Consulting Group and Eurociett analyses the link between regulation and development of the agency work industry There is need for appropriate regulation to allow PrEAs to contribute to better functioning labour markets

Appropriate regulation fosters PrEAs development The index ranks countries according to how favourable the regulatory environment is to the development of agency work

Labour Market Efficiency Index The report also develops a Labour Market Efficiency Index, which is directly correlated with the overall competitiveness of a country: the report shows that labour markets with higher penetration of agency work are also more efficient

Recommendations: lifting unjustified restrictions The agency work directive must be implemented by 5 December 2011 Governments, together with social partners must make a full review of all restrictions in law and CLAs, together with the social partners by the deadline All unjustified restrictions on temporary agency work and discriminatory measures related to temporary agency work labour contracts must be lifted. In Italy, outdated and disproportionate measures include: Reasons for use Maximum number of agency workers Maximum length of assignment

Recommendations: updating the relevant regulation Removing restrictions does not mean eliminating all relevant regulation: licensing and certification systems can still be in place Appropriate regulation ensures a level playing field and quality of services and prevents rogue providers from operating alongside with the clean industry For example, well enforced authorisations systems are a valuable instrument to filter out rogue agencies Appropriate regulation is needed to avoid to mix agency work with other forms of flexibility that are not regulated and are not organised as a sector

Flexible work: Let’s look at the big picture! Agency work Fixed-term contracts Subcontracting & outsourcing Call-on work Bogus self-employment Undeclared work Illegal work