Employers’ use of agency workers ‘is new slave trade’

EMPLOYERS’ use of poorly paid agency workers is arguably the “most effective means of exploitation” devised since the slave trade was abolished, union leader Jack O’Connor has claimed.

The SIPTU general president told the conference that the growing use of agency workers posed the most serious threat to the wages and living standards of “ordinary people” in Ireland.

“This is the means by which every syllable of employment protection legislation ever enacted in this country can be circumvented and rendered useless,” Mr O’Connor said.

“It is almost certainly the most effective means of exploitation devised by those who prosper from the labour of others since the abolition of the slave trade 200 years ago this year. In the process, it is creating a new underclass of people who have absolutely no rights at work at all; not even a contract of employment with the beneficial employer.

“It is increasingly the means of attacking, undermining and ratcheting down the quality of employment. And it is growing like a cancer in our economy across the services sector and into manufacturing, as well as construction.”

Mr O’Connor warned that the employment of agency workers would be used “as a device to outsource and replace whole work forces” if the economic slowdown continued.

“Our Government hypocritically extols the virtues of social partnership while simultaneously participating in an alliance of four countries to block the adoption of an EU directive to combat this soulless exploitation.”

Mr O’Connor was referring to the Temporary Agency Workers’ Directive, the aim of which is to ensure agency workers receive the same pay and conditions as permanent staff, but which has yet to come into force.