Press Release No. 54/2015 IG Metall opposes precarious employment and calls for an end to the abuse of contract-for-service agreements

Frankfurt am Main – On the international “Day Against Precarious Employment,” IG Metall spoke out against the abuse of service contracts. “More and more often, companies are outsourcing work and creating zones without works councils or collective bargaining agreements. We therefore call on lawmakers to finally establish order in the German labor market through legal regulations,” said Detlef Wetzel, President of IG Metall, on Wednesday in Frankfurt. In particular, he said, it is necessary to require employers to inform works councils about the use of service contracts, as well as to expand works councils’ right to co-determination.

Nationwide, IG Metall has called for actions today against precarious employment to bring the misuse of service contracts to public attention. The significance of this issue for workers was already demonstrated by the day of action on September 24, which drew tens of thousands of participants.

According to an IG Metall survey, three-quarters of employees at companies using service contracts work under worse conditions than their colleagues at the parent company. In many cases, works councils are not even informed when companies outsource jobs via service contracts, thereby worsening working conditions for the affected employees. As provided for in the coalition agreement, clear rules are needed to distinguish between service contracts, temporary staffing, and self-employment. Only with such clear rules can effective oversight be ensured, said the IG Metall president.

Since 2008, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has observed October 7 as the World Day for Decent Work. On this day, unions and workers around the world campaign against precarious work.