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Temporary Agency Work and Trade Unions in Comparative Perspective

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  • Nadja Doerflinger
  • Valeria Pulignano

Abstract

The article examines local union approaches toward temporary agency work in Belgium and Germany. Heterogeneous plant-level use of temporary work is explained by differences in collective bargaining, together with representation structures and rights for agency workers. Specifically, within a context providing effective rights for representation, the Belgian unions responded to firms’ economic difficulties by improving the working conditions of agency workers through negotiating plant-level agreements that contributed to fostering equality between agency workers and regular workers. In contrast, agency work became instrumental in safeguarding the core workforce’s employment in the German workplaces, where the representation rights were absent. As a result, the status of agency workers remained vulnerable.

Suggested Citation

  • Nadja Doerflinger & Valeria Pulignano, 2015. "Temporary Agency Work and Trade Unions in Comparative Perspective," SAGE Open, , vol. 5(2), pages 21582440155, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:5:y:2015:i:2:p:2158244015575633
    DOI: 10.1177/2158244015575633
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Susan N. Houseman, 2001. "Why Employers Use Flexible Staffing Arrangements: Evidence from an Establishment Survey," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 55(1), pages 149-170, October.
    2. Jamie Peck & Nik Theodore, 2007. "Flexible recession: the temporary staffing industry and mediated work in the United States," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 31(2), pages 171-192, March.
    3. Manfred Antoni & Elke J. Jahn, 2009. "Do Changes in Regulation Affect Employment Duration in Temporary Help Agencies?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 62(2), pages 226-251, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Eleni D. Rompoti & Alexis D. Ioannides, 2023. "“Pseudo-Contracted” Workers as a Means of Bypassing Labour Law in Greece," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-27, November.
    2. Wen Chen & Xiao-Jiao Song & Yanping Li, 2021. "Factors Affecting the Sustainable Development of HRS in Transforming Economies: A fsQCA Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-19, February.
    3. Nadja Doerflinger & Dries Bosschaert & Adeline Otto & Tim Opgenhaffen & Lander Vermeerbergen, 2021. "Between Morals and Markets? An Interdisciplinary Conceptual Framework for Studying Working Conditions at Catholic Social Service Providers in Belgium and Germany," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 172(1), pages 15-29, August.

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