This brief compiles information on the incidence of non-standard forms of work, including temporary work, involuntary part-time work and zero-hour contracts, on-call work, casual work, agency work, digital platform work and disguised/dependent self-employment. It looks at the challenges that such forms of work are posing in terms of workers organising and collective bargaining, and the responses that unions are taking. The brief, moreover, highlights examples of what some governments are doing to combat precarious work and offers recommendations for further action. Unions set out a number of demands for what is needed to reduce precarious work. Overall, unions insist that a new social contract is needed, which would ensure an essential floor of labour rights and protections as well as a social protection floor for all workers.
Organising and Collective Bargaining in Non-Standard Forms of Work
Non-standard forms of work have been on the rise in recent years, with serious consequences on workers’ rights, security and livelihoods. Such new work forms have increased in prevalence in the midst of technological change, globalisation, regulatory loopholes, and in some cases, reforms to reduce workers’ protections. In many countries, employers face few restrictions to make use of precarious work arrangements, and sometimes even profit from fiscal incentives available to them to expand the share of non-standard workers. Non-standard workers generally tend to encounter lower pay and job security, reduced access to social protection and lower benefits, and overall lower quality of life.
Organising and Collective Bargaining in Non-Standard Forms of Work
