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Over 100 representatives of governments, private employment agencies and trade unions discussed the role of agencies in promoting decent work.



Some of concerns underlined by UNI affiliates from different regions were replacement of permanent by agency workers, long durations of assignments, undercutting wages, difficulties to organise and bargain collectively for agency workers. The workers' group had a joint position that for meaningful bargaining to take place, the user enterprise and its union should be involved. Employers did not agree with this and wanted to be recognised as employers and to have the right to bargain for the posted workers. They also insisted that agency work created jobs and was never used to undermine or replace open-ended, direct contracts.



After two days, a few potential consensus points were suggested but since unions and employers had different views, no consensus could be reached.