Hi Mick,
In apropos to the subject we discussed,
Hurt bad employers where it counts
15.2.06 | 11:10 By Hanna Zohar
Last week the Ministry of Industry and Trade announced an enforcement drive against cleaning and security service companies. It would inspect 100 companies, the ministry said.
These are sectors famous for trampling workers' rights, but the enforcement drive will change nothing.
When the inspectors raid the workplaces and examine pay slips, they will find - especially if they actually talk with the workers - that most are denied overtime or reimbursement of travel expenses. Most of their employers make no pension provisions for the employees, despite the collective employment agreement that requires them to do so. And they get pittances, if anything at all, for vacation, recuperation, and the like. Moreover, in the security sector, the management tends to fine workers for infractions in on-the-spot kangaroo court proceedings.
The Labor Ministry inspectors have no powers against these infractions. All they have power to enforce is the minimum wage, the law requiring disclosure of information to employees about his employment terms and wages, and the law mandating an annual vacation, and that's a recent development, too.
The inspectors won't find many companies breaking the minimum wage law. If they do find any, the companies will be ordered to pay an administrative fine - though in practice, the fines are rarely collected and the Ministry of Industry and Trade refuses to publicize the names of the offending companies, though it should under a court ruling on a petition by Kav LaOved.
Why all the sudden action? First of all, elections are approaching and the party in power has to show it's doing something. Secondly, the latest Poverty Report revealed that 41% of the people falling into the category of poor, work part- or full-time jobs, but most through subcontractors: they work in security, cleaning, nursing care manpower companies and the like.
Raids won't solve the problem of scorn for the labor laws. The only thing that will, is deterrent action that hurts corporate profits, and renders scorn for workers' rights an economically unwise prospect.
It is easy enough to achieve, but the Finance and Industry ministries have not made the effort. They are afraid of hurting the big companies with which they work. The ministries could set terms in tenders for manpower services that would block companies found guilty of labor violations. That would change things immediately. Terms like that would render the spot inspections unnecessary, as the workers would be in the position of power.
A legislative proposal, which imposes the responsibility on the body hiring from the manpower company, was formulated by a group of groups fighting for the enforcement of worker rights. It was raised for its first vote into law by MK Igal Yasinov, but lost because of cabinet opposition.
The bill presented a simple reform that would have been easy to execute. It would have required any body buying service from a manpower company, to ensure that the workers receive their rights under law. Workers whose rights are violated can sue the employer (say, the security company) and the service recipient as well.
Who are these service recipients? Ministries that publish tenders for manpower, or big businesses like banks, major industrial plants and hi-tech companies.
The proposal did not require added budgets for inspectors, or the creation of enforcement bodies. The service recipients would have had to demand that the manpower companies present proof that they comply with labor laws. At present the manpower companies are required to provide guarantee that they will meet tender conditions such as quality of labor and time, but not labor laws.
The bill did not determine employee-employer relations, only that anybody choosing a company for manpower services must assure the workers get their full pay, under law.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ArticleContent.jhtml?itemNo=683241
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