Temp agencies need to be reigned in and reformed

Syne wrote: ↑Let's talk about temp agencies.

I was chatting with a buddy of mine last night over a couple of beers, and he was telling me that he's been a temp at his company for 8 months. He told me that some of his co-workers have been temps going on 2yrs! I was taken aback. At what point does the word, "temp" become meaningless?

We need clear definitions of what this industry's role is in Canada. There needs to be time limits set on how long the relationship between agency and employee persists before a company decides to piss or get off the pot. The company in question is very successful, and is quite generous with bonuses to their management staff, so it's not an issue of them needing the money more than the employees working on the floor.

My buddy told me his morale is pretty much zilch, and there is almost no incentive for him to go above and beyond his job description, aside from getting fired - but because this company has retention issues with floor workers, it's doubtful that would happen.

I have a few ideas...

- Put a 6 month expiry date on non-compete contracts between employees and temp agencies. Employees should be able to openly negotiate full-time employment after that date without worrying about their job.

- Clearly define the service being offered by the temp agency and scrutinize the terms. If they are recruiting and interviewing, then they should do that. If they are filling a hole in short-term labour, then they should do that. I recognize the value in the services they offer, but acting as middle-man, in order to exploit loopholes to deny employees benefits, raises and job security is not a viable industry in a 1st world country, or any country for that matter.

- Agencies should be paid a flat fee, and not leech off the backs of the workers. The goal should be to facilitate relationships between employees and employers, not to form and endless parasitic relationship wedged between two parties.

I'm open to further suggestions.

Abel4Life wrote: ↑I can lecture you for hours on this topic. But typing it out is alot of work.

BananaHunter wrote: ↑I often compare job searching to dating. How would you feel if there's a law to set a time limit or the number of times you can meet a person before deciding to get married? Temp agencies give companies a chance to maintain "casual" relationships while looking for the right person.

Ryougo wrote: ↑You misunderstand the situation; the company does not want your friend as a full time employee, they are willing to pay a temp agency continuously just to have the privilege of being able to let him go easily if the situation calls for it and not to have to pay the benefits they would have to for a regular full time employee. If your friend's skills are valuable and he was truly hard to replace he would most likely be head hunted for a flat fee as you described. If the company wanted him as a full time employee there is most likely a buy out clause that would be far cheaper than what they'd pay anyway to keep him a temp for another year.

Before you blame the company, understand the company exists to be as successful as possible, not to provide your friend a well paying job.

Syne wrote: ↑If they didn't want him, why string him along for 8 months? The culprit is the temp agencies simply because they exist to profit by creating a buffer between employer and employee. The world would be a better place if they didn't exist. Looking around this forum is sad, because the majority always support the status quo, no matter what it is. ALWAYS, no matter the issue! All of the injustices in the world can be justified and explained away, and it's never anything to get upset about. Reform is never necessary. The usual suspects side with whoever is in power, regardless of the circumstances, which when you think about it, explains German nationalism in WWII.

To use the relationship analogy, would you string someone along for years at a time without committing to them? Is that fair to them?

Syne wrote: ↑If they didn't want him, why string him along for 8 months? The culprit is the temp agencies simply because they exist to profit by creating a buffer between employer and employee. The world would be a better place if they didn't exist. Looking around this forum is sad, because the majority always support the status quo, no matter what it is. ALWAYS, no matter the issue! All of the injustices in the world can be justified and explained away, and it's never anything to get upset about. Reform is never necessary. The usual suspects side with whoever is in power, regardless of the circumstances, which when you think about it, explains German nationalism in WWII.

To use the relationship analogy, would you string someone along for years at a time without committing to them? Is that fair to them?

Syne wrote: ↑If they didn't want him, why string him along for 8 months? The culprit is the temp agencies simply because they exist to profit by creating a buffer between employer and employee. The world would be a better place if they didn't exist. Looking around this forum is sad, because the majority always support the status quo, no matter what it is. ALWAYS, no matter the issue! All of the injustices in the world can be justified and explained away, and it's never anything to get upset about. Reform is never necessary. The usual suspects side with whoever is in power, regardless of the circumstances, which when you think about it, explains German nationalism in WWII.

To use the relationship analogy, would you string someone along for years at a time without committing to them? Is that fair to them?