Agency and Casual Workers
The challenges we face
The IWW has many temporary, agency and casual workers on its books. These workers have very few legal rights compared to other workers, and little protection against exploitative agencies and corrupt gangmasters. At the same time, the economy relies heavily on them to fill in the ‘gaps’ in the labour market and provide a source of cheap, precarious, and easily exploitable labour to employers. Estimates vary, but there are well over one million agency workers in the UK alone, many more casual workers, and a large but unknown number of workers in black/grey markets.
Bosses and agencies often try to drive a wedge between permanent and temporary workers, but the IWW seeks to unite them because their interests are bound up together. Our members give solid support to each other, whatever their employment situation, because we feel that no divisions are as powerful as the divisions between workers and bosses.
We welcome the small steps towards better protection for these workers, but they are too little, too late. Governments can't be trusted to put workers' interests first, so the IWW says enough is enough. Casual and agency workers have suffered long enough, and we are actively organising among these workers to bring them into the IWW.
Why the IWW?
The IWW is especially well-designed for precarious workers:
- We have flexible and low dues rates, meaning that whatever rate of pay you are on, you can still afford to be a member.
- Unlike other unions, you can take your IWW membership to any job you work in, meaning that you don’t have to keep joining and leaving various different unions depending on your workplace.
- We are run and controlled by the membership. This means that the union can adapt and react quickly for workers who change jobs quickly, because the members call the shots.
- Our culture of grassroots and creative direct action – we don’t pretend that workers and bosses have the same economic interests. Cosying up to management gets workers nowhere, especially when turnover is so high. Agency and casual workers need to hit them hard and hit them quick.
The IWW is the only union that has the fighting spirit and the right structures to help precarious workers like you build a better life at work. Join us today!
What now?
To join the IWW, click here
To contact your local IWW branch, visit our contacts page
To find out about casual, temporary and agency workers’ rights, visit our workers’ rights pages
For advice on how to organise at work, visit our organising pages
IWW agency and casual workers’ leaflets (produced by London branch):
- General leaflet
- 'Know your rights' leaflet