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Dear colleague,
We are pleased to invite you to another
seminar in the series entitled ‘People in Construction: comparisons,
practices and policies’. This seminar addresses the subject ‘Contracts
of employment versus contracts for services?: collective bargaining and
the nature of the employment contract in construction today‘ and will
be held on Thursday October
28th,
at the University of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Road, London NW1
5LS.
The question posed by this seminar is one becoming particularly urgent
given the proposed new EU Services Directive, the problems in
implementing the Posted Workers Directive, the increased use of agencies,
subcontracting and self-employment, and migration from the new EU eastern
European countries. The seminar will include academic, social partner
(trade unions and employers) and legal contributions and will conclude
with a platform discussion with representatives of employer associations
and trade unions focussed on Britain. Speakers include:
· Jan
Cremers (European Institute for Construction Labour Research) on the free
movement of workers and the transnational provision of services
· Ernst-Ludwig
Laux (Deputy General Secretary of the German building union IGBau) on the
threats to the contract of employment in Germany;
· Brian
Bercusson (Professor of European Labour Law, Kings College London) on the
development and nature of the employment contract and the legal basis to
achieving equality of employment conditions;
· Francois
Michon, (CNRS Professor, Université de Paris 1) on the segmentation of
the labour market, unequal access to employment and the ‘interim’
contract in France
· Hans
Baumann (Swiss building union) on transnational collective agreements as
a means to secure employment, drawing on the example of the Alp-Transit
tunnel project;
· Gerry
Lean (Construction Confederation) on ‘When does a contract for services
become a contract of employment?’
What we hope will emerge from the different contributions is an
understanding of:
- the
standard employment relation/contract in construction in Europe and
factors undermining this in particular the use of self-employment
and labour-only subcontracting;
- the
possibilities of European bilateral agreements and changes in the role of
collective bargaining and the social partners (employers associations and
trade unions) in construction today;
- disparities
in development;
- the
specific problems involved in implementing the Posted Workers Directive
(especially in Britain) and the implications of the proposed new EU
Services Directive.
This seminar series is supported by the British Economic and Social
Research Council (ESRC), organised with CLR and runs until the end of
2005. It aims to: examine and identify the key levers of social change in
the construction industry in Europe, and particularly in Britain;
understand and compare the employment of labour, whether operatives,
administrative and technical staff, technicians or professionals, male,
female or ethnic minority, past or present; provide a forum for
discussion of research from different perspectives social,
historical, economic, international and comparative; contribute to the
improvement of industrial relations by discussing current issues with
relevant policy-makers, the social partners, practitioners and academics;
consolidate and extend the network of researchers in cooperation with the
European Institute for Construction Labour Research (CLR); and produce a
book.
Whilst the British construction industry inevitably features prominently
in the debate, the series is intended to be international, with
international contributors to each session and participants from mainland
Europe also invited.
Together with this letter you will find an outline of the programme
proposed so far and devised through discussion with the CLR London
Office. The first seminar took place on Thursday, 18th March and was on
the theme of ‘Women in Construction’ and was an opportunity to hear some
of the contributors to the new CLR book on the subject (details
attached). The second seminar, held on Thursday
27th
May on the theme ‘The historical development of labour and the employment
relation in construction’, provided an opportunity to assess the
development of construction labour in Europe since the end of the
nineteenth century. We hope that in the course of the series,
organisations and individuals concerned with the themes addressed will
become more and more involved and collaborate in the planning of those
sessions of particular relevance to them.
We do hope you will be able to attend what promises to be a very
interesting day. We have a small budget for travel and may be able to
meet the expenses of those coming from outside London or outside the UK
who are unable to claim from their own institutions. We ask however that
any claims be kept to a minimum and that you confirm with us that our
budget will stand up to it. If you would like to attend, please write to
me at [log in to unmask] for a registration form. Do be sure to
complete this as soon as possible so that we are aware of numbers and so
that you will be sent the papers that will be presented. If we are
oversubscribed, we may also need to close our list of
participants.
Sincerely,
Linda Clarke
ESRC/CLR SEMINAR SERIES: PEOPLE IN
CONSTRUCTION
SESSION 3: Thursday 28th October
2004
University of Westminster
35 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LS
(opposite Madame Tussaud’s, Baker Street Tube)
Room CG79
CONTRACTS OF EMPLOYMENT VS CONTRACTS FOR SERVICES?:
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AND THE NATURE OF THE EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT IN
CONSTRUCTION
10.30 Registration and coffee
11.00 Welcome: Linda Clarke
11.15 Jan Cremers (European Institute for
Construction Labour Research),
The free movement of workers and the transnational provision of
services
11.45 Ernst-Ludwig Laux (Deputy General
Secretary of the German building union, IGBau), Threats to the contract
of employment in Germany
12.15 Francois Michon (Director of CNRS
Research on ‘Socio économie du travail de l’emploi et des relations
professionelles’, Université Paris 1), The segmentation of the
labour market and the ‘interim’ contract: unequal access to employment in
France
1.00 Lunch
2.00 Hans Baumann (Swiss Building
Union), Transnational collective agreements as a means to secure
employment the example of the Alp-Transit project
2.30 Brian Bercusson (Professor of
European Labour Law, Kings College London),
The development of the employment contract and the legal basis to
achieving equality of employment conditions
3.15 Tea break
3.30 Discussion panel: Contracts of
employment versus contracts for services?: the British situation,
introduced and chaired by: tbc
-Gerry Lean (Construction Confederation), When does a contract for
services become a contract of employment?
-Alan Ritchie (General Secretary, UCATT)
-Nigel Griffiths, MP, Minister of Construction, invited
4.45 Concluding remarks
5.00 Finish Drinks +
nibbles