Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Fee-Charging Employment Agencies Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 96) - Malta (Ratification: 1988)

Part III of the Convention. Regulation of fee-charging employment agencies. In its previous comments, the Committee invited the Government to provide a general appreciation of the manner in which the Convention is applied. In this regard, the Government refers to the Employment Agencies Regulations of 1995 and the Temporary Agency Workers Regulations (TAWR) of 2011. The Government adds that the regulations apply to both public and private entities, whether or not they are conducted with a view to profit, including temporary agencies or user enterprises, and that they safeguard the basic working and employment rights of temporary agency workers. The Committee notes that section 4 of the TAWR provides for equal treatment in terms of basic working and employment conditions of temporary agency workers and workers directly recruited from the undertaking to occupy the same job. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the practical application of Convention No. 96, including on measures taken or envisaged to give effect to Part III of the Convention, including penalties imposed for violation of the Employment Agencies Regulations and the Temporary Agency Workers Regulations, the number of inspections and types of violations identified.

Revision of Convention No. 96. In reply to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government indicates that the principles enshrined in the Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181), are given effect by the Employment Agency Regulations and the TAWR. The Committee recalls that, with regard to countries such as Malta that have ratified the Employment Service Convention, 1948 (No. 88), and accepted Part III (Articles 10–14) of Convention No. 96, Convention No. 181 is more specific and takes into account newer developments in the sector and national circumstances (see General Survey on the employment instruments, 2010, paragraph 728). The Committee further recalls that at its 273rd Session in November 1998, the ILO Governing Body invited those States parties to Convention No. 96 to contemplate ratifying Convention No. 181, as appropriate. The Committee once again expresses the hope that the Government and the social partners will consider adhering to the obligations of Convention No. 181, the ratification of which would lead to the immediate denunciation of Convention No. 96.