Labour law and subcontracting : a colombian, international and comparative law approach ; Droit du travail et sous-traitance : une approche de droits colombien, international et comparé

Subcontracting and outsourcing have rapidly expanded in recent years. This contracting model is no longer restricted to marginal activities; as a matter of fact, in certain sectors it accounts for 100 percent of companies’ production. Furthermore, regarding employment and labor, subcontracting is classified as one of the forms of atypical employment. Such forms of employment have negative effects on the exercise of employment-related rights by workers linked to subcontractor companies. This boom, along with its negative impact, entails rethinking labor laws. This new analysis aims to identify the fundamental rights affected by this contracting form, as well as to explore the role that labor laws can play in fostering equality between directly-hired workers and those hired by subcontractors. Thus, the hiring by subcontractors did not allow the workers to fully enjoy their fundamental rights as defined by the ILO. As regards the trade union rights, the imbalance between the rights of subcontracting workers and those directly hired has three aspects: First, in some cases, the limits imposed by law on the rights of association, negotiation and strike prevent in subcontracting relations, the formation of organizations likely to become interlocutors with their direct employers and, even less, with contracting firms. Secondly, the impossibility of exercising collective rights results from material circumstances that do not permit enough workers to form a union and establish a dialogue with the employer. Material situations are diverse. They concern both the physical location of work, the lack of interest of employers and the pressure to discourage the exercise of trade union rights. Thirdly, the trade unions do not have, among their duties or missions, the defence of working conditions of workers «external», who are not part of the company’s workforce; The same applies to the competence of other forms of staff representation, with exceptions. In any event, the field of trade union action and collective bargaining does ...