The revised Labour Contract Law effective from January 2013 defines the scope of agency work and restricts the use of agency workers to temporary (less than six months), auxiliary and substitute posts.
The Agency Work Regulation is effective from March 2014 and limits the number of agency workers to not more than ten per cent of the total workforce of an enterprise and protects their equal remuneration. Before assigning positions to agency workers, the employer needs to consult and discuss with the trade union and workers’ representatives. However, the new regulation does not have provision on the right of the agency workers to form and join trade union.
The ACFTU’s Directive on Organising Agency Workers to Join the Trade Union passed in 2009 allows agency workers to join the trade union at the agency company rather than at the place of work. Agency workers are also not covered by collective agreements at the work place.