Is a temporary worker equal?

Temporary work is getting more and more popular in Finland, but is the temporary worker equal compared to permanent workers in a workplace?

A study about temporary work was done in April 2011 by the Finnish Federation of Special Service and Clerical Employees ERTO, an organization for employees (in Finnish, palkansaaja) working in expert positions in the private service sector. The questionnaire was sent to members of ERTO: 305 members replied, from which 59 % were women. Under 25 years old respondents were the majority.

According to the study, most of the temporary workers felt that they belonged to their working community and were part of it. Bad experiences existed also: in some places, temporary workers were treated like lower class citizens or robots, as one of the respondents described.

Inequality comes often from the fact that temporary workers do not have the same benefits as permanent workers. They do not get the possibility to be a part of the company bonus system or have performance based wage; the salary might be lower than permanent workers have, and employee benefits might not be given to temporary workers. Some of the respondents said that they were excluded from company supported training and education courses, company info sessions, even from company parties.

As long as temporary workers do not get the same benefits as permanent workers, the image of temporary work will not get any better. Temporary workers bring flexibility to employers for example at times when more staff is needed for a certain amount of time; temporary workers are also a great way to conclude unfinished projects and tasks that are waiting to be done. In the long run, more equal positioning of temporary workers would serve employers benefits as well, as the need for temporary workers is getting bigger and bigger all the time.