Federgon, the Belgian federation of HR service providers presented its annual figures and reported that in 2017 the temporary agency work sector grew by 6.2%, when compared to 2016.

Figures from Federgon showed that in 2017, there were 656,281 temporary workers, this was 36,459 more than in 2016.

When broken down, Federgon’s figures showed that Recruitment, Search & Selection was up 11.7% in 2017 while Interim Management was also up (2.3%), as well as Projectsourcing (8.7%). However, the outplacement (-6.3%) and Learning & Development (-2.1%) sectors saw decreases over the same period.

Herwig Muyldermans, CEO of Federgon, stated that 40% of employees working in fixed work previously worked as temporary workers.

“The public authorities of our country have understood that in order to be able to pursue an optimal HR policy, it is essential to have recourse to temporary work. The Flemish authorities are already ready, but on the federal side, the necessary steps are being taken to this end. Wallonia, for its part, has made the point in its government agreement and wishes to follow the same path,” Federgon stated.

Just last week, the Flemish Parliament approved a draft decree text to allow temporary work within the Flemish government as well as local and regional authorities.

Federgon also pointed to other temporary agency work legislation. “Since April 9, all sectoral prohibitions on temporary agency work in the private sector have been lifted. The shipping industry and the moving sector can now hire temporary staff for certain functions,” Federgon stated.

Muyldermans also called on unions to bring attention to temporary contracts of indefinite duration as temporary work agencies have been asking for the possibility of offering this type of contract to temporary workers.