Darwinian Capitalism: the Strong Survive
SLAVERY
SLAVERY
Randstad Holding nv is a Dutch multinational human resource consulting firm headquartered in Diemen, Netherlands. Randstad is the world's second-largest HR service provider after Adecco.[2] It was founded in the Netherlands in 1960 by Frits Goldschmeding and operates in around 40 countries.[3] In 2012, the company achieved a turnover of €17.1 billion and a net profit of €36.6 million.[1]
Randstad employs around 29,320 of its own staff, whilst 580,000 people
are deployed in other companies every day through Randstad. Globally,
Randstad has 4,496 branches.
Adecco S.A. is a Swiss multinational human resource consulting company based in Glattbrugg, Switzerland.[2] Adecco Group is the world's largest provider of HR solutions.[3]
With more than 33,000 FTE employees and a network of over 5,500
branches, in over 60 countries and territories around the world, it
offers a wide variety of services, connecting over 700,000 associates
with well over 100,000 clients every day. The company was formed in 1996
as a result of the merger of the French company Ecco and the Swiss company Adia Interim.
Legal status
For most of the twentieth century, private employment agencies were considered quasi illegal entities under international law[citation needed]. The International Labour Organization
instead called for the establishment of public employment agencies. To
prevent the abusive practices of private agencies, they were either to
be fully abolished, or tightly regulated. In most countries they are legal but regulated.
Probably inspired by the dissenting judgments in a US Supreme Court case called Adams v. Tanner,
the International Labour Organization's first ever Recommendation was
targeted at fee charging agencies. The Unemployment Recommendation, 1919
(No.1), Art. 1 called for each member to,
"take measures to prohibit the establishment of employment agencies which charge fees or which carry on their business for profit. Where such agencies already exist, it is further recommended that they be permitted to operate only under government licenses, and that all practicable measures be taken to abolish such agencies as soon as possible."
The Unemployment Convention, 1919, Art. 2 instead required the alternative of,
"a system of free public employment agencies under the control of a central authority. Committees, which shall include representatives of employers and workers, shall be appointed to advise on matters concerning the carrying on of these agencies."
In 1933 the Fee-Charging Employment Agencies Convention (No.34)
formally called for abolition. The exception was if the agencies were
licensed and a fee scale was agreed in advance. In 1949 a new revised Convention (No.96)
was produced. This kept the same scheme, but secured an ‘opt out’
(Art.2) for members that did not wish to sign up. Agencies were an
increasingly entrenched part of the labor market. The United States did
not sign up to the Conventions. The latest Convention, the Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No.181) takes a much softer stance and calls merely for regulation.
In most countries, agencies are regulated, for instance in the UK under the Employment Agencies Act 1973, or in Germany under the Arbeitnehmerüberlassungsgesetz (Employee Hiring Law of 1972).
