PERMANENT WORKER

"Employee who has met the requirements of the probationary period and has benefits which do not accrue to a temporary employee."
(Roberts, H., Roberts' Dictionary of Industrial Relations, Washington, D.C.: Bureau of National Affairs, 1994)

"In some industries, such as textiles, building and the hotel trade, a large majority of the workforce is temporary, and it is more difficult to apply the legislation that protects them than in the case of permanent workers. With the encouragement of the government, management has over the last two years been laying off permanent workers and replacing them with workers on a variety of temporary contracts. These workers earn on average 60 percent of the wages of permanent workers and are excluded from union membership and representation."
(International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), Tunisia: Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights , 2004, visited 2009-08-07)

"Full-time permanent workers are affected by the growth of contingent work. More workers have experienced the stress of threats to their jobs in the last decade, and their wage levels and benefits have been under siege. Employers attempt to use contingent hiring strategies to make core workers feel less secure in their jobs, and expect that it will make them less willing to fight for their rights."
(Ontario Federation of Labour, Contingent Work Fact Sheet, visited 2009-08-11)

Permanent employees, as opposed to seasonal, probationary, or temporary employees, are those who are generally employed full-time, throughout the year and who have completed the formal or informal probationary period.

Individuals with permanent status acquire seniority and receive the general benefits established by collective bargaining agreements or the personnel policies of the company. However, permanent status does not mean that the employer is required to retain its employees following changes in company policy or operations. The employer retains the authority to discharge an individual because of inefficiency or other shortcomings, provided that such discharge is in accordance with the terms of the contract. Permanence in employment does not exist except where a form of guaranteed employment is set up by contract, and these generally are limited to the duration of the agreement.
(adapted from Roberts, H., Roberts' Dictionary of Industrial Relations, 4th edition, Washington, D.C.: Bureau of National Affairs, 1994)

In the 1980s and 1990s there was a change in employment relations. In most countries, the full-time job with a permanent contract became less important. Conversely, there was an increase in part-time jobs, non-permanent jobs and self-employment. Work organisation has been changing very rapidly and employment relations have become more flexible.