HUMAN-RESOURCE STRATEGIES AND CONTINGENT WORKERS - THE CASE OF SAFETYAND HEALTH IN THE PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRY

One of the most important economic developments in recent years is the growth in the number of temporary and contract employees. Little is k nown, however, about the implications these contingent employees have for human resource practices. This paper presents the results of a stu dy of one group of contingent workers, contract workers in the petroch emical industry. The primary concern of this study is the consequences contract workers have for safety, a hotly debated and politically cha rged issue in an industry where safety mishaps can have catastrophic c onsequences. We find that contract employees offer petrochemical firms an important degree of flexibility in meeting rapid fluctuations in t heir demand for labor. Contract employment relationships also create s tresses with potentially severe adverse effects on workplace safety. O vercoming these threats to safety while maintaining flexibility will r equire a high level of coordination among human resource professionals , line managers, corporate executives, unions, and government agencies . (C) 1994 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.