Motion no: 17
Freelance workers are usually paid by a variety of different employers, all with their own different payment systems and schedules. This can lead to workers encountering serious cash-flow issues as payments are too often far from prompt.
Trade Unions are regularly engaged in negotiations over fair rates of pay for work carried out, but the length of time a worker takes to be paid is directly in the hands of the employers making the payment.
There is a theoretical rule over a 30 day maximum wait for invoices to be paid, but this is often breached. Workers can include interest/compensation charges on their invoices but again these are often ignored by employers and many workers don’t have the capacity to chase these late fees, often grateful to have been paid their fee even if it is late.
Conference calls on ICTU to create a campaign which demands prompt payment to workers. In most cases the employers have the funds available to pay and the worker is not in a position to wait. It is a matter of respect and to many freelancers can mean the difference between bills being paid or payments bouncing.
