Contracts: what about temporary contracts?

A contract is a binding legal agreement that’s enforceable in court. Contract is a more common term because there are all sorts of contracts. You can subdivide these contracts in two categories: the temporary contracts and the long term contracts. The advantage of a long term contract is that you are sure of the time you will be working in that place. On the other hand, you also have temperary contracts that can change into long term contracts. It means that they aren’t officially long term contracts but that these contracts, of six months or less, can be prolongued.
I will link these temporary contracts to an article I found on the internet. It’s an article concerning the OCMW in Ninove. At the last OCMW-counsel, the OCMW-councillor Lieven Meert has asked for a solution to solve the problems with the OCMW-contracts. Apparently, there are 275 employees working in the OCMW of Ninove. 125 of these employees are working with a temporary contract of six months or less, although some people have been working there for almost 10 years. According to Lieven Meert, the relation between temporary contracts and long term contracts isn’t equally. Therefore, it’s important that there will be more long term contracts. These temporary contracts also cause more uncertainty because it’s more difficult for these people to get a loan for example. This proposition is dissaproved by the OCMW-counsel. Instead, the counsel proposed that there will also be exams for employees with temporary contracts.
What’s my own opinion concering this subject? I think it’s a good idea to have both kinds of contracts. This gives employers the possibility to replace people who are currently unable to work, for example somebody whose abilities aren't the right qualifications for the job. It’s a chance to give an aswer to the demand on the labor market. It’s a fact that’s more difficult to get a loan if you have a temporary contract. I think a combination of both is better. If you have only long term contracts, there’s a chance that people will never leave the company they are working for. New companies also need experienced employees. You can make the conclusion, if there’s only one kind of contract, that will create a problem.

Source: http://www.nieuwsblad.be/Article/Detail.aspx?ArticleID=BLHVA_20091003_001