Equal rights for temps ‘disastrous’

Equal rights for temps ‘disastrous’

By Andrew Taylor

Published: May 20 2008 20:16 | Last updated: May 20 2008 23:07

Business leaders have described as “disastrous” and “a bad deal for the country” a government brokered agreement giving up to 1.4m temporary and agency workers equal rights with permanent staff.

The CBI employers’ organisation, however, defended the deal as “the least worst outcome available”.

Temporary workers will be entitled to equal treatment after just 12 weeks in a job under an agreement reached on Tuesday between the CBI, Trades Union Congress and the government.

Ministers hope the deal will ease the pressure from Brussels to concede even more ground on temporary workers’ rights in return for Britain being granted a permanent opt out of the working time directive, which would allow employees to work more than 48 hours per week.

“We’re now very hopeful of securing the [permanent] working time opt out,” said the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.

The government previously blocked an attempt by the European Union to introduce an agency workers directive that would have given temporary staff equal rights after only six weeks. Ministers were concerned, however, that support for the British position had ebbed and they would unable to continue to maintain a blocking minority.

The agreement with the CBI and TUC could be tested as early as next month at a meeting of European employment ministers.

Vladimir Spidla, EU employment commissioner, welcomed the deal, saying it represented “an important step towards fair treatment of agency workers both in the UK and in Europe”.

Stephen Robertson, director-general of the British Retail Consortium, dubbed the deal a “cosy stitch-up between government and unions”. The Federation of Small Businesses said it was a “disastrous deal”, while the EEF manufacturers’ body said it was a “bad day for business”. David Frost, director-general of British Chambers of Commerce, described it as a “bad deal for the country and bad deal for business”.

But John Cridland, CBI deputy general secretary, defended the agreement against criticism from other business organisations.

He said there had been “a major risk of damaging legislation coming from Brussels”. The CBI had “judged that the government’s proposals represent the least worst outcome available”.

The CBI said equal rights would not apply to employers offering improved sick pay, maternity, paternity and pension benefits to permanent staff – temporary workers would continue to get the statutory minimum. Half of all agency contracts would be unaffected as they lasted fewer than 12 weeks, Mr Cridland added.

Dave Prentis, TUC president and general secretary of Unison, the largest public sector union, said: “This is good news for agency workers, particularly those in workplaces where low pay, long hours and exploitation are the norm. Not all agency workers get a bad deal at work, but those that do, deserve the full backing of the law.’’

John Hutton, business secretary, said the deal had achieved “flexibility for British employers and fairness for workers”. It would “give people a fair deal at work without putting their jobs at risk or cutting off a valuable route into employment”.

Deal paves way for EU-wide pact

The deal to boost temps’ rights in the UK paves the way for an European Union-wide pact on agency workers after years of wrangling, writes Sarah Laitner. As long as there are no last-minute hitches, agreement could come as soon as next month at a meeting of European employment ministers in Luxembourg.

Britain has been the main obstacle to an EU-level deal on the agency workers directive, a draft law introduced in 2002 with the aim of giving full employment rights to temps.

France and Spain were leading opponents of the British stance and the UK became isolated as its supporters peeled off, leaving it without a blocking minority in the EU.

But Tuesday’s move may allow Britain to secure its right to maintain a long-hours culture. In return for Britain changing its stance on agency workers, member states are expected to agree to it keeping its much-cherished exemption to the EU’s 48-hour maximum working week.

The 48-hour rule was introduced in 1993, with the UK’s exemption supposed to be temporary. Other countries have sought to scrap the opt-out, but British business insisted the exemption was vital for competitiveness. Retaining the opt-out is one of the UK’s priorities in Brussels.