Unity support Private Members
Bill.
Agency and Temporary Workers Bill : On March 2nd, Paul
Farrelly MP (Newcastle under
Lyme) will submit a Private Members Bill to the House of Commons. The
subject of
this bill will be protection for Agency and Temporary workers.
The Warwick Agreement (2004) was the commitment by Labour to support a European
Directive on Agency and Temporary workers, and once agreement had been reached
amongst member states, to implement that directive in British Law. It was
agreed
within Warwick negotiations that, should it prove impossible to reach consensus
within
Europe on this matter, the Labour Government would unilaterally introduce
protection
for the Agency and Temporary workers within British Law.
Since 2004 the discussions at a European level have proven intractable, and
although
some within the UK government believe that the Directive will yet progress, the
view of
the ETUC and a number of Labour MEPs is that this is highly unlikely given the
position
of certain governments within the negotiations.
Unity recognise that the Private Members Bill is a reflection of the latest
draft of the
Directive, and that its implementation in UK law would meet the terms of the
commitment
made within the Warwick negotiations. As a result Unity has decided to
offer strong support for the Bill and to actively campaign support of it.
March 2nd will be absolutely crucial for the progression of this Bill, as it
will require the
positive vote of at least 100 MPs if it is to move forward to the committee
stage of the
Parliamentary process. This could present some difficulties, as
Friday is traditionally a
day that MPs spend in their constituencies. If the Bill does not receive
the 100 votes that
it needs, then it will fall and we will have missed the important opportunity to
provide
protection for some of our most vulnerable workers.
There follows further information about the Temporary and Agency workers
Directive, i.e.:
Purpose, history, facts and figures etc.
There is also a letter for you to print out and send to your Member of
Parliament asking them to support the bill on March 2nd.
Temporary and Agency
workers Directive
Purpose of Directive
The purpose of the directive is to improve the quality of temporary agency work
and to ensure protection and equal treatment for temporary agency workers.
History
The temporary agency worker directive was the third part of European
Commission's plan to legislate on 'atypical forms of employment', the other two
were fixed term contract and part-time work (both became directives).
The temporary agency directive was initiated under article 138 of the treaty,
which enables the social partners, at a European level (employers and trade
unions), to reach a collective agreement on the issue of temporary agency work.
If the social partners are able to reach agreement, this subsequently becomes a
directive and is legally binding on all member states.
Breakdown
Although the social partners agreed to enter into negotiations to reach an
agreement, they failed to agree on one issue, which was the crucial principle of
equal treatment for agency workers and workers in a user enterprise. i.e.
whose conditions of employment was the temporary agency worker comparable to.
Commission Initiative
Because the social partners could not agree, the Commission began preparing its
own draft directive. While there were a number of loopholes in the draft
directive, major gains had been made on the basis of the failed social partner
negotiations. This included clear reference in the definitions to
comparable workers, which was that temporary agency workers would be entitled to
the same basic pay and conditions of employment as if they had been recruited
directly by the enterprise to occupy the same job.
Sticking Point
Although the original problem of a 'comparable work' was identified and accepted
(some what reluctantly by some employers) there emerged a new next sticking
point. The new sticking point was over 'when should temporary agency
workers be entitled to equal treatment'. 11 member states (out of then 15)
considered that equal treatment, including pay, should be from day one.
Four delegations lead by the UK thought a significantly longer exemption period
should apply.
Basic Facts and Figures
If the 12 month exemption period, which is sought by employers, is accepted 71%
of all agency workers would lose out.
* Government figures state that a 12 month exemption period would mean:
- Three quarters of the UK's estimated 800,000 agency workers would never enjoy
new rights.
- 93% of young agency workers would not be covered.
* The Labour force survey shows that:
- 74% of agency workers are in a single placement for less than 12 months.
- 54% less than 6 months.
- 27% less than 3 months.
and for agency temps under 25
- 93% are in a single position for less than 12 months.
- 73% less than 6 months
- 32% less than 3 months
* UK studies demonstrated that the 16-19 age group has the highest proportion of
temporary workers (18%) and that females account for the majority (53%) of
non-permanent employment - No wonder we have such high anti-social behaviour
rates among young people - hardly offering the more and better jobs indicted by
the European Commission.
* TUC research - In over a fifth of workplaces (22%), increases in casualisation
are linked to the employers' drive to reduce their total wages bill by:
- Using temporary staff to work unsocial hours and to cover gaps and short-term
increases in demand which reduces the need for overtime among permanent workers.
- Using casual workers who are not paid to be 'on call' but only for the hours
they work.
* In 53% of workplaces temporary staff do not have access to the same training
opportunities as permanent staff.
Please click on the image below to view/print the letter, and send it to
your Member of Parliament:
(The
letter is in PDF format -- to view and print you need to have a PDF Reader
installed on your computer. If you do not have this software and wish to
download it for
free, please click here to do so.)
