by René Lavanchy
Agency workers on permanent contracts will continue to suffer unequal treatment under Government plans to ratify the European Union’s agency workers directive, the Communication Workers’ Union has warned.
The warning came as Congress passed a composite motion demanding that ministers enforce the full protections of the directive, which promises that agency workers should have equal pay and conditions to permanent staff, by the spring of 2010.
The Government agreed in principle to accept the directive in May 2008 after a long-running battle with unions and backbench MPs, during which it blocked both the European directive and private member’s bills in Parliament. The directive was finally enacted in November 2008, but regulations to enforce its terms in Britain have not yet been drawn up.
Unions are concerned that a “derogation” or opt-out will be included to exclude agency workers on permanent contracts from the scope of the law. Such workers are paid between assignments, but may be subject to a lower rate of basic pay, holiday pay and other benefits.
Carol Alcock of the CWU’s national executive said: “The Government have indicated that they wanted to use derogation. It won’t provide equal protection from unscrupulous agencies. We’re against derogation that would give detrimental pay rates or not the right rate of pay between assignments.”
The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform closed a public consultation on implementing the agency workers directive in July, but meetings with focus groups are continuing until at least December.
