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10 July, 2008
Despite earlier opposition by Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Poland, and the UK, which have stubbornly opposed any compromise agreement for the past five years, the EU’s Employment and Social Affairs Council agreed on 10 June 2008 to a draft Directive on Temporary Agency Workers.
Temporary agency work has continued to swell, there can be no denying that. In Denmark, Italy, Spain, and Sweden, for example, it has increased five fold over the past 20 years. In most other EU nations, it has at least doubled in recent years. Each year, some six million workers in the EU are newly registered with agencies.
And in the new member states, it is crucial that minimum employment regulations are established to avoid undercutting already set standards in pay and working conditions.
More and more, companies are utilising temporary agency workers to cut costs and to increase flexibility, such as allowing them to adjust staffing needs at short notice.
Employers can find workers with specific skills, when and as needed, without recruitment expenses, or when restructurings or downsizing occurs.
In general, agency workers tend to be less satisfied with their jobs and work conditions than permanent staff. They also tend to have less control over their work, receive less training, have higher accident rates, and perform more shift work than permanent workers. Mostly, they get lower wages for similar work, and are excluded from bonuses and benefits. They also have less job security.
The EU Directive would set minimum European-wide standards that create a level playing field for all companies in all member-states. The Directive is also aimed at stimulating the EU as a knowledge-based economy.
The draft Directive currently states that temporary agency workers must not be treated less favourably regarding basic work conditions (pay, working time, rest periods, holidays, etc.) than permanent workers doing “comparable” work, a principle that would apply as of day 1.
Exceptions would be permitted to this principle where the social partners come to an agreement at the national level, as recently happened in the UK, for example, where agency workes are to get equal treatment after 12 weeks, six more than what is proposed in the EU Directive.