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19 May, 2008
The Labour Government of Prime Minister Gordon Brown appears to have brokered a deal that will give agency workers new and better rights in the UK. Late last week, negotiators for both the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the Confederation of British Industry struck a deal that would bring the UK more in line with the European Union nations that seek a Temporary Workers Directive.
Although some details of the proposed UK law concerning agency workers still need to be worked out, staff of agencies would get job protection rights after 12 weeks of work. Employer groups had sought up to a year’s working time before a doctrine of unfair dismissal could take effect. Equal pay and similar work conditions for 1.4 million agency workers also is included in the UK dialogue, although details on those issues are still in discussions.
Last week’s news was a clear victory for the TUC and UK’s trade unions, which mounted an effective campaign early in 2008 for work rights for agency workers.
In a speech early last week, Brown tipped his hand to the impending agreement, promising legislation that “will, for the first time, ensure new rules for the fair treatment of agency workers here in Britain.”
TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber
On Wednesday, 14 May, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said of Brown’s draft legislative plan: “I welcome the Prime Minister’s clear recognition that agency workers get a raw deal. Unions will now step up their campaign to secure proper protection and a fair deal for agency workers.”
That campaign produced a record 136 MPs supporting a Private Member’s Bill on the issue of rights for temp agency workers. That bill, by Labour MP Andrew Miller, which garnered a full third of the House of Commons in February, left little doubt that the Brown Government must act on a draft law.
Winning work rights for agency workers in Britain will also have enormous significance inside the EU, where a directive has been blocked by only a handful of countries, including the UK. The proposed EU directive has a six-week period for temp workers to gain employment rights.