Unions demand rights for agency staff

Unions have stepped up their campaign to give temporary agency workers equal rights with permanent employees.

In November, the CWU communication workers' union used the release of a European Union (EU) green paper consultation to highlight the plight of agency workers. The paper proposed labour law amendments to provide and support "a labour market which is fairer, more responsive and more inclusive".

The union says the UK offers the EU's lowest level of protection for agency workers, and wants the government to honour its commitment in the Warwick agreement to introduce equal treatment for them (see Labour Research, October 2006).

Meanwhile, the GMB general union has called on Labour MPs to sign an Early Day Motion lodged by John Cruddas, MP for Barking and Dagenham, which urges the government to introduce legislation establishing the principle of equal pay and conditions for agency and permanent employees.

And a GMB analysis of data provided by local authorities under the Freedom of Information Act has revealed that their use of agency workers offers poor value for money.

Across the UK, the union found, 434 councils spent more than £1,546 million on agency and temporary staff in a single year. In most cases, it says, the only winners are the employment agencies who take a considerable slice of this money for administration and profits; the temporary workers themselves are paid less than permanent staff, and councils pay more to the agency than it would cost to employ them direct.