Press Release
Fairness For Agency Workers
Tom Clarke MP for Coatbridge Chryston & Bellshill has welcomed the announcement outlining new terms agreed on fairer treatment for agency workers and described it as ‘a major breakthrough’. The terms of the new arrangements have been reached between the Government, Trades Unions and the Confederation of British Industry.
The MP said: “Agency workers are workers fulfilling a contract of employment with an employer, and yet they are treated differently, and by that I mean, less favourably than permanent employees. There is no justification for this entrenched inequality which is often exploited by ruthless employers. Agency workers feel vulnerable, as they don’t know how long they will be employed. In such circumstances the employer has all the power and it is understandable workers on such a precarious contract are afraid to raise their head above the parapet, even although they are doing exactly the same job as the person next to them, more often than not on inferior conditions”.
The terms of the agreement are that after 12 weeks in a given job there will be an entitlement to equal treatment. Equal treatment will be defined to mean at least the basic working and employment conditions that would apply to the workers concerned if they had been recruited directly by that employer to occupy the same job. The Government will consult the social partners regarding the implementation of the Directive more generally, in particular: mechanisms for resolving disputes regarding the definition of equal treatment and compliance with the new rules that avoid undue delays for workers.
The MP continued: “Labour is increasing protection for agency workers and of course not everyone will agree with these new fairer arrangements. Unscrupulous Agencies will be seething with anger, as they would prefer to engage workers on poorer terms and hire and fire at will. The Conservative spokesman described protection for agency workers as, ‘misguided and unnecessary.’
The MP concluded: “In the last ten years there has been a complete transformation of employment rights for working people. These range from the Minimum Wage, Maternity Pay, Paternity Pay, Protection from dismissal or victimisation and the right not to suffer detriment on grounds related to union membership or activities. I am on the side of fairness for all employees irrespective of their employment status. I want to see workers paid the proper remuneration for the job they are doing, treated with respect and dignity, and not having to work in an environment of fear where they have to endure employment terms less favourably than otherwise should be the case.”