Employment News

DTI Announce Consultation on New Measures to Protect Vulnerable Agency Workers

20 February 2007

The Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) have announced as part of their strategy paper of "Success at Work" they intend to consult on plans to protect vulnerable agency workers and clamp down on rogue companies.

According to DTI research, there are approximately 600,000 agency workers in the UK. Some companies make extensive use of agency workers, around a third of companies use agency workers for short-term cover for vacant positions (31%); 29% to meet upturn in demand; and 21% to cover staff absence.

Employment Relations Minister Jim Fitzpatrick said "Many agency workers choose temporary positions as it fits their lifestyle and allows them to choose their working pattern. The Government's focus in this consultation is on those agency workers who are vulnerable, to make sure they know their rights".

Whilst the CWU welcomes the consultation and agrees action needs to be taken to stamp out the identified abuses the Union is of the view that the current proposals are too narrow. Despite calls on the Government to broaden the scope of the consultation exercise it does not include the principle of equal treatment nor does it give agency workers in the UK the same rights as comparable directly employed workers in relations to basic terms and conditions of employment.

Paul Farrelly MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme has issued a press release saying "the DTI announcement today means that the Unions have successfully forced this issue on to the agenda and off the back burner. The consultation is clearly good news, as are the pilot protection schemes. Even better, however, would be Government support for ready made legislation which could go hand-in-hand with all this."

Sally Bridge, CWU Assistant Secretary, also said "Basically this is just the DTI tinkering around the edges of what is a huge issue which affects thousands and thousands of workers. Paul Farrelly's Private Members Bill now becomes even more important as quite clearly we will need to continue to pressurise the Government to honour their promises made in the Warwick Agreement".