Equal Rights Move On Employment

As it emerged that the number of Eastern Europeans applying to work in the UK has dropped to its lowest level since 2005, all temporary workers in the UK are set to be given better rights in employment.

According to statistics published by the Home Office today, from January to March 2008 there were 45,000 applications from nationals of the eight countries that joined the EU in 2004 - down 13% from the same period in the previous year, when there were 52,000.

The number of Bulgarians and Romanians applying to work in the UK has also dropped to its lowest level with only 8,205 applications from A2 nationals in the first three months of this year, compared to 10,420 in the same period last year.

The news comes as the Government announced agreement on a deal between unions and employers that will see temporary agency workers - many of whom would be immigrants - receive equal treatment after just 12 weeks employment.

The Government believes this deal can pave the way to reaching agreement in Europe on an agency workers directive that secures this flexibility for the UK.

Announcing the agreement, Business Secretary John Hutton said: "This is the right deal for Britain. Today's agreement achieves our twin objectives of flexibility for British employers and fairness for workers.

"It will give people a fair deal at work without putting their jobs at risk or cutting off a valuable route into employment."

The CBI and TUC have meanwhile reached agreement on how fairer treatment for these agency workers should be promoted, while not removing the important flexibility that agency work can offer both employers and workers.

After the three months, 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 undertaking to occupy the same job.

Meanwhile, the Government has agreed to consult a range of social partners regarding the implementation of the Directive more generally on mechanisms for resolving disputes regarding the definition of equal treatment and compliance with the new rules that avoid undue delays for workers and unnecessary administrative burdens for business and for appropriate arrangements to enable the two sides of industry and also public services to reach appropriate agreements on the treatment of agency workers, while respecting the overall protection of agency

Workers and the position of workers with permanent contracts of employment with agencies who continue to be paid between assignments.

(BMcC)