| Author (Person) | Bower, Helen |
|---|---|
| Publisher | ProQuest Information and Learning |
| Series Title | In Focus |
| Series Details | 4.6.03 |
| Publication Date | 04/06/2003 |
| Content Type | News, Overview, Topic Guide | In Focus |
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Employment ministers from across the EU failed to reach agreement on a European Commission proposal granting minimum protection to temporary agency workers at a meeting of the Employment Council on 3 June 2003. The draft Directive, tabled by the European Commission on 20 March 2002, envisages a minimum EU wide level of protection for temporary workers that would allow them to benefit from the same terms and conditions as their permanent colleagues. The European Commission claims such a move would help the sector to 'develop as a flexible option for employers and workers' and would help the European Union to achieve the goals set out at the European Council, Lisbon, 23-24 March 2000 of becoming the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010. The majority of Member States and the European Parliament backed the plans and were keen to offer temporary workers protection from day one in a work contract. However, four Member States - Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark - opposed the plans, arguing that agency staff should work for six months before being entitled to protection. The Greek Presidency and the European Commission, eager to secure agreement on the draft Directive, proposed a compromise whereby the qualifying period would be set at six weeks but the four Member States still opposed this. They also argued that an exemption to the principle of equal treatment in view of the specific conditions of Member States' labour markets should be permanent rather than for a transitional period of five years after the date of implementation of the Directive, the period supported by the other Member States. The UK government has come under particular pressure from business groups to oppose the plans amidst claims that it would undermine the UK's flexible and successful labour market. According to the Department for Trade and Industry there are 600,000 temps in the UK, a figure believed to make the UK the largest temping market in Europe. A survey carried out by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) in conjunction with employment agency Pertemps suggested that 47% of employers would take on fewer temporary workers if the law were adopted whilst 56% of firms said the law would increase costs. Digby Jones, CBI Director-General, noted his concerns about the proposal in a letter to European Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs, Anna Diamantopoulou, in which he wrote:
However, trade unions have criticised the UK government for failing to accept a reasonable social provision. Brendan Barber, General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress, said:
Officials in the European Union have also criticised the UK and the three other Member States for blocking the proposal. Anna Diamantopoulou, European Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs, expressed her 'deep disappointment' at the Council's failure to reach an agreement saying it meant temporary agency workers would remain 'second-class' workers and Dutch MEP, Ieke van den Burg, one of the architects of the directive, said that 'blocking minorities are very unproductive'. The issue will now be re-launched under the EU Italian Presidency, in the second half of 2003 when both the European Commission and the Italian government will seek to find a more successful compromise. Helen Bower Compiled: Wednesday, 4 June 2003 The Council of the EU failed to reach agreement on proposal concerning temporary agency workers at a meeting of the Employment Council on 3 June 2003. |
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| Subject Categories | Employment and Social Affairs |
