TUC calls for regulation of employment agencies
The Trade Unions Congress has criticised the lack of employment rights for temporary workers, and branded some agencies ‘cowboys’.
In a report to be issued next week, the TUC has highlighted the fragmented nature of the UK’s agency market. Its survey found that while the largest five companies take up only 15% of the market in Britain, they make up more than 70% in several European countries.
This, along with the lack of a licensing system, is blamed for a lack of good practice standards across the industry, and possibly for the fact that many firms last for a short period before closing.
The European Union is planning to frame legislation that will give agency workers equal pay and working rights, although the British government is campaigning for a qualifying period to be applied before a temp worker can receive these rights.
There are more temporary workers in the UK than in other EU countries, and more than two thirds of these are women. This has led employers to claim that new regulations could lead to higher unemployment, though the government has indicated that if there is evidence that it would not, they will back the new laws.
However, the TUC has argued that a lack of regulation allows ‘cowboy’ firms to exploit vulnerable workers, and to undercut agencies that provide better services.
