CBI warns government against giving in to TUC pressure to extend temporary workers' rights

More than 250,000 temporary jobs could be axed if the government bows to pressure at this week's TUC Congress to give agency workers full employment rights, the CBI has claimed. With a senior member of the cabinet - possibly prime minister Gordon Brown - expected to speak at the congress, employers fear an announcement on agency worker rights. EU talks on resurrecting the Agency Workers Directive, which would give full employment rights to temps, begin tomorrow (Wednesday). Attempts to finalise the wording of the directive have been held up by five years of arguing between unions and employer groups over the length of a qualifying period. A motion almost certain to be passed at the TUC Con­gress calls for temps to gain full rights from day one of employment. But almost six in 10 of the 507 firms questioned in the 2007 CBI/Pertemps annual employment trends survey said that equal rights for temporary staff would lead to a 'significant' cut in their use. About 3% of employees...

More at PersonnelToday.com