‘Good Practice’ for agency workers
A Labour Research report
Introduction
This report compiled for the North West TUC by the Labour Research Department focuses on good practice in union agreements covering agency workers.
Disposable workers?
Although many agency workers have lost their jobs at the start of this recession, employers may end up using more agency workers because they are so “disposable”. They have fewer rights and are often paid less. New rights on agency workers’ pay and conditions are on the horizon but need to be strong enough to make a difference.
Unions have campaigned for the implementation of the Temporary Agency Workers Directive and will be pushing this year for its strongest possible implementation and enforcement. But they also have a direct role to play in representing agency workers in the workplace. They can have an impact on health and safety, pay, terms and conditions, employment security and “inclusion”.
Case studies
Case studies covering six workplaces and organisations in the North West show how unions can help. The cases included are IT firm Fujitsu in Manchester; the Manpower employment agency which supplies staff for BT’s Warrington call centre; Bovis Lend Lease which is building a huge new hospital in Manchester; Tesco which uses agency workers in its distribution depots (like the ones in Middlewich); Salford City Council; and the British Cattle Movement Service which is a major employer in Workington, Cumbria.
- Manchester Joint Hospitals Project - read online or download the PDF
- Manpower - read online or download the PDF
- Tesco Distribution - read online or download the PDF
- Salford City Council - read online or download the PDF
- Fujitsu Manchester - read online or download the PDF
- British Cattle Movement Service - read online or download the PDF
Background
The final section of the report briefly covers some of the background issues relevant to agency workers: How many there are; the involvement of migrant workers; their uncertain employment status; what this means for employment rights; current licensing and inspection arrangements; health and safety issues; and the Temporary Agency Workers Directive.
The Labour Research Department would like to acknowledge the help of many individuals in the trade union, advice and employment agency fields in the North West and nationally in providing information for this report.
LRD 30/01/09
