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Agency workers sacked with half an hour’s notice - Daily Post

Give agency staff a fair deal, say unions - Manchester Evening News (pdf, 450kb)

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LOCAL BUSINESSES IN GREATER MANCHESTER URGED TO BACK FAIR TREATMENT FOR AGENCY WORKERS

LOCAL business bosses have been urged to support a campaign which would give equal treatment to agency workers.

Bosses are now facing calls to pay ‘temps’ the same salary as permanent staff for doing the same work, following an historic agreement between the TUC, CBI and Government.

All three agreed last May that agency workers should get equal treatment after 12 weeks employment, with the Government soon after promising to introduce new laws to implement a European Directive.

Now trade union leaders have written to Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce as well as the employers organisation, the North West CBI, urging the bosses to give agency workers fair treatment immediately and end their “exploitation.”

North West TUC Regional Secretary Alan Manning said: “Some employers continue to pay agency workers far less than permanent staff for doing exactly the same work. Other terms and conditions are also much worse.

“We feel it is high time agency workers were treated fairly. There is no excuse any longer for employers to pay agency workers any less, or for their terms and conditions of work to be worse.

“Responsible employers will see the sense of equality in the workplace. Many have already made their commitment clear and given a lead.

“We believe local employers should also set an example – and not use the recession as an excuse to further drive down wages and conditions.”

Mr Manning said that there was nothing to stop employers treating agency workers fairly immediately – rather than wait to be forced by new legislation, which will be prompted by Europe.

The TUC say agency workers are often on just the national minimum wage, have no entitlement to redundancy pay after years with the same ‘employer’ and also lose out on pensions, holiday entitlement, sick pay and transport.

A campaign web site has been set up at www.fairtoagencyworkers.org which includes free Legal Advice and an on-line petition. Support groups have also been set up by the TUC on the social network sites Facebook and Twitter.

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

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Contacts:

Media enquiries: Matt Finnegan (Sound Communication) T: 07807 033 438

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LIVERPOOL AGENCY WORKERS SACKED AT A MOMENTS NOTICE – WITHOUT A PENNY!

AGENCY staff at a Liverpool office block were given half an hour’s notice of the sack after working for years on a multi-million pound Government contract for the taxman.

Staff were in tears after suddenly being told to clear their desks and being escorted from the premises at the computer giant, Fujitsu.

Some had loyally worked as data processing staff for up to eight years – but they were ushered from the Fujitsu building in Farriers Way, Netherton without being entitled to a single penny in redundancy money.

Their plight was today highlighted by the North West TUC who have begun a campaign and launched a web site http://fairtoagencyworkers.org/ to demand fair treatment for agency staff throughout the region.

NW TUC Regional Secretary Alan Manning said: “Agency workers are being treated as second class citizens in the workplace.

“They often earn far less money for doing exactly the same work, have less rights and benefits and are usually the first to be sacked – without any entitlement to redundancy pay.”

The office staff had been working with the employment agency Kelly Services, on a £900 million contract with Fujitsu for Her Majesty’s Customs and Revenue.

Staff told how they had been “treated like cattle”, earning up to £8,000 a year less than permanent staff – for doing exactly the same jobs.

They also lost out on holidays, sickness pay and pension entitlement - and even got five minutes less break-time than permanent staff!

The agency workers earned the minimum wage of just £5.75 an hour from Fujitsu, which last week topped the league table of companies lavishing corporate hospitality on top Whitehall civil servants, including trips to the opera, Wimbledon and the Chelsea Flower Show.

One of the sacked Liverpool staff, 21-year-old Paula Kenny, from Walton, was just a few days short of celebrating her third year at the company, when the agency workers were called into the works canteen.

She said today: “They said they had to finish us up and then gave us just half an hour’s notice to clear our desks and say goodbye to the permanent staff. We were all in total shock.

“Then we were escorted from the building and had our passes taken off us. It felt as if we had done something wrong, rather than having worked loyally for them for years.

“I just couldn’t believe it - three years is a long time without getting a penny in redundancy.”
Another sacked colleague added: ”People have been there since 2001/2 , but all we got was an extra days pay to the end of the week.

“We couldn’t believe it – it was all so sudden. If they had finished up the permanent staff, they would have had to pay them redundancy and give them some notice. It was easier to get rid of us.

“We feel like second class citizens.”

The TUC say that although both sides of industry, the Government and Europe all now agree on fair treatment for agency workers, some employers continue to discriminate against them.

Mr Manning said: “The Prime Minister has promised legislation in this Parliament, but that is no consolation to those people who have lost their jobs on a major Government contract - with just a moment’s notice.”

Liverpool Walton MP Peter Kilfoyle today accused both Fujitsu and Kellys of “exploitation.”
He added: ”This is what happens when we fail to give our workers the same protection as workers in other parts of Europe.

“Employers couldn’t get away with this anywhere else on the Continent – hiring and firing people on a whim. It is exploitation – there is no other word for it.”

ends

For further information please contact Sound Communication, on behalf of the North West TUC, tel: 07807 033438

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