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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Agency staff to get equal rights | Agency staff to get equal rights |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Agency workers will be given the same employment rights as permanent staff after 12 weeks under proposals agreed between the government and unions. | Agency workers will be given the same employment rights as permanent staff after 12 weeks under proposals agreed between the government and unions. |
| Union officials said the government had agreed to table legislation later this year to guarantee agency staff enjoyed equal treatment in the workplace. | Union officials said the government had agreed to table legislation later this year to guarantee agency staff enjoyed equal treatment in the workplace. |
| Unions, which have campaigned for the measure for years, described Tuesday's agreement as a massive step forward. | Unions, which have campaigned for the measure for years, described Tuesday's agreement as a massive step forward. |
| There are estimated to be about 1.4 million agency workers in the UK. | There are estimated to be about 1.4 million agency workers in the UK. |
| Political pressure | Political pressure |
| The breakthrough on agency workers' rights came after fierce wrangling between unions and employers and amid growing pressure by Labour MPs on ministers to broker a deal. | The breakthrough on agency workers' rights came after fierce wrangling between unions and employers and amid growing pressure by Labour MPs on ministers to broker a deal. |
| Under the proposals, agency workers will be given equal pay after 12 weeks in a job, enjoying the same treatment with regard to "basic work and employment conditions". | |
| However, there is some confusion about whether the rights will extend to overtime and other employee benefits. | |
| It will give people a fair deal at work without putting their jobs at risk John Hutton, Business Secretary | |
| Employers groups, led by the CBI, had lobbied for a period of at least six months arguing that it could lead to firms taking on fewer employees or even letting staff go. | |
| Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said a situation in which agency workers can be paid less for doing the same job as full-time staff is "unfair". | Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said a situation in which agency workers can be paid less for doing the same job as full-time staff is "unfair". |
| Earlier this year Mr Brown offered to set up an independent body, modelled on the Low Pay Commission, to look at ways of finding a solution to the controversial issue. | Earlier this year Mr Brown offered to set up an independent body, modelled on the Low Pay Commission, to look at ways of finding a solution to the controversial issue. |
| But there has been intense pressure from Labour backbenchers over the issue with more than a third of MPs, including John Prescott and Peter Hain, backing a private members' bill on agency workers rights in February. | |
| Ministers said Tuesday's agreement was the "right deal" for British industry. | |
| "The agreement achieves our twin objectives of flexibility for British employers and fairness for workers," said Business Secretary John Hutton. | |
| "It will give people a fair deal at work without putting their jobs at risk or cutting off a valuable route into employment." |