More than 3,000 Rochdale workers to benefit from EU Legislation

Temporary and agency staff in Rochdale are to benefit from new EU employment rights for those employed after 12 weeks.

There are 3,500 temporary and agency workers in Rochdale workplaces, which amounts to 4.8% of all workers in these workplaces. This puts Rochdale 14th out of 22 regions in the North West in the numbers of temporary staff the town's businesses employ.

In the North West as a whole there are 152,600 temporary and agency staff, which amounts to 5% of the region's workforce. 

In the UK as a whole the numbers are 1,389,000 or 4.9% of the total workforce.

The figures have been released to coincide with an agreement on a new EU Directive on Temporary and Agency workers which will give new employment rights to these workers in Britain when they have been employed in a workplace for 12 weeks. These rights are likely to come into force by January 2012 at the latest.

Paul McCarthy, GMB Union's Regional Secretary in the North West said: “Under the EU agreement, British temporary and agency workers will be entitled to equal treatment on pay and basic working and employment conditions after 12 weeks in a job. 

"Although the agreement does not give us everything we would have liked, it is nevertheless a big step forward for up to one million temporary agency workers in the UK. This protection is necessary to help offset the exploitation and abuse of temporary and agency workers which have been a stain on the British labour market with over a million workers without employment rights and no rate for the job or sick pay, pension and other benefits."

The way to the agreement was opened last month (June 2008) when EU Labour Ministers finally reached political agreement on the Temporary and Agency Workers Directive which had been held up for years by the UK Government. The unblocking followed a joint declaration by the TUC, CBI and UK Government on the 20 May 2008 which paved the way for agreement at EU level.

Mr McCarthy continued: "GMB North West has campaigned long and hard for equal treatment rights for temporary and agency workers. GMB members welcome the agreement which broke a six-year deadlock on the issue. About 70% of the 152,600 temporary and agency workers in the region will directly benefit from the agreement. All the regions permanent workers will indirectly benefit as employers will no longer be able to use these workers to undermine their pay and conditions of employment."