Great Britain: agreement on agency workers’ rights, at last

Agency workers will be given the same rights as permanent workers once they have been employed for 12 weeks, the government declared on May 20, 2008, after an agreement between unions and employers. With this agreement, the government is hoping to get a deal with the EU on the temporary workers directive, which would guarantee flexibility. The perspective of unblocking this text during the coming European ministers' meetings is becoming more and more real. (Ref. 080412)
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Equal
pay
. Everyone was shocked by the news. The talks
between the government, unions and employers finally paid off, as stated in the
joint declaration published on May 20. It was decided that agency workers will
be given the legal protections of permanent workers once they have been
employed for 12 weeks, regarding wages and working conditions. On the other
hand, they won’t get the same rights in terms of pensions or sick leave. In
addition, the government announced a consultation about, nota

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